Eigil Knuth
Graf Eigil Knuth (born August 8, 1903 in Klampenborg , † March 12, 1996 in Copenhagen ) was a Danish explorer, prehistoric , sculptor and author . He is considered the nestor of the Danish polar explorers.
Life
On his father's side, Eigil Knuth comes from the Mecklenburg-Danish nobility family Knuth , his father was the officer Eigil Valdemar Knuth . After graduating from Østre Borgerdyd Gymnasium in 1921, Knuth went to a technical school until 1922 and then to the construction engineering school of the art academy until 1924. From 1926 to 1928 he was trained in wood carving workshops in Val Gardena and from 1933 to 1934 he was trained at the color technology laboratory.
In 1932 Knuth began his long-term work in Greenland . This included participation in two Danish expeditions to East Greenland in 1934 and 1945 and two French expeditions to the same area from 1935 to 1936. His main artistic work - portraits of East Greenlanders - dates from this time. From 1938 to 1939 Knuth led the Danish Northeast Greenland expedition, from 1947 to 1950 and from 1963 to 1973 the expeditions to Pearyland . With this company he built the airfield at Cape Harald Moltke . Knuth's discovery of two prehistoric cultural complexes in the area of Independence Fjord and Danmarkfjord was groundbreaking . In 1995 he last went to Greenland.
Before his death in 1996, he was no longer able to publish the archaeological finds and findings of his research trips to Pearyland in summary form. Bjarne Grønnow (* 1956), who managed Knuth's estate, took on the task. The book The Northernmost Ruins of the Globe: Eigil Knuth's Archaeological Investigations in Peary Land and Adjacent Areas of High Arctic Greenland (2003) is a summary of Knuth's findings and observations.
Awards
- 4th October 1950: Knight's Cross of the Dannebrog Order
- 1951: Det kongelige danske geografiske selskabs Hans Egede medalje
- 1953: The Royal Scottish Geographical Society's Mungo Park Medal
- 1953: The Patron's Medal of The Royal Geographical Society
literature
- Bjarne Grønnow, Jens Fog Jensen: The Northernmost Ruins of the Globe: Eigil Knuth's Archaeological Investigations in Peary Land and Adjacent Areas of High Arctic Greenland (= Meddelelser om Grønland , Man & Society , Volume 29). Danish Polar Center, Copenhagen 2003, ISBN 87-90369-65-3 ( oapen.org PDF; 10.1 MB)
- Nils G. Bartholdy: Merete Harding, Mads Lidegaard . In: Svend Cedergreen Bech , Svend Dahl (eds.): Dansk biografisk leksikon . Founded by Carl Frederik Bricka , continued by Povl Engelstoft. 3. Edition. tape 8 : Kjærulf – Levetzow . Gyldendal, Copenhagen 1981, ISBN 87-01-77442-5 (Danish, biografiskleksikon.lex.dk ).
Web links
- finnholbek.dk : Eigil greve Knuth-Knuthenborg
Endnotes
- ↑ a b c d e Nils G. Bartholdy: Merete Harding, Mads Lidegaard . In: Svend Cedergreen Bech , Svend Dahl (eds.): Dansk biografisk leksikon . Founded by Carl Frederik Bricka , continued by Povl Engelstoft. 3. Edition. tape 8 : Kjærulf – Levetzow . Gyldendal, Copenhagen 1981, ISBN 87-01-77442-5 (Danish, biografiskleksikon.lex.dk ).
- ↑ finnholbek.dk : Eigil greve Knuth-Knuthenborg , accessed on November 10, 2019.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Knuth, Eigil |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Danish explorer, prehistorian, sculptor and author |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 8, 1903 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Klampenborg |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 12, 1996 |
| Place of death | Copenhagen |