Statue of Roald Amundsen (1872-1928), Norwegian explorer, in Ny-Alesund, Svalbard, an Arctic archipelago governed by Norway. Amundsen was a renowned Arctic explorer, but is best-known as the leader of the first expedition to reach the South Pole in 1911. Amundsen was in the first expedition to fly over the North Pole, doing so in 1926 with the Italian explorer Umberto Nobile in the airship Norge (mentioned on the statue's inscription). Ny-Alesund was the departure point for Norge on the North Pole leg of the expedition. In 1928, Amundsen disappeared at sea after flying in search of Nobile, whose airship had crashed during another expedition to the Pole.