atoa. In 2012 an
1895 version sold for a record $119,922,500 at auction in New York
(AP, 12/10/03)(AP, 5/3/12)
1894-1895 Edvard Munch (1863-1944), Norwegian
artist, painted "Madonna." In 2004 it was stolen from the Oslo Munch
(WSJ, 8/24/04, p.D8)
1895 Mar 3, Ragnar Frisch,
economist (1st Nobel prize in economy-1969), was born in Norway.
1895 Mar 15, Fridtjof Nansen
and Hjalmar Johansen left their ship Fram in an attempt to reach the
North Pole by dogsled. [see Jun 17, 1896]
(ON, 7/05, p.5)
1895 Jul 12, Kirsten Flagstad,
Norwegian opera singer, was born.
1896 Jun 17, Fridtjof Nansen
and Hjalmar Johansen met up with English explorer Frederick Jackson
at Franz Joseph Land in the Arctic.
(ON, 7/05, p.5)
1896 Aug 20, Fridtjof Nansen
and Hjalmar Johansen arrived back in Norway following a 3 year
Arctic venture. In 1898 Nansen published “Farthest North," a
best-selling account of his adventure. In 1922 Nansen was awarded
the Nobel Prize for Peace.
(ON, 7/05, p.5)
1896 Jul 16, Trygve Lie, first
secretary-general of the United Nations (1946-52), was born in
(HN, 7/16/98)(MC, 7/16/02)
1896 Dec 10, Alfred Nobel (63),
Swedish Nobel Prize ceremony on this date, died. By the time of his
death Nobel had acquired a massive fortune. In his will, he left
instructions that the bulk of his estate should endow the annual
Nobel prizes for those who had most contributed to the areas of
physics, chemistry, medicine, literature and peace. In 1968, a sixth
award for economics was established [see Nov 27, 1895]. The
Nobel Peace Prize is therefore awarded on December 10. The first of
the Nobel Prizes was presented in 1901 according to instructions in
his will. At his death he was one of the richest men in the world,
he also felt it would be wrong to leave his fortune to relatives.
"Inherited wealth is a misfortune which merely serves to dull man's
faculties." Nobel wished the Peace Prize to be administered in
1896 Henrik Ibsen, Norwegian
playwright, authored “John Gabriel Borkman." This was Ibsen’s
1899 Feb 18, Sophus Lie
(b.1842), Norwegian mathematician, died.
1902 Apr 28, Johan Borgen,
Norwegian novelist, was born.
1902 Nov 1, Nordahl Brun Greig,
Norwegian writer, was born. He was a wartime hero during WWII.
1903 Jun 16, Roald Amundsen
(31) departed Christiana (later Oslo), Norway, aboard Gjøa with a
crew of 6 to search for the Northwest Passage. They reached
California in the fall of 1905.
(NG, 6/1988, p.765)(Ind, 4/27/02, 5A)
1903 Jul 2, Olav V, King of
Norway (1957), was born in England.
1903 Dec 9, The Norwegian
parliament voted unanimously for female suffrage.
1903 Dec 15, The British
Parliament placed a 15-year ban on whale fishing in Norway.
1905 Jun 7, Norway declared
independence from Sweden. Their union had been in effect in since
(SC, 6/7/02)(SSFC, 6/5/05, p.F7)
1905 Aug 19, Roald Amundsen and
his crew of 6 aboard Gjøe, a converted herring boat, made contact
with the US Coast Guard cutter Bear, which confirmed their crossing
the Northwest Passage following a 26-month journey. Amundsen
continued by dogsled to the Yukon while his crew completed their
journey at Point Bonita, California, just outside the Golden
(SFC, 4/17/00, p.D8)(WSJ, 4/18/00, p.A16)(Ind,
1905 Oct 26, Norway signed a
treaty of separation with Sweden and chose Prince Charles of Denmark
as the new king; he became King Haakon VII.
1905 Nov 18, The Norwegian
Parliament elected Prince Charles of Denmark to be the next King of
Norway. Prince Charles took the name Haakon VII.
1906 May 23, Henrik Ibsen (78),
Norwegian playwright and poet died in Christiania, Norway.
1906 Oct 19, The crew of Roald
Amundsen aboard Gjoe, a converted herring boat, arrived off the
coast of San Francisco following their crossing of the Northwest
Passage in a 26-month journey. The Gjoe was returned to Norway in
1972 and a commemorative sculpture was left next to the Beach Chalet
at Ocean Beach.
(SFC, 10/19/06, p.B1)(Ind, 4/27/02, 5A)
1907 Mar 7, Rolf Jacobsen,
Norwegian poet, was born.
1907 Jun 14, Women in Norway
won the right to vote.
1909 Jun 16, In San Francisco
the Gjoe, explorer Roald Amundsen’