We offer today to get to know one of the most famous people of the 20th century - Thor Heyerdahl. This Norwegian anthropologist became famous all over the world thanks to his expeditions to exotic places and numerous books dedicated to his travels and scientific research. And if most of our compatriots know the answer to the question of who Thor Heyerdahl is, then few are aware of the details of his personal life and professional activities. Therefore, let's get to know this great man better.
Heyerdahl Tour: photos, childhood
The future world famous scientist and traveler was born on October 6, 1914 in a small Norwegian town called Larvik. Interestingly, in the Heyerdahl family, it was customary to call their sons by the name Tur. However, despite the fact that both for the head of the family - the owner of the brewery, and for the mother - the worker of the anthropological museum, their marriage turned out to be the third in a row, and they already raised seven children, it was decided to name the youngest son by the family nameTour. The father, already an elderly man (at the time of the birth of his son he was 50 years old), had sufficient funds and traveled around Europe with great pleasure. On his trips, he certainly took the boy. Mother also loved Tur very much and not only showered him with affection and attention, but also took care of his education. It was thanks to her that the boy's interest in zoology woke up very early. Such passion and encouragement from his parents led Heyerdahl Thor to create a small zoological museum at home, the most spectacular exhibit of which was a stuffed viper. There were also many interesting things brought from distant countries. So it is not at all surprising that guests came to the Heyerdahl family not only for a cup of tea, but also for a short excursion.
Youth
After leaving school in 1933, Heyerdahl Thor entered the University of Oslo at the Faculty of Zoology, which did not surprise anyone close to him. While studying at the university, he devoted a lot of time to his favorite zoology, but gradually became interested in ancient cultures and civilizations. It was during this period that he came to the conclusion that modern man had completely forgotten about age-old traditions and commandments, which eventually led to a series of fratricidal wars. By the way, the Tour remained confident in this until the very last minutes of his life.
Wanderlust
At the end of seven semesters, Heyerdahl gets bored at the university. Indeed, at that time he already possessed truly encyclopedic knowledge, some of which he received fromparents, and partly comprehended, thanks to the independent study of certain issues. He dreams of doing his own research and traveling to distant exotic islands. Moreover, his friends and patrons Hjalmar Broch and Christine Bonnevie, whom he met during a trip to Berlin, were ready to help organize an expedition to the Polynesian Islands in order to find out how the representatives of the fauna inhabiting these places could be there today. Interestingly, this trip became not only an exciting adventure for the young scientist, but also a honeymoon trip. Indeed, before sailing, Heyerdahl Tour married a student of the Faculty of Economics - the beautiful Liv Coucheron-Thorpe. Liv turned out to be just as adventurous as her husband. At the same time, she not only accompanied Tur on his expedition, but was also his faithful assistant, as she previously studied many books on zoology and Polynesia.
Trip to Fatu Khiva
As a result, in 1937, Heyerdahl Tour and his wife Liv went to the distant shores of the Polynesian island of Fatu Hiva. Here they learned to survive in the wild, met the locals and engaged in scientific research. However, a year later, the couple had to interrupt their expedition. The fact is that Tur caught a rather dangerous disease, and Liv became pregnant. Therefore, in 1938, young researchers returned to Norway. Thus ended the first journey of the legendary Heyerdahl. He told about this expedition in his book "In Search of Paradise",released in 1938. In 1974, Tur published an expanded version of this work, which was called "Fatu Khiva".
Travel to Canada
A few months after returning from Fatu Khiva, Liv gave birth to a son, who, according to family tradition, was given the name Tur. After another year, the couple had a second son, Bjorn. The head of the family continued his scientific activity, but gradually people began to occupy him more than animals. Thus, the zoologist who left for Polynesia returned to his homeland as an anthropologist. His new goal was to find an answer to the question of how the ancient Incas could get from America to Polynesia. Or maybe it was quite the opposite? So, Heyerdahl decides to go to Canada, to the places where the Indians used to live. He hoped that ancient legends about navigators could be preserved here. However, despite the fact that the Tour traveled all over the west of Canada, he was unable to find the necessary information.
