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Profile of the Day: Helge Ingstad

Who are the adventurers in your family tree? On this day in 1899, Norwegian explorer and adventurer Helge Ingstad was born in Meråker, Norway. Ingstad and his wife, archaeologist Anne Stine, were the first to prove the Vikings had reached North America 500 years before Christopher Columbus.

Profile of the Day: Helge Ingstad

Image: Oslo Museum, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

In 1960, Ingstad and Stine found the remnants of a Viking settlement in L’Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland, Canada.The settlement dated to approximately 1,000 years ago and proved the presence of the Vikings well before Columbus’ arrival in 1492. Their discovery would turn Norse myth into historic fact.

Did you know that Ingstad was not an explorer from the start? He was originally a successful lawyer before selling his practice to become a trapper in Canada’s Northwest Territories. Ingstad also became a popular author and wrote numerous books about his adventures to remote parts of the world.

Ingstad died on March 29, 2001 at the age of 101.

Explore Helge Ingstad’s family tree on Geni and discover how you’re related to the Norwegian explorer!
 

View Helge Ingstad’s Geni Profile

 

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Source: Geni.com

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