Google Doodle Celebrates Legendary Adventurer Fridtjof Nansen’s 156th Birthday

Correction appended, Oct. 10, 2017

Google is honoring the 156th birthday of Fridtjof Nansen, the famed Norwegian explorer who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1922 for his work helping prisoners of war and starving people, with its Google Doodle on Tuesday.

Nansen, born in Oslo, in 1861, studied zoology at the Royal Frederick University. That same year, he became the first person to lead an expedition across the snow-capped interior of Greenland. Although he failed to reach the North Pole, he became internationally famous for venturing farther north in latitude than any explorer before him.

In 1922, Nansen became the first High Commissioner for Refugees appointed by the League of Nations. His work on behalf of prisoners of war following the First World War as well as his humanitarian relief work in the Soviet Union helped earn him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1922.

Along with the League of Nations, Nansen helped provide ‘Nansen passports’ to stateless refugees, allowing them to emigrate and resettle in the early 20th century. “Fridtjof Nansen began his career by shattering the boundaries of human exploration, and he brought the same courage and tenacity to his fight to support refugees,” Google wrote in a statement about the Doodle.

Past Google Doodles from Oct. 10 have included the birthday of intellectual Francisco Giner de los Ríos, the 50th anniversary of Japan’s annual Health and Sports Day, bel canto soprano Leyla Gencer’s birthday and Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi’s birthday.

Correction: The original version of this story misstated when Nansen became the first High Commissioner for Refugees appointed by the League of Nations. It was in 1922, not 1992.