Peter Freuchen
Encyclopedia
Peter Freuchen, born Lorenz Peter Elfred Freuchen (February 2, 1886 - September 2, 1957) was a Danish
explorer, author, journalist and anthropologist.
, Denmark. His father was Lorentz Benzon Freuchen (1859–1927), a Danish Jew
, and his mother was Anne Petrine Frederikke Rasmussen (1862–1945).
Freuchen married three times. First, in 1911, to Navarana Mequpaluk (d. 1921), an Inuit
woman who died in the Spanish Flu epidemic after bearing two children (a boy named Mequsaq Avataq Igimaqssusuktoranguapaluk (1916 - c. 1962) and a girl named Pipaluk Jette Tukuminguaq Kasaluk Palika Hager (1918–1999)). His second marriage, in 1924, to Magdalene Vang Lauridsen (1881–1960) was dissolved in 1944. Lastly, in 1945, he married Dagmar Cohn (b. 1907). Freuchen's grandson, Peter Freuchen Ittinuar
, was the first Inuk in Canada to be elected as an MP, and represented the electoral district
of Nunatsiaq
in the Canadian House of Commons from 1979 to 1984.
Freuchen's Danish island estate was named Enehoje.
, Greenland
, living with the Polar Inuit. He worked with Knud Rasmussen, crossing the Greenland icecap
with him. In 1935, Freuchen visited South Africa
, and by the end of the decade, he had travelled to Siberia
.
In 1910, Knud Rasmussen and Peter Freuchen established the Thule Trading Station at Cape York
(Uummannaq
), Greenland, as a trading base. The name Thule was chosen because it was the most northerly trading post in the world, literally the "Ultima Thule
". Thule Trading Station became the home base for a series of seven expeditions, known as the Thule Expeditions
, between 1912 and 1933.
The First Thule Expedition (1912, Rasmussen and Freuchen) aimed to test Robert Peary
's claim that a channel divided Peary Land
from Greenland. They proved this was not the case in a remarkable 1000 km (621.4 mi) journey across the inland ice that almost killed them. Clements Markham
, president of the Royal Geographical Society
, called the journey the "finest ever performed by dogs." Freuchen wrote personal accounts of this journey (and others) in 'Vagrant Viking' (1953) and 'I Sailed with Rasmussen' (1958). He states in 'Vagrant Viking' that only one other dogsled trip across Greenland was ever successful.
While in Denmark Freuchen and Rasmussen held a series of lectures about their expeditions and the Inuit culture
.
Freuchen's first wife, Mekupaluk, who took the name Navarana, followed him on several expeditions. When she died he wanted her buried in the old church graveyard in Upernavik
. The church refused to perform the burial, because Navarana was not baptized, so Freuchen buried her himself. Knud Rasmussen later used the name Navarana for the lead role in the movie "Palos Brudefærd" which was filmed in East Greenland in 1933. Freuchen strongly criticized the Christian church which sent missionaries among the Inuit without understanding their culture and traditions.
When Freuchen returned to Denmark in the 1920s he joined the Social Democrats
and contributed with articles in the newspaper Politiken. He was also the leader of a movie company.
In 1932 Freuchen returned to Greenland. This time the expedition was financed by the American Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
film-studios.
He was also employed by the film industry
as a consultant and scriptwriter, specializing in Arctic
-related scripts. Most notably MGM's Oscar winning Eskimo/Mala The Magnificent
starring Ray Mala
. In 1956, he won $64,000 on The $64,000 Question, an American TV quiz-show on the subject "The Seven Seas".
In 1938 he founded The Adventurer's Club (Eventyrernes Klub in Danish), which still exists. They later honoured his memory by planting an oak tree and creating an Eskimo
cairn near the place, where he left Denmark for Greenland in 1906. (It is situated east of Langeliniebroen in central Copenhagen
and not far from the statue
of The Little Mermaid
).
During World War II
, Freuchen was actively involved with the Danish resistance movement
against the Germans
, despite having lost a leg to frostbite
in 1926. He was imprisoned by the Germans, and was sentenced to death, but he managed to escape and flee to Sweden. He later moved to the USA.
As he related in 'Vagrant Viking', he was friends with the royal families of Scandinavia and other countries, and his movie work in New York and Hollywood brought him into the 'royalty' of moving pictures and the political world of Washington, D.C. He was truly an adventurer of the first order.
, and maintained a second home in Noank, Connecticut
.
The preface of his last work, Book of the Seven Seas, is dated August 30, 1957, in Noank. He died of a heart attack three days later in Elmendorf, Alaska
. After his death, his ashes were scattered on the famous table-shaped Thule Mountain near the USAF
base.
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
explorer, author, journalist and anthropologist.
