Vega Expedition
Videos
The Vega Expedition of 1878–1880, named after the SS Vega and under the leadership of Finland-Swedish explorer Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld, was the first Arctic expedition to navigate through the Northeas
Return of explorer Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld with the SS Vega to Stockholm on 24 April 1880
Swedish steamship SS Vega, used by Nordenskiöld during the expedition
SS Vega at anchor in the Penkigney Bay of the Bering Sea
SS Vega frozen into packed ice outside Piltekai, Siberia. Photo by Louis Palander
Oscar II
Videos
Oscar II was King of Sweden from 1872 until his death in 1907 and King of Norway from 1872 to 1905.
Vega Expedition
…and the Yenisei River. In 1877, Nordenskiöld began planning the expedition to find the Northeast Passage, and in July he presented a detailed plan to King Oscar II, who accepted the proposal. Additional funds were provided by members of the Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography and the Royal Society of…
Official portrait, c. 1900–1907
Aides Daniel Nordlander (upper left) and Fritz von Dardel, Ordnance Officer Ferdinand-Alphonse Hamelin, General Henri-Pierre Castelnau, King Charles XV of Sweden and Prince Oscar, future King Oscar II of Sweden, at the 1867 International Exposition in Paris, France.
Norwegian coronation medal for Oscar and Sophia
Photograph of Oscar II, c. 1870s