Jens Engebreth Amundsen was a significant Norwegian

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 ship-owner in the second half of the 19th century. He was the father of the explorer Roald Amundsen

Roald Amundsen

Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He led the first Antarctic expedition to reach the South Pole between 1910 and 1912 and he was the first person to reach both the North and South Poles. He is also known as the first to traverse the Northwest Passage....

.

Jens Amundsen was born in Snekotta, Hvaler

Hvaler

Hvaler is a municipality that is a group of islands in the southwestern part of Østfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Skjærhalden, on the island of Kirkeøy. The only police station in the municipality is located in Skjærhalden...

, Østfold

Østfold

is a county in southeastern Norway, bordering Akershus and southwestern Sweden , while Buskerud and Vestfold is on the other side of the bay. The seat of the county administration is Sarpsborg, and Fredrikstad is the largest city.Many manufacturing facilities are situated here. Moss and...

, the son of Ole and Anne Kirstine Amundsen. His family had been involved in shipping and were owners of whalers. He was married to Gustava Sahl Quist and became the father of four sons. In 1857, he built a home for his family on an area of land in Borge

Borge, Østfold

Borge is a parish and former municipality in Østfold county, Norway.-History:The parish of Borge was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 . The district of Torsnes was separated from Borge as a municipality of its own January 1, 1910. The split left Borge with a population of 6,466...

 in Østfold

Østfold

is a county in southeastern Norway, bordering Akershus and southwestern Sweden , while Buskerud and Vestfold is on the other side of the bay. The seat of the county administration is Sarpsborg, and Fredrikstad is the largest city.Many manufacturing facilities are situated here. Moss and...

. Jens Amundsen became ill and died in 1886 upon a return journey from Great Britain

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

, at which time his famous son, Roald was only 14 years old ;).

Other sources

• Bomann-Larsen, Tor (1995) Roald Amundsen en biografi (Oslo: Cappelen) ISBN 978-8202176471
• Arnesen, Odd (1929) Roald Amundsen som han var (Gyldendal Norsk Forlag)