On December 17, 1926, “The Polar Legion” was founded at the Metropolitan Club in New York. The organization was described as one of “the most exclusive in the world,” with membership limited to those who had led an expedition to either the geographic North Pole or South Pole.
The Legion had only five members:
Roald Amundsen
Lincoln Ellsworth
Richard Byrd
Robert Peary
Robert Falcon Scott
Of these, only Amundsen, Ellsworth, and Byrd were alive when the organization was established.
Each member received a diploma and a badge featuring an oxidized polar bear reaching for a diamond. In “My Life as an Explorer”, Amundsen wrote about the membership: “Not least among the pleasant distinctions that have fallen to me do I count my membership in what is probably the most exclusive club in the world. This is the Polar Legion, originated on December 17, 1926, by Mr. Lincoln Ellsworth, Commander Richard E. Byrd, and myself.”📜
Although more individuals today would qualify for membership, the Legion’s roster was never expanded.
Amundsen’s badge as it’s appears today. In 2023 it was exhibited at Roald Amundsen’s House. Photo : Roald Amundsen’s House, MiA
The diploma is now part of the collection at the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo. Photo: KHM
Photograph from the founding meeting of “The Polar Legion.” Photo: Roald Amundsen’s Home, MiA / Private Collection
Portrait photograph of Benito Mussolini with a signed personal greeting to Roald Amundsen.
In April 1924, Amundsen was in Italy in connection with the planned expedition to cross the Arctic Ocean with two Dornier-Wal flying boats, which were being built under licence in Pisa. Amundsen met Mussolini in Milan, where he was presented with this photograph.
Amundsen and Mussolini also met in connection with the 1926 Norge expedition, but their relationship deteriorated markedly following Amundsen’s criticisms of Umberto Nobile and the other Italian crew members after the expedition.
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Mussolini’s portrait on display in Amundsen’s home. The date of this photograph is unknown, but the model of the Dornier flying boat still hangs from the living room ceiling. Photo: Follo museum, MiA.
I have constructed an automatic bearing device that I think will interest you. The device works completely independently and shows where it is on our globe at all times.
With such a device on board a Zeppelin, without a compass, and even if the Zeppelin never drifts that much with the weather and wind, or goes in curves, one will always know exactly how many degrees of longitude and latitude one is at.
The invention sounds somewhat incredible, but is, however, no more complicated than I can make the principle understandable by oral conference and demonstration.
As the invention is of great international interest, it will be difficult to bring it forward without it being stolen. As far as I can understand, it must be patented in all countries at the same time. If Dr. Eckener is to be trusted, it would interest me to get him or his company to finance it. I believe that the device will be of great importance for aviation, especially over the Arctic regions.
I am contacting you because I assume that you will be interested in having the invention presented so that you can use the device on your next polar expedition.
Lincoln Ellsworth testing the snowshoes before departure with the airship “Norge” in Ny-Ålesund in 1926. The picture still hangs in a study at Uranienborg.
Click to read more about Lincoln Ellsworth
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1872
Roald Amundsen born July 16
1880
Starts at Otto Andersen’s School
1886
Jens Engebreth Amundsen dies
1887 – 1889
Polar interest aroused
1890
Starting university
1893
Gustava Amundsen (née. Sahlqvist) dies
1893
Mountain ski tour with Urdahl and Holst
1894
Hunting in Arctic waters with the Magdalena
1895
Ship’s Officer’s exam
1896
Hardangervidda with Leon
1897 – 1899
Belgica expedition
1899
Cycling from Christiania to Paris
1900
Studying geomagnetism in Hamburg
1903 – 1906
Gjøa expedition
1907
Polar bears as draft animals
1908
Amundsen buys Uranienborg
1909
The North Pole reached?
