Strange interlude at Virgohamna, Danskøya, Svalbard, 1906: the merkelig mann, the engineer and the spy

  • P. J. Capelotti
  • Herman Van Dyk
  • Jean-Claude Cailliez

Abstract

Just over a century ago, the American journalist Walter Wellman first tried to reach the North Pole by airship. Despite the hoopla that surrounded the expedition, it was a fiasco and the attempt became a quirky and somewhat obscure episode in the history of polar exploration. In this issue of Polar Research, we present two complementary contributions about this event. The first paper, below, is a collaboration between Penn State University Abington College archaeologist P. J. Capelotti, engineer and airship historian Herman Van Dyk and Swiss aeronautical historian Jean-Claude Cailliez. It presents new data on the initial operations of Wellman’s attempt to reach the pole in 1906.

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Published
2007-03-01
How to Cite
Capelotti P. J., Van Dyk H., & Cailliez J.-C. (2007). Strange interlude at Virgohamna, Danskøya, Svalbard, 1906: the merkelig mann, the engineer and the spy. Polar Research, 26(1), 64-75. https://doi.org/10.3402/polar.v26i1.6208
Section
Biographical/historical essays