Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1814
Norway is presented to Sweden in the so-called 'Union of the Crowns'. Disgruntled Norwegians
draft their first constitution, an event still celebrated as Norway's first act of independence.
1861
Fridtjof Nansen, an explorer, scientist, diplomat and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, is born near
Oslo (then called Christiania). He would become a symbol for Norway's growing international in-
fluence.
1870s
Emissaries from London gentlemen's clubs journey to Norway's western fjords to find blue ice for
the clubs' drinks. Soon after, Thomas Cook begins the first tourist cruises into the fjords.
1895
Alfred Nobel's will decrees that the interest on his vast fortune be awarded each year 'to those
who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind'.
1905
Norwegians vote overwhelmingly for independence and against union with Sweden. Norway be-
comes independent, with its own constitutional monarchy.
1911
Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen becomes the first person to reach the South Pole, highlight-
ing a period of famous Norwegian explorers going to the ends of the earth.
1913
Norway introduces universal suffrage for women, 15 years after men but long before many other
European countries and begins a tradition of gender equality that has become a hallmark of mod-
ern Norway.
