Rasmussen Expedition Headquarters, "Danish Island"

Summary

Still under construction is a wooden house at the headquarters of the Rasmussen expedition at "Danish Island", Lyon Inlet, Melville Peninsula, Northwest Territories (now known as Nunavut, Canada) in the Canadian Arctic. Tents have been erected on the snow beside some open water. Several men and a dog are visible.

Subject

• Rasmussen, Knud 1879-1933
• Thule Expedition (5th : 1921-1924) Report of the Fifth Thule Expedition, 1921-24

Category

Historic Images of the Smithsonian

Notes

• Born in Greenland of a Danish missionary father and an Inuit mother, Knud Johan Victor Rasmussen, 1879-1933, was a Danish arctic explorer and ethnologist, who between 1921 and 1924, led a small band of colleagues in a journey of investigation across arctic North America from Hudson Bay to the Bering Strait. In 1910, he established his Thule station at Cape York, Greenland, the base for seven expeditions, five led by Rasmussen himself. Rasmussen was an excellent explorer, interpreter, and translator. He documented many Inuit legends that may have gone unnoticed without him. His work helped future explorers and he is remembered as the first man to cross the Northwest Passage by dog sled. He made a visit in 1924 to Washington, D.C., with several of his expedition companions. The visit was documented by Science Service, a news service established in 1920, which also publicized his expeditions.
• For additional pictures of the Fifth Thule Arctic Expedition, see 2005-8623, 2005-8625, 2005-8626, 2005-8627, 2005-8628, 2005-8629, 2005-8630, 2005-8631, 2005-8632, 2005-8633, 2005-8634, 2005-8635, 2005-8636, 2005-8638, 2005-8639, 2005-8640, 2005-8641, and 2005-8642.
• For additional pictures of Rasmussen's 1924 visit to Washington, D.C., see 2005-8624, 2005-8643, 2005-8644, 2005-8645, 2005-8646, 2002-8647, 2005-8648, 2005-8649, 2005-8651, 2005-8652, 2005-8654, 2005-8656, and 2005-8657.

Contained within

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Science Service Records, Record Unit 7091, Box 409, Folder 2

Contact information

Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu

Date

1924

Restrictions & Rights

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Science Service Photographs

Topic

• Description and travel
• Explorers
• Scientific expeditions
• Architecture
• Snow
• Sled dogs
• Bays
• Camps
• Landscapes
• Animals
• Equipment
• Winter
• Dogs
• Construction (Buildings)
• Expeditions
• Camping
• Peninsulas
• Canada
• Camping--Equipment and supplies

Place

• Northwest Territories
• Canada
• Nunavut
• Danish Island (Can.)
• Hudson Bay
• Melville Peninsula (Nunavut)

Form/Genre

• Photographic print
• Landscape

ID Number

2005-8636

Physical description

Number of Images: 1; Color: Black and white; Size: 10w x 8h; Type of Image: Landscape; Medium: Photographic print

Full Record

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