Fridtjof Nansen particularly in the polar regions. The Nansen family originated in Denmark. Hans Nansen (1598–1667), a trader, was an early explorer of the White Sea region of the Arctic Ocean. In later life he settled in Copenhagen, becoming the city's "borgmester" in 1654. Later generations of the family lived in Copenhagen until the mid-18th century, when Ancher Antoni Nansen moved to Norway (then in a union with Denmark). His son, Hans Leierdahl Nansen (1764–1821), was a magistrate first in the Trondheim district, later in Jæren. After Norway's separation from Denmark in 1814, he entered national political life as the representative for
Fridtjof Nansen Nansen in the Yukon region of Canada; Mount Nansen, Mount Fridtjof Nansen and Nansen Island, all in Antarctica; as well as Nansen Island in the Kara Sea and Nansen Island in Franz Josef Land; 853 Nansenia, an asteroid; and Nansen, a crater at the Moon's north pole. His Polhøgda mansion is now home to the Fridtjof Nansen Institute, an independent foundation which engages in research on environmental, energy and resource management politics. "Just a life – the story of Fridtjof Nansen" was released, a 1968 Norwegian/Soviet biographical film with Knut Wigert as Nansen. The Royal Norwegian Navy launched the first