It was on this day, September 1st, 1906, that Roald Amundsen arrived in Nome aboard the sailing vessel Gjoa.

Amundsen had just completed a traverse of the Northwest Passage. It was the first such traverse recorded in history. His feat took three years, which began when he left Oslofjord on June 16th, 1903. He departed that port and sailed to King William Island northeast of Hudson Bay in northern Canada.

After his arrival there, he would get iced in and remain at that location for two years. During that time, he took measurements to locate the magnetic North Pole.

When he was able, he set sail westward to Herschel Island just to the west of Alaska’s border with Canada. But, once again, his ship was iced in. Not to be stopped, he skied 500 miles to Eagle. At that border location in Alaska’s interior, he telegraphed the news of his success.

After transmitting news of his success, he returned to his ship on Herschel Island, arriving there in March. The vessel remained iced in until July. Once free, Amundsen set sail west to Nome.

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