Andree Expedition Ended On Kvitoya

In 1896, a Swedish engineer and balloonist named Salomon August Andree attempted to launch a hydrogen balloon from Danes Island, Svalbard, toward the North Pole, but persistent northerly winds forced him to cancel the flight. On July 11, 1897, he returned with a photographer named Nils Strindberg and an engineer named Knut Fraenkel aboard the Eagle, beginning a journey followed closely across Sweden. The balloon lost hydrogen rapidly and came down on pack ice after just over two days, leaving the three men to haul heavy sleds south before they died on Kvitoya that October. In 1930, exactly 33 years later, crews from two Norwegian sealing ships found their remains, diaries, and photographs, finally solving the mystery of their disappearance.

Previous Fact Next Fact