Meet 70 Explorers - Part 1, Amundsen to Bonington Quiz

Answer: Navigation of North West passage.

As a child Amundsen was inspired by the story of the Franklin expedition in search of the North West passage. In 1903 Amundsen left Oslo in his sloop Gjoa, finally arriving at Nome, Alaska in September 1906, thus being the first to succeed at navigating the North West passage.

Answer: He was born in Santo Domingo but brought up in France.

Audubon's father was French, a sea captain and the owner of a plantation. His mother was his father's mistress. He was born in Santo Domingo but brought up in France. In 'Birds of America' in 495 plates are portrayed 1,065 birds representing 489 species. In 1803 he moved to America to avoid possible call up into Napoleon's army.

Answer: Vesuvius - he sketched the mountain from the crater, noting the lines of lava.flow.

It was in 1831 that John Auldjo turned his attention to Vesuvius and published a book detailing his exploration of the mountain. His book included his sketches of Vesuvius from the crater's edge. He had previously published an account of his Mont Blanc climb, which included his sketches and watercolours.

Answer: War artist for the British Army.

In 1842, at the age of 22, Baines went to Cape Colony where he later served as an official war artist for the British Army during the Eighth Frontier War against the Xhosa (1850-53).

Answer: Mimicry in the natural world.

Returning to England after some 11 years in the Amazon, Bates wrote a paper 'Contributions to an Insect Fauna of the Amazon Valley'. Here he set out his conclusions for a theory of insect mimicry, now known as 'Batesian Mimicry'. This is the process whereby harmless butterflies adopt the characteristics of unpalatable or noxious species in order to avoid attacks from insectivorous birds.

Answer: He died but not before completing many paintings and drawings.

The Victorian Exploring Expedition became known as the Burke & Wills Expedition which set out to explore the route from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria. Becker completed 70 watercolours, drawings and maps in difficult, trying circumstances. However, he died on the expedition, one of seven that included both Burke and Wills.

Answer: Using a bathysphere, he dived to observe sea life deep below the surface.

In a bathysphere, designed by Otis Barton, he dived to observe deep-sea creatures in their natural habitat and record what he saw. The first dive reached a depth of 245 m with his observations dictated by means of a telephone link to those at the surface.

Indeed, the dives of 1932 were relayed in live radio broadcasts. In 1934, they took the bathysphere to a depth of 923 m, a record that was not surpassed for 15 years.

Answer: She was the first woman to travel across and to map Arabia.

Gertrude Bell was a writer, scholar, traveller, archaeologist and more besides. The maps she created were highly influential in British Imperial policy in the region. She played a significant role in establishing the modern state of Iraq after World War I. For much more information on her extraordinary life, refer to 'Queen of the Desert' by Georgina Howell.

Answer: He lived amongst the Inuit, experiencing their life and their culture.

In 1883 Boas headed for a whaling station on Kekerten, now an uninhabited island. Whilst based there, he immersed himself in all aspects of Inuit culture, extending to eating their food, wearing their clothes, and also learning their language.

Answer: He climbed The Old Man of Hoy, Orkney, Scotland.

It was in 1966 that Chris, together with Tom Patey, climbed The Old Man of Hoy (a 137 m high sea stack made of Old Red Sandstone), in Orkney, Scotland, a first ascent.
In 1985, Chris succeeded in reaching the summit of Everest on his fourth attempt. By chance, I was a member of a trekking party that visited Everest Base Camp as Chris was making his summit bid. A few years later I met Chris briefly after he gave a lecture at Theatr Clwyd, North Wales.