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Roald Amundsen, born July 16th, 1872, was a Norwegian polar explorer and first person ever to reach the South Pole on December 14, 1911. From a young age, Amundsen held a passion for exploration and adventure. At the age of 31, Amundsen, along with five others on the ship Gjøa, became the first person ever to traverse the Northwest Passage, a feat attempted years earlier by others such as Christopher Columbus, Henry Hudson, and John Cabot. Not long after his northern adventures, Amundsen aimed his sails elsewhere. In 1909, aboard the ship Fram, Amundsen along with a team of eight headed for the South Pole. Landing in the Bay of Whales, Amundsen and his team set up base and stayed there for nine months. When it appeared that the spring had arrived at last, Amundsen and his team set out to reach the South Pole, but things would soon turn bad, and quickly. Not long after the departure of the team, temperatures began to plummet, sometimes reaching -60°F. It wasn’t long before Amundsen’s team of eight became a team of five. Bearing these grueling conditions, the team pushed on and finally on December 14, 1911, Amundsen’s team reached (90°00'S), the South Pole. The trip had taken ninety-nine days to accomplish, covering 1,860 miles. A camp was set up until the team left in January of 1912. Amundsen continued to conduct explorations in the Northwest Passage until his disappearance on a rescue mission on June 18, 1928. His body was never found. — Travis Estes |
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South Pole Adventurer |
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Issue 1 December 2006 |
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Calendar of Events |
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This History Newsletter brought to you by |
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Making History |
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Cool things to do during the break! |
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Westminster Chapter |
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Classical Mayan Civilization began in 250 AD and lasted six hundred and fifty years, going into a decline between 900 AD and 1500 AD. Historians and others continue to search for the causes of the civilization’s collapse and several theories have been advanced including: earthquakes, pestilence, insufficient food supplies, rebellions and foreign invaders. — Sherrie Bakelar |
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WELCOME! You hold in your hands, or rather, on your screen, the first issue of the Phi Alpha Theta Westminster Newsletter! We will be bringing you news of the most interesting people and events of the past, both globally and locally, along with current events related to the discipline of history. Along the way we hope to entertain and shed some light on that perennial question: “Why would anyone want to study history?” Phi Alpha Theta is the national history honors society “whose mission is to promote the study of history through the encouragement of research, good teaching, publication and the exchange of learning and ideas among historians.” — Sherrie Bakelar |