author
Knud Rasmussen
1879–1933
Raised in Greenland and at home in both Danish and Inuit worlds, he turned Arctic travel into a way of listening as well as exploring. His journeys made him one of the great interpreters of northern life, preserving stories, beliefs, and everyday knowledge from communities across the Arctic.
1 Audiobook
Under Nordenvindens Svøbe
by Knud Rasmussen
About the author
Born in Jakobshavn, Greenland (now Ilulissat) in 1879, Knud Rasmussen became a Greenlandic-Danish explorer, writer, and anthropologist whose life was shaped by close familiarity with Inuit language and culture. That background gave his work an unusual depth: he was not only traveling through the Arctic, but also recording the lives, traditions, and oral histories of the people he met.
He is best known for the Thule expeditions, especially the Fifth Thule Expedition, which took him by dog sled across a vast stretch of Arctic North America. Along the way, he gathered important ethnographic material and became widely known for documenting Inuit myths, customs, and spiritual traditions. He was also the first European to cross the Northwest Passage by dog sled.
Rasmussen wrote extensively about his travels, combining adventure with careful observation and a lasting respect for northern communities. He died in 1933, but his books and fieldwork remain a major part of Arctic history and the study of Inuit cultures.