Sverre Hassel
Sverre Helge Hassel (30 July 1876 – 6 June 1928) was a Norwegian polar explorer and one of the first five people to reach the South Pole. Biography. Sverre Hassel was born in Christiania (now Oslo), Norway. As soon as he was old enough, he went to sea, earning his mate's certificate. Between 1898 and 1902, Hassel participated on board the "Fram" in Otto Sverdrup's attempt to circumnavigate Greenland. Along with Helmer Hanssen, Hassel was picked as an expert dog driver to take part in Roald Amundsen's South Pole expedition 1910–1912. On 14 December 1911, Hassel  together with Amundsen, Helmer Hanssen, Olav Bjaaland and Oscar Wisting were the first to reach the South Pole. For his participation in the expedition, he was awarded the South Pole Medal ("Sydpolsmedaljen"), the Royal Norwegian award instituted by King Haakon VII in 1912 to reward participants in Roald Amundsen's South Pole expedition. Hassel was constable of the Maritime Military Corps in 1904 before he was hired as an assistant at the customs authorities in Kristiansand. In 1922, Hassel became customs inspector and office manager in Grimstad. Sverre Hassel died in 1928 during a visit to Amundsen's home in  Svartskog. Sources. Roald Amundsen wrote about the expedition in "Sydpolen" published in two volumes in 1912–1913. The work was translated from the Norwegian into English by A. G. Chater, and published as "The South Pole: An Account of the Norwegian Antarctic Expedition in the "Fram," 1910–1912" References. Sources