1832-1901

Finnish Explorer and Scientist

Nils Adolf Nordenskiöld made a total of 10 voyages of exploration to the polar regions, exploring the areas around Greenland, Spitzbergen, and discovering the Northeast Passage from Europe to Asia. He later became a professor of mineralogy at the University of Stockholm and director of the Mineralogy Department at the Swedish Museum of Natural History. In his later years, Nordenskiöld studied the history of cartography, assembling a fine collection of maps of historical significance.

Nordenskiöld was born in Finland to a wealthy family. He attended the Royal Alexander University of Finland (now the University of Helsinki), graduating in geology and mineralogy. In 1858, he set out on his first voyage of exploration, the first of 10 that he would complete between 1858 and 1883.

At this time, Finland was still under Russian domination...