Helmer Julius Hanssen was a Norwegian sailor, pilot and polar explorer.
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10 Facts About Helmer Hanssen
2.
Helmer Hanssen participated in three of the polar expeditions led by Roald Amundsen and was one of the first five explorers to reach the South Pole.
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3.
Helmer Hanssen was born in Bjørnskinn, on the island of Andøya in Nordland, Norway.
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4.
Helmer Hanssen was an experienced ice pilot, a skill he had learned while hunting around Spitsbergen.
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5.
Helmer Hanssen later sailed for the Norwegian shipping company, Vesteraalens Dampskibsselskab.
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6.
From 1903 to 1905 Helmer Hanssen participated in Roald Amundsen's successful search for the Northwest Passage, as second mate on board the ship Gjøa.
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7.
Helmer Hanssen was in charge of navigation, carrying the master compass on his sledge.
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8.
Helmer Hanssen was one of the first five people to reach the South Pole on 14 December 1911, along with Roald Amundsen, Olav Bjaaland, Oscar Wisting, and Sverre Hassel.
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9.
Helmer Hanssen was awarded the Knight of St Olav for exceptional seamanship on Roald Amundsen's expeditions in the northern and southern parts of the world.
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10.
In 1936 Hanssen published his autobiography The Voyages of a Modern Viking,.
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