1910 – 1912
Fram expedition
1914
Amundsen becomes a pilot
1916 – 1917
The polar ship Maud is being built
1918
Maud expedition
1922
Nita and Camilla move in
1923
Uranienborg for sale
1924
Amundsen goes bankrupt
1925
To 88 degrees north
1926
Norge expedition
1926
Photo, Lincoln Ellsworth testing snowshoes
1927
Lecture tour in Japan
1928
Latham flight
1934 – 1935
Uranienborg becomes a museum
1938
Betty’s house burns down
2015
A chest full of photographs is discovered
2020
Roald Amundsen’s home goes digital
1926 Norge expedition
The story of the Norge expedition will appear here soon.
In the meantime, you can explore our resources related to this expedition.
Relief in leather of the airship, Norge. Still hanging in the office at Uranienborg.
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Click on the logo to explore the photograph.
1872
Roald Amundsen born July 16
1880
Starts at Otto Andersen’s School
1886
Jens Engebreth Amundsen dies
1887 – 1889
Polar interest aroused
1890
Starting university
1893
Gustava Amundsen (née. Sahlqvist) dies
1893
Mountain ski tour with Urdahl and Holst
1894
Hunting in Arctic waters with the Magdalena
1895
Ship’s Officer’s exam
1896
Hardangervidda with Leon
1897 – 1899
Belgica expedition
1899
Cycling from Christiania to Paris
1900
Studying geomagnetism in Hamburg
1903 – 1906
Gjøa expedition
1907
Polar bears as draft animals
1908
Amundsen buys Uranienborg
1909
The North Pole reached?
1910 – 1912
Fram expedition
1914
Amundsen becomes a pilot
1916 – 1917
The polar ship Maud is being built
1918
Maud expedition
1922
Nita and Camilla move in
1923
Uranienborg for sale
1924
Amundsen goes bankrupt
1925
To 88 degrees north
1926
Norge expedition
1926
Relief in leather, the airship Norway
1927
Lecture tour in Japan
1928
Latham flight
1934 – 1935
Uranienborg becomes a museum
1938
Betty’s house burns down
2015
A chest full of photographs is discovered
2020
Roald Amundsen’s home goes digital
Picture, child and the airship Norge
Objectnumber: RA 0299
Width photograph: 18.0 cm
Height photograph: 23.5 cm
Width frame: 20.0 cm
Height frame: 24.5 cm
Depth frame: 1.5 cm Materials: glass, wood, paper Signature: Fru Groth
This image of a child holding the airship Norge on a line, hangs in the office at Uranienborg. The history related to this motive is unknown today, so please let us know if you have any information.
We do not know on which expedition these mittens were used. However, they are similar to the those used by Roald Amundsen and the crew during the Norge-expedition across the Arctic Ocean in 1926.
Amundsen with sealskin mittens on board Norge on the flight across the Arctic ocean. Photo: The Norwegian Polar Institute/ National Library in Norway.
Ellsworth waving goodbye before the flight begins. Photo: The Norwegian Polar Institute/ National Library in Norway.
Nobile and Ellsworth on board the Norge. Photo: The Norwegian Polar Institute/ National Library in Norway.
Hjalmar Riiser-Larsen using a sextant during the flight across the Arctic Ocean. Photo: The Norwegian Polar Institute/ National Library in Norway.
The carvings on this walrus tusk, according to the myth, tell a story about hunting traditions in the Arctic. The tusk was most likely given to Amundsen by the local population in Teller, Alaska when the airship Norge landed there after the voyage across the Arctic Ocean in 1926. The tusk is now part of a private collection.
These snowshoes belonged to the American, Lincoln Ellsworth. They were part of his gear used on the 1926 expedition with the airship Norge. The snowshoes were manufactured by Abercrombie & Fitch Co. in New York, which was a major supplier of expedition equipment at that time.
Roald Amundsen’s snowshoes from the Norge-expedition are today a part of the collection of The National Nordic Museum, Seattle, USA.
Ellsworth using the snowshoes before the departure with the airship Norge, 1926. Photo: The Norwegian Polar Institute/ National Library
Ellsworth carrying the snowshoes on board the airship Norge, 1926. Photo: The Norwegian Polar Institute/ National Library
