EXPLORER

Thor Heyerdahl

1914 - 2002

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Thor Heyerdahl KStJ (Norwegian pronunciation: [tuːr ˈhæ̀ɪəɖɑːɫ]; 6 October 1914 – 18 April 2002) was a Norwegian adventurer and ethnographer with a background in biology with specialization in zoology, botany and geography. Heyerdahl is notable for his Kon-Tiki expedition in 1947, in which he drifted 8,000 km (5,000 mi) across the Pacific Ocean in a primitive hand-built raft from South America to the Tuamotu Islands. The expedition was supposed to demonstrate that the legendary sun-worshiping red-haired, bearded, and white-skinned "Tiki people" from South America drifted and colonized Polynesia first, before actual Polynesian peoples. His hyperdiffusionist ideas on ancient cultures had been widely rejected by the scientific community, even before the expedition. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Thor Heyerdahl is the 28th most popular explorer (down from 27th in 2019), the 21st most popular biography from Norway (down from 15th in 2019) and the 4th most popular Norwegian Explorer.

Thor Heyerdahl is most famous for his Kon-Tiki expedition. He was a Norwegian explorer who wanted to prove that people from South America could have traveled to Polynesia on balsa wood rafts.

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Among EXPLORERS

Among explorers, Thor Heyerdahl ranks 28 out of 498. Before him are Erik the Red, Xuanzang, Willem Barentsz, Jacques Cousteau, Juan Sebastián Elcano, and David Livingstone. After him are Thorfinn Karlsefni, William Adams, Jan van Riebeeck, Vasco Núñez de Balboa, John Davis, and John Cabot.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1914, Thor Heyerdahl ranks 7. Before him are Yuri Andropov, Louis de Funès, Raymond Davis Jr., Hedy Lamarr, Tove Jansson, and Alan Hodgkin. After him are Mohammed Zahir Shah, Tyrone Power, Tenzing Norgay, Marguerite Duras, Julio Cortázar, and Octavio Paz. Among people deceased in 2002, Thor Heyerdahl ranks 8. Before him are Richard Harris, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, Simo Häyhä, Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, Pierre Bourdieu, and Hans-Georg Gadamer. After him are Archer Martin, Billy Wilder, Prince Claus of the Netherlands, John Rawls, László Kubala, and Traudl Junge.

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In Norway

Among people born in Norway, Thor Heyerdahl ranks 21 out of 1,039. Before him are Erik the Red (950), Niels Henrik Abel (1802), Olaf Tryggvason (963), Margaret, Maid of Norway (1283), Harald Fairhair (850), and Haakon the Good (918). After him are Haakon IV of Norway (1204), Vidkun Quisling (1887), Harald Greycloak (935), Sigurd the Crusader (1090), Magnus Barefoot (1073), and Queen Sonja of Norway (1937).

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Among EXPLORERS In Norway

Among explorers born in Norway, Thor Heyerdahl ranks 4. Before him are Roald Amundsen (1872), Fridtjof Nansen (1861), and Erik the Red (950). After him are Ingólfr Arnarson (850), Otto Sverdrup (1854), Carsten Borchgrevink (1864), Ohthere of Hålogaland (900), Naddodd (900), Carl Anton Larsen (1860), Helge Ingstad (1899), and Thekla Resvoll (1871).

Norwegian born Explorers

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