Peter Freuchen

Lorenz Peter Elfred Freuchen (Known as "The Great Dane")

Arctic Explorer, Anthropologist, Novelist, Co-founder of Thule

Born 1886-02-20

Nykøbing Falster, Kingdom of Denmark

Passed Away 1957-09-02 Elmendorf AFB, Anchorage, Alaska, Denmark

Lifespan 71 years old

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Notice / Correction

"To explore the Arctic is not to conquer nature, but to surrender to its immense majesty with humility and humor."

Archival Overview

Larger-than-life Arctic explorer, author, and anti-Nazi resistance hero who co-founded the Thule Trading Post in Greenland with Knud Rasmussen, famous for escaping an ice avalanche by fashioning a dagger from frozen feces.

Biographical Record

Peter Freuchen was born in Nykøbing Falster on February 20, 1886. Abandoning medical school in Copenhagen, he joined the 1906 Danmark Expedition to Greenland, falling deeply in love with the Arctic and living for decades among the Polar Inuit.

In 1910, Freuchen and Knud Rasmussen established the Thule Trading Post in northwestern Greenland, undertaking epic dog-sled crossings of the inland ice sheet. When trapped in an ice blizzard, he saved his own life by fashioning a chisel from frozen bodily waste, later amputating his gangrenous toes without anesthesia. An active Danish resistance fighter in World War II, his bestselling books captivated global audiences.

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Final Resting Place

Perpetual Memorial

Mount Dundas (Uummannaq) Scatter Site
Thule (Uummannaq), Greenland

                         GPS: 76.5500, -68.8500                    

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