Solveig Gunbjørg Jacobsen
Solveig Gunbjørg Jacobsen (8 October 1913 – 25 October 1996)[1] was the first person to be born and raised south of the Antarctic Convergence, in Grytviken, South Georgia.[2]
Solveig Gunbjørg Jacobsen | |
|---|---|
 Photograph showing Solveig Jacobsen standing (with her dog) in front of a whale on the Grytviken flensing plan, taken by Magistrate Edward Binnie in 1916 | |
| Born | 8 October 1913 |
| Died | 25 October 1996 (aged 83) |
| Nationality | Norwegian |
| Known for | First person born and raised in the Antarctic |
Her father, Fridthjof Jacobsen (1874–1953), settled in South Georgia in 1904 to become assistant manager, and from 1914 to 1921 manager of the Grytviken whaling station.[2] Two other daughters of Jacobsen's and his wife Klara Olette Jacobsen, Signe Fon (Jacobsen) and Åse Jacobsen were also born on the island. Solveig's birth was registered by the resident British Stipendiary Magistrate of South Georgia, James Wilson.[2]
She died in Buenos Aires, Argentina, aged 83, and was buried in Molde, Norway.[1]
Legacy
Jacobsen Valley in Vinson Massif, Antarctica is named after Solveig Gunbjørg Jacobsen.
First person born in Antarctica
Solveig Gunbjørg Jacobsen was the first person born and raised south of the Antarctic Convergence, and South Georgia is usually classified as an Antarctic island and part of the Antarctic for that reason. The first human born south of the Convergence was the Australian James Kerguelen Robinson, born in Kerguelen Islands on 11 March 1859.[3][4]
However, the Antarctic Treaty defines Antarctica as any territory located South of the 60th parallel, which excludes both South Georgia and Kerguelen. The first person born in the Antarctic Treaty area (also first on the Antarctic mainland) was the Argentine citizen Emilio Palma, born at Esperanza Base in 1978.
See also
- History of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
- James Kerguelen Robinson
References
- Gravminner i Norge. DIS Norge. Retrieved on 7 November 2008. (in Norwegian)
- Headland, Robert (1984). The Island of South Georgia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521424745.
- J. Robinson. Appendix B: Log of the Offley. In: Reminiscences. Hobart: Archives Office of Tasmania, 1906. pp. 98-99. (Transcribed and edited by D. Cerchi.)
- Ivanov, L. and N. Ivanova. Livingston Island. In: Antarctic: Nature, History, Utilization, Geographic Names and Bulgarian Participation. Sofia: Manfred Wörner Foundation, 2014. 368 pp. (in Bulgarian) ISBN 978-619-90008-1-6 (Second revised and updated edition, 2014. 411 pp. ISBN 978-619-90008-2-3)