Roald Amundsen was born July 16, 1872. Amundsen was a Norwegian polar explorer and a key figure of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. In 1903 he became the first person to traverse the Northwest Passage between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. He also led the first expedition to reach the South Pole in 1911, arriving 1 month ahead of Robert Scott’s ill-fated expedition. Amundsen disappeared on June 18, 1928 while flying on a rescue mission in the Arctic. His body was never recovered. He was 55 years old.