Ronald Amundsen was a Norwegian explorer who was born in 1872. He became the first person to sail a ship through the North-West Passage. Amundsen also planned to be the first to reach the North Pole but an American, Robert Peary, got there before him in 1909. Amundsen had by then already made his preparations for the expedition. When he set off from Norway he turned south and sailed to Antarctica, instead of heading north. In a well-planned dash with a dog sledge and four companions, he reached the South Pole in December 1911, one month before his rival, Captain Scott. In 1926, Amundsen claimed another 'first' by flying over the North Pole in the airship Norge, with the Italian Umberto Nobile. Two years later Amundsen disappeared when flying out to rescue Nobile from another expedition. Roald Amundsen, (born July 16, 1872, Borge, near Oslo, Nor.—disappeared June 18, 1928, Arctic Ocean), Norwegian explorer, leader of the first group to reach the South Pole. In 1897, he took part in a Belgian expedition that was the first to winter in the Antarctic. In 1903–05 he was the first to navigate the Northwest Passage. He planned an expedition to the North Pole, but after learning that Robert E. Peary had reached that goal, and set off for the South Pole in 1910. He prepared his trip carefully and in October 1911 set out with four men, 52 dogs, and four sledges. Furthermore, he reached the South Pole in December 1911, one month before Robert Falcon Scott’s ill-fated attempt. Besides, he returned to Norway and established a successful shipping business. In 1926, he and Umberto Nobile (1885–1978) passed over the North Pole in a dirigible. Amundsen disappeared in 1928 while flying to rescue Nobile from a dirigible crash.