1842-1915

Austrian explorer who made discoveries in the Russian Arctic and Greenland. Payer graduated with honors from the military academy, becoming an officer in the Austrian army. At the age of 27 he joined an unsuccessful German attempt to reach the North Pole, trying again the following year with a similar lack of success. He subsequently joined or led several successful expeditions to the Russian Arctic and Greenland, culminating in 1912 with a submarine expedition to the Arctic.