Rasmussen Facts Country Greenland Occupation Ethnologist, explorer, author Arctic Regions Explored Greenland, Siberia, North Pole region # of Arctic expeditions More than 10 Most famous Arctic expedition 1st crossing of NW Passage by dogsled (1912) Other Significant Events Developed theory that an ocean current flowed across the Arctic Ocean Did you know? Rasmussen was the first person to travel the Northwest Passage by dog sled. Rasmussen used the profits from his Inuit Trading Post to finance future expeditions and collect important ethnological information. Rasmussen's careful recordings of Inuit folk songs, stories and poetry preserved a wealth of Inuit culture that might otherwise have been lost. Of the Greenland Inuit, Rasmussen wrote, "...they understand the art of self-preservation, and in the midst of a merciless fight for existence they have created a culture which compels the greatest admiration...."

Knud Rasmussen
(1879 - 1933)

Of Inuit (his mother's side) and Danish descent, Rasmussen became fascinated with native languages and ways of living, including the arts of sea kayaking and dogsled riding. Much of his life became devoted to ethnological and cultural studies throughout Arctic North America. Establishing a base supply station in Thule, Greenland in 1910, he attempted to visit as many known Inuit groups as he could. During his travels he made meticulous notes and sketches, collecting an impressive amount of Inuit artifacts and compiling hundreds of Native legends and songs.

Rasmussen sought confirmation of his theory that native Inuit people were derived from the same stock as the native North Americans, having originally migrated from Asia 15,000 to 30,000 years ago. His research also focused on Inuit culture and their ways of adaptating to the harsh Arctic environment. In 1902-1904 he participated with on an expedition with experienced people like Jørgen Brønlund, Harald Moltke and Mylius-Erichssen. In 1910 he and Peter Freuchen established a trade station in Thule at Cape York. He made several more expeditions during the years between 1912 - 1919.

From his Thule station, Rasmussen led five expeditions from 1921 to 1924 exploring some 29,000 miles of arctic North America. His famous "Great Sledge Journey" resulted in the collection and description of Inuit folktales, songs, and poetry. For that effort he was appointed doctor of honor at the University of Copenhagen. In 1932 he went on his last expedition, from Thule to southeast Greenland for archaeological and ethnological research.

Author of many books, his translated works include Greenland by the Polar Sea (1921) and Across Arctic America (1927) in addition to several ethnologic studies of the Inuit and Greenlandic people.