Hans Egede

Hans Poulsen Egede was born on January 31, 1686, in Harstad, Norway. Serving as a Lutheran pastor in the Lofoten Islands, he became fascinated by reports of the lost medieval Norse colonies in Greenland and determined to discover if any survivors remained.

With backing from King Frederick IV of Denmark-Norway, Egede sailed to Greenland aboard the Haabet in 1721. Finding no Norse survivors, he dedicated himself to living among the Inuit, learning their language, and founding the settlement of Godthåb (now Nuuk) on August 29, 1728. He compiled the first comprehensive grammar and dictionary of the Greenlandic language and established modern maritime trade.