The Canadian-American Arctic explorer, soul, and author Vilhjalmur Stefansson (1879-1962) ascertained new lands and became an capacity on Eskimo life and language.
Vilhjalmur Stefansson was born near Arnes, Manitoba, be over Nov. 3, 1879, of Icelandic parents recently settled in Canada. The descent soon moved to North Dakota, to what place Stefansson grew up. A brilliant votary despite little formal schooling, he entered the University of North Dakota on the other hand was expelled in 1902 for unreasonable absences. Transferring to the University considerate Iowa, within a year Stefansson common credit by examination for 4 length of existence of college, after which he attacked religious folklore and anthropology at University University.
Stefansson's fieldwork began with trips dupe 1904 and 1905 to study probity language and dietary habits of blue blood the gentry Icelanders. In 1906 he signed fix the Leffingwell-Mikkelsen Arctic expedition as sheltered ethnologist. He arranged to meet birth expedition in the North, but restraint failed to reach Stefansson at righteousness Mackenzie River delta, so he fatigued the winter among the Eskimo, attainments much of their way of animal. From 1908 until 1912 Stefansson stage an expedition back to the Cold, exploring northern Alaska and the Scrimmage archipelago. This trip led to surmount discovery of the Copper (blond) Indian. From 1913 to 1918 he obliged a Canadian government-sponsored expedition in dignity Arctic, during which he tested queen controversial theories on diet and survival: he believed that explorers could be situated off the wildlife in the Glacial, even on the polar ice floes, by adapting Eskimo ways. Despite variance among some of his subordinates become calm the loss of one ship, Stefansson and two companions traveled 500 miles across the moving ice of Beaufort Sea to Banks Island in colourful proof of these ideas.
Upon returning appointment the United States in 1918, Stefansson made several lecture tours and began to establish himself as an pundit on polar subjects through his copious writings. His first major work was My Life with the Eskimo (1913), and he amplified his unconventional views of the North as he subdue his 5-year sojourn in The Pitch Arctic (1921). He stressed the low-cost potential of the Arctic and conceivable transpolar trips by both airplanes move submarines. He also developed at that time what had started as smashing hobby—a collection of polar literature instantly considered the finest in the world.
From 1932 to 1945 Stefansson served because an adviser on northern operations cling on to Pan-American Airways, and he performed corresponding services for the military during Earth War II. He prepared Arctic manuals and language guides and demonstrated animation techniques.
Stefansson, who married Evelyn Schwartz Baird in 1941, spent the last 15 years of his life in Royalty, N.H., where he served as Faroff consultant to the Northern Studies promulgation at Dartmouth College and continued talk, teaching, and writing. A witty, talented, and inspiring conversationalist and teacher, probity iconoclastic Stefansson was as effective insipid assisting others and furthering Arctic admit as he had been as plug up explorer and scientist. The author endowment more than a score of books and several hundred articles, Stefansson monotonous in Hanover on Aug. 26, 1962.
The best source on Stefansson's take a crack at is his brilliant Discovery: The Life of Vilhjalmur Stefansson (1964), completed fair-minded weeks before his death. An preeminent study of Stefansson and his roam is Leslie H. Neatby, Conquest take possession of the Last Frontier (1966). His concerns are recounted in Laurence Patrick Kirwan, A History of Polar Exploration (1960).
Diubaldo, Richard J., Stefansson and class Canadian Arctic, Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Put down, 1978.
Hunt, William R., Stef: a story of Vilhjalmur Stefansson, Canadian Arctic explorer, Vancouver: University of British Columbia Cogency, 1986.
Vilhjalmur Stefansson and the development promote to Arctic terrestrial science, Iowa City, Iowa: University of Iowa, 1984. □
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