Explorers from Denmark

Top 6

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Danish Explorers of all time. This list of famous Danish Explorers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity.

1. Vitus Bering (1681 - 1741)

With an HPI of 79.77, Vitus Bering is the most famous Danish Explorer.   biography has been translated into 84 different languages on wikipedia.

Vitus Jonassen Bering (baptised 5 August 1681 – 19 December 1741), also known as Ivan Ivanovich Bering, was a Danish-born Russian cartographer, explorer, and officer in the Russian Navy. He is known as a leader of two Russian expeditions, the First Kamchatka Expedition and the Great Northern Expedition, exploring the northeastern coast of the Asian continent and from there the western coast of the North American continent. The Bering Strait, the Bering Sea, Bering Island, the Bering Glacier, and Vitus Lake were all named in his honor.

2. Johann Karl Ehrenfried Kegel (1784 - 1863)

With an HPI of 67.50, Johann Karl Ehrenfried Kegel is the 2nd most famous Danish Explorer.   biography has been translated into 31 different languages.

Johann Karl Ehrenfried Kegel (October 3, 1784 – June 25, 1863) was a German agronomist and explorer of the Kamchatka Peninsula. He died in Odessa in 1863.

3. Peter Freuchen (1886 - 1957)

With an HPI of 59.16, Peter Freuchen is the 3rd most famous Danish Explorer.   biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Lorenz Peter Elfred Freuchen (20 February 1886 – 2 September 1957) was a Danish explorer, author, journalist and anthropologist. He is notable for his role in Arctic exploration, namely the Thule Expeditions.

4. Lauge Koch (1892 - 1964)

With an HPI of 56.63, Lauge Koch is the 4th most famous Danish Explorer.   biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Lauge Koch (5 July 1892 – 5 June 1964) was a Danish geologist and Arctic explorer.

5. Jørgen Jørgensen (1780 - 1841)

With an HPI of 55.49, Jørgen Jørgensen is the 5th most famous Danish Explorer.   biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Jørgen Jørgensen (name of birth: Jürgensen, and changed to Jorgenson from 1817) (29 March 1780 – 20 January 1841) was a Danish adventurer during the Age of Revolution. During the action of 2 March 1808, his ship was captured by the British. In 1809 he sailed to Iceland, declared the country independent from Denmark–Norway and pronounced himself its ruler. He intended to found a new republic, following the examples of the United States and the French First Republic. He was also a prolific writer of letters, papers, pamphlets and newspaper articles covering a wide variety of subjects, and for a period was an associate of the famous botanists Joseph Banks and William Jackson Hooker. He left over a hundred written autographs and drawings, most of which are collected in the British Library. Marcus Clarke referred to Jørgensen as "a singularly accomplished fortune wooer—one of the most interesting human comets recorded in history".

6. Frans Blom (1893 - 1963)

With an HPI of 54.17, Frans Blom is the 6th most famous Danish Explorer.   biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Frans Blom (9 August 1893 – 23 June 1963) was a Danish explorer and archaeologist. He was most associated with his research of the Maya civilization of Mexico and Central America.