Knut Frænkel
Knut Hjalmar Ferdinand Frænkel (born February 14, 1870 in Karlstad , † October 1897 on Kvitøya , Svalbard ) was a Swedish engineer and explorer who took part in the failed balloon flight of Salomon August Andrée .
Frænkel studied at the Royal Technical University in Stockholm and received his engineering examination in 1896. After the meteorologist Nils Gustaf Ekholm announced that he would not take part in the second attempt of Andrée's North Pole trip, Frænkel registered for the free space in the balloon and was accepted. In the spring of 1897 he traveled to Paris to familiarize himself with the control of balloons. In the summer he arrived on the Danish island belonging to Svalbard , where the expedition started. Just like the other two participants, Andrée and Nils Strindberg , Frænkel died in the course of the expedition.
Their bodies were only found 33 years later on the island of Kvitøya , brought back to Sweden and cremated . The ashes were buried in a shared grave on Norra begravningsplatsen in Stockholm .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Frænkel, Knut |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Frænkel, Knut Hjalmar Ferdinand |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Swedish engineer and explorer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 14, 1870 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Karlstad |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 1897 |
| Place of death | Kvitøya , Svalbard |