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Lorenz Peter Elfred Freuchen (20 February 1886 – 2 September 1957) was a Danish explorer, author, journalist and anthropologist.

He is notable for his role in Arctic exploration, namely the Thule Expeditions.

Freuchen was born in Nykøbing Falster, Denmark, the son of Anne Petrine Frederikke (née Rasmussen; 1862–1945) and Lorentz Benzon Freuchen (1859–1927), a businessman.

Between 1910 and 1924, he undertook several expeditions, often with the noted Polar explorer Knud Rasmussen. He spent many years in North Star Bay, Greenland, living with the Polar Inuit. In 1935, Freuchen visited South Africa, and by the end of the decade, he had travelled to Siberia. In 1910, Rasmussen and Freuchen established the Thule Trading Station at North Star Bay in the Cape York district of Greenland, as a trading base. The name Thule was chosen because it was the most northerly trading post in the world, literally the "Ultima Thule". Thule Trading Station became the home base for a series of seven expeditions, known as the Thule Expeditions, between 1912 and 1933. The First Thule Expedition (1912, Rasmussen, Freuchen, Inukitsork, and Uvdloriark) aimed to test Robert Peary's claim that a channel divided Peary Land from Greenland. Clements Markham, president of the Royal Geographical Society, called the journey the "finest ever performed by dogs." Freuchen wrote personal accounts of this journey (and others) in Vagrant Viking (1953) and I Sailed with Rasmussen (1958). While in Denmark, Freuchen and Rasmussen held a series of lectures about their expeditions and the Inuit culture. Freuchen's first wife, Mequpaluk, who took the name Navarana, accompanied him on several expeditions. The church refused to perform the burial, because Navarana was not baptized, so Freuchen buried her himself. Knud Rasmussen later used the name Navarana for the lead role in the movie Palos Brudefærd which was filmed in East Greenland in 1933. Freuchen strongly criticized the Christian church which sent missionaries among the Inuit without understanding their culture and traditions. When Freuchen returned to Denmark in the 1920s, he joined the Social Democrats and contributed with articles in the newspaper Politiken. He was also employed by the film industry as a consultant and scriptwriter, specializing in Arctic-related scripts, most notably MGM's Oscar-winning Eskimo/Mala The Magnificent starring Ray Mala, and featuring Freuchen as Ship Captain. During World War II, Freuchen was actively involved with the Danish resistance movement against the occupation by Nazi Germany despite having lost his left foot to frostbite in 1926. Freuchen was imprisoned by the Germans and sentenced to death, but he managed to escape and flee to Sweden. In 1956, he won the main prize on The $64,000 Question, an American TV quiz-show, on the subject "The Seven Seas"; it made him instantly better known in the United States due to the popularity of the show. As he related in Vagrant Viking, he was friends with the royal families of Scandinavia and other countries, and his movie work in New York City and Hollywood brought him into the 'royalty' of moving pictures and the political world of Washington, D.C.

His second marriage was to Magdalene Vang Lauridsen (1881–1960), daughter of Johannes Peter Lauridsen (1847–1920), Danish businessman and director of Danmarks Nationalbank. Freuchen's grandson, Peter Ittinuar, was the first Inuk in Canada to be elected as an MP, and represented the electoral district of Nunatsiaq in the House of Commons of Canada from 1979 to 1984. From 1926 to 1940, Freuchen owned the Danish island Enehøje in Nakskov Fjord. At this time, Freuchen became heavily invested in socialism and anti-fascism. In his later years, Freuchen and his wife Dagmar lived in New York City and maintained a second home in Noank, Connecticut.

1921 – Hans Egede Medal from the Royal Danish Geographical Society Freuchen Land in Greenland was named after him and Navarana Fjord was named after his first wife.

Quick Facts

• Freuchen was born in Nykøbing Falster, Denmark, the son of Anne Petrine Frederikke (née Rasmussen; 1862–1945) and Lorentz Benzon Freuchen (1859–1927), a businessman.
• In 1910, Rasmussen and Freuchen established the Thule Trading Station at North Star Bay in the Cape York district of Greenland, as a trading base.
• Freuchen Land in Greenland was named after him and Navarana Fjord was named after his first wife.
• The First Thule Expedition (1912, Rasmussen, Freuchen, Inukitsork, and Uvdloriark) aimed to test Robert Peary's claim that a channel divided Peary Land from Greenland.
• In his later years, Freuchen and his wife Dagmar lived in New York City and maintained a second home in Noank, Connecticut.

Source material: Wikipedia - "Peter Freuchen". Adapted and summarized for DiscoverScroll. Original contributors are credited through the linked Wikipedia article. Read original on Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes were made from the original.