author
Hans Egede
1686–1758
A determined missionary and explorer, he is remembered for leading the 1721 expedition that reopened Danish-Norwegian contact with Greenland after centuries of separation. His work left a lasting mark on Greenland’s religious and colonial history.
1 Audiobook
A Description of Greenland
by Hans Egede
About the author
Born in Norway in 1686, Hans Egede studied in Copenhagen and became a Lutheran priest. While serving in northern Norway, he grew fascinated by the old Norse settlements in Greenland and became convinced that he should travel there as a missionary.
In 1721, he sailed to Greenland with his family and other settlers, hoping both to find descendants of the medieval Norse and to convert the Inuit to Christianity. The old Norse communities were gone, but Egede remained and helped establish a lasting Danish-Norwegian presence there, which is why he is often called the "Apostle of Greenland."
Egede spent years preaching, learning about Greenland, and writing about the land and its people. He later returned to Denmark, where he continued to work on Greenland-related religious and educational efforts until his death in 1758.