Biography
Freuchen was born in Nykøbing FalsterNykøbing Falster
Nykøbing Falster is a southern Danish city, seat of the Guldborgsund kommune. It belongs to Region Sjælland. The city lies on Falster, connected by the 295-meter-long Frederick IX Bridge over the Guldborgsund waterway to the island of Lolland. The town has a population of 16,464...
, Denmark. His father was Lorentz Benzon Freuchen (1859–1927), a Danish Jew
History of the Jews in Denmark
The Jewish community of Denmark constitutes a small minority with a known history back to the 17th century.-Origins:Medieval Danish art contains depictions of Jews – visibly wearing pointed hats – but there is no evidence any Jews actually lived in Denmark during that time...
, and his mother was Anne Petrine Frederikke Rasmussen (1862–1945).
Freuchen married three times. First, in 1911, to Navarana Mequpaluk (d. 1921), an Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
woman who died in the Spanish Flu epidemic after bearing two children (a boy named Mequsaq Avataq Igimaqssusuktoranguapaluk (1916 - c. 1962) and a girl named Pipaluk Jette Tukuminguaq Kasaluk Palika Hager (1918–1999)). His second marriage, in 1924, to Magdalene Vang Lauridsen (1881–1960) was dissolved in 1944. Lastly, in 1945, he married Dagmar Cohn (b. 1907). Freuchen's grandson, Peter Freuchen Ittinuar
Peter Ittinuar
Peter Freuchen K. Ittinuar is a Canadian politician. He was the first Inuk in Canada to be elected as an MP, and represented the electoral district of Nunatsiaq in the Canadian House of Commons from 1979 to 1984....
, was the first Inuk in Canada to be elected as an MP, and represented the electoral district
Electoral district (Canada)
An electoral district in Canada, also known as a constituency or a riding, is a geographical constituency upon which Canada's representative democracy is based...
of Nunatsiaq
Nunavut (electoral district)
Nunavut is a federal electoral district in Nunavut, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1997. Nunatsiaq, its predecessor that covered the same area, was a federal electoral district in Northwest Territories, that was represented in the House of Commons from 1979...
in the Canadian House of Commons from 1979 to 1984.
Freuchen's Danish island estate was named Enehoje.
Career
He spent many years in ThuleQaanaaq
Qaanaaq is the main town in the northern part of the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland. It is one of the northernmost towns in the world. The inhabitants of Qaanaaq speak the West Greenlandic language and many also speak Inuktun. The town has a population of 626 as of 2010...
, Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
, living with the Polar Inuit. He worked with Knud Rasmussen, crossing the Greenland icecap
Greenland ice sheet
The Greenland ice sheet is a vast body of ice covering , roughly 80% of the surface of Greenland. It is the second largest ice body in the world, after the Antarctic Ice Sheet. The ice sheet is almost long in a north-south direction, and its greatest width is at a latitude of 77°N, near its...
with him. In 1935, Freuchen visited South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, and by the end of the decade, he had travelled to Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
.
In 1910, Knud Rasmussen and Peter Freuchen established the Thule Trading Station at Cape York
Cape York (Greenland)
Cape York is a cape on the northwestern coast of Greenland, in northern Baffin Bay. The cape, located west-south-west of the Savissivik settlement, delimits the northwestern end of Melville Bay, with the other end commonly defined as Wilcox Head, the western promontory on Kiatassuaq Island.-...
(Uummannaq
Uummannaq
Uummannaq is a town in the Qaasuitsup municipality, in northwestern Greenland. With 1,299 inhabitants as of 2010, it is the eleventh-largest town in Greenland, and is home to the country's most northerly ferry terminal...
), Greenland, as a trading base. The name Thule was chosen because it was the most northerly trading post in the world, literally the "Ultima Thule
Thule
Thule Greek: Θούλη, Thoulē), also spelled Thula, Thila, or Thyïlea, is, in classical European literature and maps, a region in the far north. Though often considered to be an island in antiquity, modern interpretations of what was meant by Thule often identify it as Norway. Other interpretations...
". Thule Trading Station became the home base for a series of seven expeditions, known as the Thule Expeditions
Cartographic expeditions to Greenland
....
, between 1912 and 1933.
The First Thule Expedition (1912, Rasmussen and Freuchen) aimed to test Robert Peary
Robert Peary
Robert Edwin Peary, Sr. was an American explorer who claimed to have been the first person, on April 6, 1909, to reach the geographic North Pole...
's claim that a channel divided Peary Land
Peary Land
Peary Land is a peninsula in northern Greenland, extending into the Arctic Ocean. It reaches from Victoria Fjord in the west to Independence Fjord in the south and southeast, and to the Arctic Ocean in the north, with Cape Morris Jesup, the northernmost point of Greenland's mainland, and Cape...
from Greenland. They proved this was not the case in a remarkable 1000 km (621.4 mi) journey across the inland ice that almost killed them. Clements Markham
Clements Markham
Sir Clements Robert Markham KCB FRS was an English geographer, explorer, and writer. He was secretary of the Royal Geographical Society between 1863 and 1888, and later served as the Society's president for a further 12 years...
