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Polar Exploration Timeline
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- 4th century BC Pytheas (Massilia) discovers "Thule" (possibly Iceland, Norway, or the Shetland Islands).
- 10th century AD Eric the Red (Norseman) lands on western coast of Greenland; founds a colony.
- 1553 Hugh Willoughby and Richard Chancellor (England) explore the White Sea.
- 1590- 97 Willem Barents (the Netherlands) discovers Svalbard (Spitsbergen); explores Novaya Zemlya, Barents Sea.
- 1607-11 Henry Hudson (England) discovers Hudson Strait.
- 1615 William Baffin (England) explores Baffin Bay, Baffin Island.
- 1728 Vitus Bering (Russia) explores Bering Sea, Bering Strait.
- 1819-20 William E. Parry (Britain) explores the Northwest Passage from the east to Melville Island.
- 1831 James C. Ross (Britain) attempts Northwest Passage from both east and west.
- 1845-47 John Franklin (Britain) and his entire expedition perish in the Canadian Arctic, seeking the Northwest Passage.
- 1850-53 Robert McClure (Britain) traverses Northwest Passage.
- 1878-79 Nils Adolf Erik Nordenskjöld (Sweden) traverses the Northeast Passage in the Vega.
- 1881-84 Adolphus W. Greely (U.S.) leads ill-fated expedition to Ellesmere Island and west coast of Greenland.
- 1891-92 Robert E. Peary (U.S.) proves Greenland an island by crossing northeast corner.
- 1893-96 Fridtjof Nansen (Norway) drifts with the ship Fram towards the Pole.
- 1897 Salomon A. Andrée (Sweden) tries balloon flight over the North Pole; party perishes.
- 1903-6 Roald Amundsen (Norway) traverses the Northwest Passage in the Gjoa; fixes approximate location of north magnetic pole.
- 1906-18 Vilhjalmur Stefansson (Canada) explores about 100,000 square miles in Canadian Arctic.
- 1908 Frederic A. Cook (U.S.) claims he reached North Pole; his story is discredited.
- 1909 Robert E. Peary (U.S.) reaches the North Pole.
- 1909-41 Donald B. MacMillan (U.S.) makes 19 trips to Labrador, Baffin, Greenland.
- 1926 Richard E. Byrd (U.S.) and Floyd Bennett fly from Svalbard (Spitsbergen) to the North Pole and back.
- 1926 Roald Amundsen (Norway), Lincoln Ellsworth, and Umberto Nobile fly over the North Pole in a dirigible.
- 1928 George Hubert Wilkins (Australia) flies over North Pole from Point Barrow to Svalbard (Spitsbergen).
- 1928 Umberto Nobile (Italy) flies over North Pole in dirigible Italia.
- 1937 Valeri Chkalov and Mikhail Gromov (U.S.S.R.) make nonstop transpolar flights from Moscow to the United States.
- 1937 Ivan Papanin and party (U.S.S.R.) set down by plane on ice floe near North Pole; study weather, ocean currents, sea life.
- 1937-40 Icebreaker Georgi Sedov (U.S.S.R.) drifts to 86° 39" N.
- 1946 Carrier Midway (U.S.) makes tests in Davis Strait.
- 1951 Charles Blair (U.S.) makes first solo flight over the North Pole.
- 1954 U.S.S.R. Arctic Institute discovers mountain range below surface of frozen Arctic Ocean.
- 1958 Nuclear-powered submarine Nautilus (U.S.) crosses the North Pole beneath the Arctic ice cap.
- 1962 Two submarines (U.S.) rendezvous under polar ice cap.
- 1963 Massive deposit of iron ore discovered on northern Baffin Island.
- 1986 Ann Bancroft is the first woman to travel to the North Pole on foot.
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- 1739 Jean Bouvet (France) finds Bouvet Island.
- 1772-75 James Cook (Britain) circumnavigates Antarctica.
- 1819 William Smith (Britain) discovers South Shetland Islands.
- 1820 William Smith and Edward Bransfield (Britain) believed to be first to sight Antarctic mainland.
- 1821-22 Nathaniel Brown Palmer (U.S.) explores Palmer (now Antarctic) Peninsula.
- 1823 James Weddell (Britain) discovers Weddell Sea.
- 1838-42 Charles Wilkes (U.S.) discovers Wilkes Land; proves Antarctica a continent.
- 1839 John Balleny (Britain) discovers Balleny Island and Sabrina Coast.
- 1839-43 James Clark Ross (Britain) discovers Ross Sea, Ross Ice Shelf, and Victoria Land.
- 1895 Leonard Kristensen and C.E. Borchgrevink (Norway) first to land on continent (Cape Adare).
- 1897-99 Adrian de Gerlache (Belgium) heads first party to winter in Antarctic (in Bellingshausen Sea).
- 1901-3 Erich von Drygalski (Germany), in the Gauss, discovers Wilhelm II Coast.
- 1901-4 Robert F. Scott (Britain) spends three winters in first land exploration.
- 1903-5, 1908-10 Jean B. Charcot (France) surveys Palmer Peninsula; finds Charcot Island.
- 1908-9 Ernest Shackleton (Britain) finds Beardmore Glacier; goes 97 miles near pole. Edgeworth David, Douglas Mawson locate south magnetic pole.
- 1911 Roald Amundsen (Norway) first to reach South Pole.
- 1911-14 Douglas Mawson (Australia) explores Adélie Coast; finds Shackleton Ice Shelf, Queen Mary Coast.
- 1912 Robert F. Scott (Britain) reaches South Pole January 18 but perishes on return trip.
- 1928-30 Richard E. Byrd (U.S.), first to fly over South Pole (Nov. 29, 1929); builds Little America base on Bay of Whales.
- 1929 George Hubert Wilkins (Australia) proves Charcot Island an island.
- 1929 -31 Douglas Mawson (Australia) charts 300 miles of coast; claims Enderby Land for Australia.
- 1929-33 Hjalmar Riiser-Larsen (Norway) makes three expeditions; discovers areas in Queen Maud Land.
- 1933-35 Richard E. Byrd (U.S.) makes second expedition.
- 1935-36 Lincoln Ellsworth (U.S.) explores by air, claims 300,000 square miles (Ellsworth Highland) for U.S.
- 1938-39 Lincoln Ellsworth (U.S.), air expedition; claims 80,000 square miles (American Highland) for U.S.
- 1939-41 Richard E. Byrd (U.S.), third expedition; maps a large area south of Pacific Ocean.
- 1946-47 Richard E. Byrd (U.S.), fourth expedition; with Richard H. Cruzen lead Navy Operation High Jump; flies over South Pole again Feb. 16, 1947.
- 1947-48 Finn Ronne (U.S.) surveys coast southwest of Weddell Sea.
- 1948 Australia builds first permanent observation stations.
- 1955-56 Twelve nations set up bases for study during Inter-national Geophysical Year, 1957-58. A United States Navy airplane makes first landing at South Pole.
- 1957-58 Sir Vivian Fuchs (Britain) first to cross Antarctica by land.
- 1961 Icebreaker Glacier (U.S.) makes deepest penetration of Antarctica by sea.
- 1963 Southern Heritage Range of Ellsworth Highland found to be pure white marble.
- 1990 Six-man international expedition completes a 221-day, 3,700-mile trek across Antarctica, from west to east, using dogsleds.
- 1993 Erling Kagge of Norway travels 810 miles across Antarctica on foot alone to the South Pole.
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