World War II
During Heyerdahl's expedition, World War II broke out in Canada. Being a true patriot, Tur wanted to defend his homeland from the enemy. To do this, he moved to the United States and enlisted in the army. During the war, the Heyerdahl family lived first in the US and then moved to the UK.
Tour Heyerdahl's travels: Kon-Tiki expedition
In 1946, a scientist is carried away by a new idea: he believes that in ancient times the American Indians could swim to the islands in the Pacific Ocean on rafts. Despite the negativereaction from historians, Tur organizes an expedition called "Kon-Tiki" and proves his case. After all, he and his team were able to get on a raft from Peru to the islands of the Taumotu archipelago. Interestingly, many scientists generally refused to believe in the very fact of this trip until they saw the documentary film shot during the expedition. Returning home, Heyerdahl divorced his wife Liv, who soon married a we althy American. Tur, a few months later, marries Yvonne Dedekam-Simonsen, who subsequently bore him three daughters.
Travel to Easter Island
Heyerdahl could never sit in one place for a long time. So, in 1955, he organized an archaeological expedition to Easter Island. It consisted of professional archaeologists from Norway. During the expedition, Tour and his colleagues spent several months on the island, exploring important archaeological sites. The focus of their work was on experimenting with carving, moving, and mounting the famous moai statues. In addition, the researchers were engaged in excavations on the Poike and Orongo uplands. Based on the results of their work, the members of the expedition published a number of scientific articles that laid the foundation for the study of Easter Island, which continues to this day. And Thor Heyerdahl, whose books have always enjoyed great success, has written another bestseller called Aku-Aku.
Ra and Ra II
In the late 60s Thor Heyerdahlwas fascinated by the idea of a sea voyage in a papyrus boat. In 1969, a restless explorer set sail on a boat designed from ancient Egyptian drawings called "Ra" on a voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. However, due to the fact that the boat was made of Ethiopian reeds, it got wet rather quickly, as a result of which the expedition members had to return back.
The following year, a second boat was launched, named "Ra II". It has been updated to reflect previous mistakes. Thor Heyerdahl once again achieved success by sailing from Morocco to Barbados. Thus, he was able to prove to all the world scientific community that the ancient navigators could sail across the ocean using the Canary Current. The Ra II expedition included representatives from different countries, among whom was the famous Soviet traveler Yuri Senkevich.
Tigris
Another boat of Thor Heyerdahl called "Tigris" is also known. The explorer built this reed craft in 1977. The route of the expedition ran from Iraq to the shores of Pakistan, and then to the Red Sea. Through this sea voyage, Thor Heyerdahl proved the possibility of trade and migration contacts between Mesopotamia and Indian civilization. At the end of the expedition, the explorer burned his boat in protest against the hostilities.
Indefatigable explorer
Thor Heyerdahl has always been adventurous. He did not change himself even at the age of 80. So, in 1997, at a meetingOur compatriot and member of the Ra II expedition, Yuri Senkevich, went to visit an old friend. As part of his program "Travellers Club", he showed the viewer where Thor Heyerdahl lives. The hero of the story told about his many plans, among which was another trip to Easter Island.
Recent years
Thor Heyerdahl, whose biography was very rich in a wide variety of events, remained active and cheerful even at a very advanced age. This also applies to his personal life. So, in 1996, at the age of 82, the famous scientist and researcher divorced his second wife and married the French actress Jacqueline Beer. Together with his wife, he moved to Tenerife, where he bought a huge mansion built more than three centuries ago. Here he enjoyed gardening and even claimed that he could make a good biologist.
The great Thor Heyerdahl died in 2002 at the age of 87 from a brain tumor. In the last moments of his life, he was surrounded by his third wife and his five children.