, president of the Royal Geographical Society
Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...
, called the journey the "finest ever performed by dogs." Freuchen wrote personal accounts of this journey (and others) in 'Vagrant Viking' (1953) and 'I Sailed with Rasmussen' (1958). He states in 'Vagrant Viking' that only one other dogsled trip across Greenland was ever successful.
While in Denmark Freuchen and Rasmussen held a series of lectures about their expeditions and the Inuit culture
Inuit culture
Inuit describes the various groups of indigenous peoples who live in the central and northeastern Canadian Arctic, as well as in Greenland. The term culture of the Inuit, therefore, refers primarily to these areas; however, parallels to other Eskimo groups can also be drawn.The traditional...
.
Freuchen's first wife, Mekupaluk, who took the name Navarana, followed him on several expeditions. When she died he wanted her buried in the old church graveyard in Upernavik
Upernavik
Upernavik is a small town in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland, located on a small island of the same name. With 1,129 inhabitants as of 2010, it is the thirteenth-largest town in Greenland. Due to the small size of the settlement, everything is within walking distance...
. The church refused to perform the burial, because Navarana was not baptized, so Freuchen buried her himself. Knud Rasmussen later used the name Navarana for the lead role in the movie "Palos Brudefærd" which was filmed in East Greenland in 1933. Freuchen strongly criticized the Christian church which sent missionaries among the Inuit without understanding their culture and traditions.
When Freuchen returned to Denmark in the 1920s he joined the Social Democrats
Social Democrats (Denmark)
The Social Democrats , is a Danish political party committed to the political ideology of social democracy. It is the major coalition partner in Denmark's government since the 2011 parliamentary election, and party leader Helle Thorning-Schmidt is the current Prime Minister of Denmark...
and contributed with articles in the newspaper Politiken. He was also the leader of a movie company.
In 1932 Freuchen returned to Greenland. This time the expedition was financed by the American Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
film-studios.
He was also employed by the film industry
Film industry
The film industry consists of the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking: i.e. film production companies, film studios, cinematography, film production, screenwriting, pre-production, post production, film festivals, distribution; and actors, film directors and other film crew...
as a consultant and scriptwriter, specializing in Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
-related scripts. Most notably MGM's Oscar winning Eskimo/Mala The Magnificent
Eskimo (film)
Eskimo was a 1933 film directed by W.S. Van Dyke. It was the first major studio film made in Alaska, and starred Ray Mala, a half-Inupiat actor, and was one of the first dramatic films to use a nearly all-native cast. In 1934, it received the first Academy Award for Best Film Editing, awarded to...
starring Ray Mala
Ray Mala
Ray Mala was the first Native American movie star and is the most prolific film star that the state of Alaska has thus far produced. Ray Mala was recently named a "Top Ten Alaskan" by TIME Magazine...
. In 1956, he won $64,000 on The $64,000 Question, an American TV quiz-show on the subject "The Seven Seas".
In 1938 he founded The Adventurer's Club (Eventyrernes Klub in Danish), which still exists. They later honoured his memory by planting an oak tree and creating an Eskimo
Eskimo
Eskimos or Inuit–Yupik peoples are indigenous peoples who have traditionally inhabited the circumpolar region from eastern Siberia , across Alaska , Canada, and Greenland....
cairn near the place, where he left Denmark for Greenland in 1906. (It is situated east of Langeliniebroen in central Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
and not far from the statue
The Little Mermaid (statue)
The statue of The Little Mermaid sits on a rock in the harbour of the capital of Denmark. Based on a tale by Hans Christian Andersen, the small and unimposing statue is a Copenhagen icon and a major tourist attraction....
of The Little Mermaid
The Little Mermaid
"The Little Mermaid" is a popular fairy tale by the Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen about a young mermaid willing to give up her life in the sea and her identity as a mermaid to gain a human soul and the love of a human prince...
).
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Freuchen was actively involved with the Danish resistance movement
Danish resistance movement
The Danish resistance movement was an underground insurgency movement to resist the German occupation of Denmark during World War II. Due to the unusually lenient terms given to Danish people by the Nazi occupation authority, the movement was slower to develop effective tactics on a wide scale...
against the Germans
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
, despite having lost a leg to frostbite
Frostbite
Frostbite is the medical condition where localized damage is caused to skin and other tissues due to extreme cold. Frostbite is most likely to happen in body parts farthest from the heart and those with large exposed areas...
in 1926. He was imprisoned by the Germans, and was sentenced to death, but he managed to escape and flee to Sweden. He later moved to the USA.
