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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belgian Antarctic Expedition | 2/2 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgian_Antarctic_Expedition | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T12:38:11.853113+00:00 | kb-cron |
== Reception == In Antwerp, the return of the expedition was heartily welcomed. A special committee had been planning the festivities for months. Typical for polar expeditions in this age, feelings of national and regional pride surrounded the homecoming celebrations. On the day they first set foot on Belgian soil again, La Brabançonne sounded and the national flag was seen waving from many houses. The Belgian state honored de Gerlache and his men by making them members of the Royal Order of Leopold, and the municipal government of Antwerp honored the men with medals and by writing their names in the Golden Book of the city.
== Personnel ==
The expedition team included many notable individuals:
Adrien de Gerlache – Belgian – commander Georges Lecointe – Belgian – captain, executive officer, and hydrographer Roald Amundsen – Norwegian – first mate Henri Somers – Belgian – chief engineer Frederick Cook – American – surgeon, anthropologist, and photographer Henryk Arctowski – Polish – geologist, oceanographer, and meteorologist Émile Danco – Belgian – geophysical observations; died on June 5, 1898, from heart problems and exhaustion Emil Racoviță – Romanian – zoologist, botanist, and speleologist Antoni Bolesław Dobrowolski – Polish – assistant meteorologist Jules Melaerts – Belgian – third lieutenant Max Van Rysselberghe – Belgian – second engineer Louis Michotte – Belgian – steward and cook Adam Tollefsen – Norwegian – able seaman; suffered a mental breakdown during the expedition and had to be committed to a mental institution on his return Ludvig-Hjalmar Johansen – Norwegian – able seaman Engebret Knudsen – Norwegian – able seaman Gustave-Gaston Dufour – Belgian – able seaman Jan Van Mirlo – Belgian – able seaman Carl August Wiencke – Norwegian – able seaman; washed overboard and drowned on January 22, 1898, on the way to Antarctica. Wiencke Island was named in his honor. Johan Koren – Norwegian – cabin boy and assistant zoologist Koren brought on board Nansen, the ship's cat, named after Fridtjof Nansen. She died on 22 June 1898, and was buried in the Antarctic. Personnel resigned or let go:
Johansen – Norwegian – boatswain; resigned on 22 August 1897 Julliksen – Norwegian – carpenter; resigned on 22 August 1897 Josef Duvivier – Belgian – mechanic; fired on 26 October 1897 in Rio de Janeiro, rehired in Montevideo, fired again in Punta Arenas due to incompetence Lemonier – French – cook; fired on 13 November 1897, due to insubordination Jan Van Damme – Belgian – sailor; fired on 11 December 1897, due to insubordination Maurice Warzee – Belgian – sailor; fired on 11 December 1897, due to insubordination Frans Dom – Belgian – sailor; fired on 11 December 1897, due to insubordination Roald Amundsen - Norwegian - first mate; while he completed the voyage, he technically resigned from his position as officer of the ship. On November 14, 1898, he announced his resignation to Commander de Gerlache, and did so again in writing on November 19. Despite having technically resigned, he continued to perform his duties and reside in officer's quarters.
== See also ==
Belgian Antarctic Program Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration List of Antarctic expeditions
== Footnotes ==
== Bibliography ==
Lecointe, G., C. Kaiser and H. Goldfine (translation), In the Land of the Penguins (Erskine 2020)