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Libraries > Digital Exhibits > Under the North Pole > Exhibition Overview
Exhibition Overview
August 2006 marks the 75th
anniversary of the Wilkins-Ellsworth Trans-Arctic Submarine Expedition. In
1930, Australian born, George Hubert Wilkins began making the plans for the
expedition with wealthy American financier, Lincoln Ellsworth. Wilkins’
interests in polar studies were varied, but of primary interest to him was the
effect of the poles on global climate, as well as mapping of unknown areas. He
believed that submerging a submarine under the Arctic ice pack would provide a
new opportunity for scientific investigation. The submarine Nautilus
finally set sail on June 4, 1931. Unfortunately, it was wrought with mechanical
problems throughout the entirety of the expedition. Although the goal of
submerging at the North Pole was not achieved, it did prove that a submarine
could succeed in Arctic travel.
The
virtual exhibit Under the North Pole: Voyage of the Nautilus draws on the rich collection of
documentation and artifacts contained in the Papers of Sir George Hubert
Wilkins, housed at The Ohio State University Archives as part of the Byrd Polar
Research Center Archival Program. The exhibition is divided into eight
categories, highlighting the expedition from its inception to the end, when the
submarine Nautilus was scuttled off the coast of Norway on November 30,
1931.
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