As he related in 'Vagrant Viking', he was friends with the royal families of Scandinavia and other countries, and his movie work in New York and Hollywood brought him into the 'royalty' of moving pictures and the political world of Washington, D.C. He was truly an adventurer of the first order.
Later years
Freuchen and his wife Dagmar, a fashion illustrator, lived in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and maintained a second home in Noank, Connecticut
Noank, Connecticut
Noank is a village and census-designated place in the town of Groton in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 1,830 at the 2000 census...
.
The preface of his last work, Book of the Seven Seas, is dated August 30, 1957, in Noank. He died of a heart attack three days later in Elmendorf, Alaska
Elmendorf Air Force Base
Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson is a United States military facility adjacent to Anchorage, the largest city in Alaska. It is an amalgamation of the former United States Air Force Elmendorf Air Force Base and the United States Army Fort Richardson, which were merged in 2010.-Overview:The...
. After his death, his ashes were scattered on the famous table-shaped Thule Mountain near the USAF
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
base.
Affiliations
- Member, Royal Danish Geographical SocietyRoyal Danish Geographical SocietyRoyal Danish Geographical Society is a scientific society aimed at furthering the knowledge of the Earth and its inhabitants and to disseminate the interest in the science of geography....
- Fellow, American Geographical SocietyAmerican Geographical SocietyThe American Geographical Society is an organization of professional geographers, founded in 1851 in New York City. Most fellows of the society are Americans, but among them have always been a significant number of fellows from around the world...
.
Literary prizes
- 1938 Sophus Michaëlis' Legat
- 1954 Herman Bangs Mindelegat
- 1955 Kaptajn H.C. Lundgreens Legat
Works
- Grønland, land og folk, 1927 (Travelbook) Freuchen's first book
- Storfanger, 1927 (Novel)
- Rømningsmand, 1928 (novel)
- Nordkaper, 1929 - The Sea Tyrant (novel)
- Ivalu, 1930 - Ivalu, the Eskimo Wife - suomennettu (novel)
- Knud Rasmussen. Mindeudgave. 3 vol, 1934 (Peter Freuchen, Therkel MathiassenTherkel MathiassenTherkel Mathiassen was an archaeologist, anthropologist, cartographer, and ethnographer notable for his scientific study of the Arctic....
and Kaj Birket-Smith) - Flugten til Sydamerika, 1935 (Memories)
- "Arctic Adventure: My Life in the Frozen North", Farrar & Rinehart, New York, Toronto, Copyright 1935.
- Min grønlandske ungdom, 1936 and 1953 (Memories)
- Nuoruuteni Grönlannissa (Memories)
- Min anden ungdom, 1938 (Memories)
- Sibiriske eventyr, 1939 (Memories)
- Diamantdronningen, 1941 (novel)
- Hvid mand, 1943 - White Man - Valkoinen mies eskimoiden parissa (novel)
- Eskimofortællinger, 1944 (novel)
- Solfjeld, 1944 (novel)
- Larions lov, 1948 - The Law of Larion (novel about the inland Indians along the Yukon river)
- Eskimodrengen Ivik, 1949 - Eskimopoika Ivik (novel)
- Nigger-Dan, 1951 (novel)
- I al frimodighed 1953 (Memories)
- "Ice Floes and Flaming Water", 1954
- I all uppriktighet", 1954 (Memories)
- Vagrant Viking, 1954 (Memories)
- Fremdeles frimodig, 1955
- Fortfarende uppriktig"´, 1956 og 1960 (Memories)
- Fangsmænd i Melville-bugten, 1956 - Pyyntimiehiä Melville lahdella (novel)
- Fra Thule til Rio, 1957 (Memories)
- "Peter Freuchen's Book of the Seven Seas", Julian Messner, Inc., New York, Copyright 1957.
- Peter Freuchens bog om de syv have, 1959 (Documentary)
- "The Arctic Year", G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York, Copyright 1958. (Peter Freuchen and Finn SalomonsenFinn SalomonsenFinn Salomonsen was a Danish ornithologist. He is best known for his work on the birds of Greenland.His interest in Greenland began at the age of 16 when he made a trip with Lehn Schioler to the Upernavik District. He obtained a degree in zoology in 1932 and joined as a zoological assistant in the...
) - "I Sailed with Rasmussen, 1958 (Documentary)
- Hvalfangerne, 1959 (novel)
- "Peter Freuchen's Adventures in the Arctic", Julian Messner, Inc., New York, Copyright 1960. (Edited by Dagmar Freuchen)
- Det arktiske år, 1961 - Arctic Year (Documentary)
- "Peter Freuchen's Book of the Eskimos", Peter Freuchen Estate. Cleveland Ohio, Copyright 1961.- (Edited by Dagmar Freuchen)
- Erindringer, 1963 - (Edited by Dagmar Freuchen)
External links
- Peter Freuchen on litteraturpriser.dk (Danish)
- Peter Freuchen (Danish)