View source for List of Arctic expeditions

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[[File:Mercator north pole 1595.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|[[Gerardus Mercator]]'s 1595 map of the Arctic]]
This is a '''list of Arctic expeditions'''.

== 15th century ==
{{startplainlist|style=text-indent:-2.8em; margin-left:2.8em;}}
* '''1472''': [[Didrik Pining]] and [[Hans Pothorst]] mark the first of the [[cartographic expeditions to Greenland]]
* '''1496''': {{ill|Grigoriy Istoma|ru|Истома, Григорий}}<!-- also known as "Gregor Istoma" or "Gregory Istoma"-->, venturing out of the White Sea, travels along the [[Murman Coast]] and the coast of northern Norway {{endplainlist}}

== 16th century ==
[[File:Death of Wiliam Barents.jpg|thumb|The death of [[Willem Barentsz]]]]
{{startplainlist|style=text-indent:-2.8em; margin-left:2.8em;}}
* '''1553''': English expedition led by [[Hugh Willoughby]] with [[Richard Chancellor]] as second in command searches for the [[Northeast Passage]]
* '''1557''': English expedition led by [[Stephen Borough]] reaches the [[Kara Strait]]
* '''1576–1578''': English expeditions led by [[Martin Frobisher]] reach [[Baffin Island]]
* '''1579''': [[Denmark-Norway|Danish-Norwegian]] expedition led by [[James Alday]] fails to reach Greenland due to ice
* '''1580''': English expedition led by [[Arthur Pet]] and Charles Jackman reaches the [[Kara Sea]]
* '''1581''': Danish-Norwegian expedition led by [[Magnus Heinason]] fails to reach Greenland due to ice
* '''1585–1587''': English expeditions led by [[John Davis (English explorer)|John Davis]] explore the [[Davis Strait]]–[[Baffin Bay]] region and reach [[Upernavik]]
* '''1594''': Dutch expedition led by [[Willem Barentsz]], [[Cornelis Nay]] and [[Brandt Tetgales]] reaches the Kara Sea via [[Yugorsky Strait]]
* '''1595''': Dutch expedition led by [[Cornelis Nay]] fails to make further progress towards a Northeast Passage than in the previous year
* '''1596–1597''': Dutch expedition piloted by [[Willem Barentsz]] discovers [[Spitsbergen]] and registered the first recorded [[Farthest North]]
{{endplainlist}}

== 17th century ==
[[File:Thomas Button.png|thumb|[[Thomas Button]]]]
{{startplainlist|style=text-indent:-2.8em; margin-left:2.8em;}}
* '''1605–1607''': Danish-Norwegian king, [[Christian IV|Christian IV of Denmark]], sends [[Christian IV's expeditions to Greenland|three expeditions]] led by [[John Cunningham (explorer)|John Cunningham]], [[Godske Lindenov]] and [[Carsten Richardson]] (all piloted by [[James Hall (explorer)|James Hall]]), to search for the lost [[Eastern Settlement]], one of the [[Norse colonization of North America#Norse Greenland|Norse colonies]] on Greenland
* '''1606''': [[John Knight (seafarer)|John Knight]], who had captained the {{ship||Katten|Danish ship|2}} in 1605 with John Cunningham, dies commanding a joint [[Muscovy Company]]/[[East India Company]] expedition in search of the [[Northwest Passage]]
* '''1607''': [[Henry Hudson]] explores Spitsbergen
* '''1608''': [[Henry Hudson]] gets as far as Novaya Zemlya in his attempt to find the Northeast Passage
* '''1609''': another unsuccessful attempt by [[Henry Hudson]] at finding the Northeast Passage
* '''1610''': [[Jonas Poole]] thoroughly explores Spitsbergen's west coast, reporting that he saw a "great store of whales"; this report leads to the establishment of the English [[whaling]] trade
* '''1610''': Russian Kondratiy Kurochkin explores the mouth of the [[Yenisei River]] and the adjoining coast
* '''1610–1611''': [[Henry Hudson]] reaches [[Hudson Bay]] in an attempt to find the Northwest Passage
* '''1612''': [[James Hall (explorer)|James Hall]] and [[William Baffin]] explore southwest Greenland
* '''1612–1613''': Button expedition, commanded by [[Thomas Button]], in search of the Northwest Passage
* '''1613''': Several whaling expeditions, consisting of a total of at least thirty ships from England, France, Spain, and the Netherlands crowd Spitsbergen's west coast
* '''1614''': Dutch and French expeditions discover [[Jan Mayen]]
* '''1615''': [[Robert Fotherby]], in the pinnace ''Richard'', is the first English expedition to reach Jan Mayen
* '''1615''': English expedition captained by [[Robert Bylot]] and piloted by [[William Baffin]] reaches the [[Foxe Basin]] in search of the Northwest Passage
* '''1616''': English expedition captained by [[Robert Bylot]] and piloted by [[William Baffin]] explores the [[Davis Strait]]–[[Baffin Bay]] region
* '''1619–1620''': Danish-Norwegian expedition led by [[Jens Munk]] in ''[[HDMS Enhiørningen (1609)|Enhiørningen]]'' (Unicorn) and ''[[HDMS Lamprenen (1612)|Lamprenen]]'' (Lamprey) to discover the Northwest Passage penetrated Davis Strait as far north as 69°, found [[Frobisher Bay]], spent a winter in [[Hudson Bay]]
* '''1633–1634''': I. Rebrov explores the mouth of the [[Lena River]]
* '''1633–1635''': [[Ilya Perfilyev]] explores the Lena and [[Yana River]]s and intervening coast
* '''1638''': I. Rebrov explores coast between the Lena and [[Indigirka River]]s
* '''1641''': Dimitry Zyryan and [[Mikhail Stadukhin]] explore the mouth of the Indigirka River and adjoining coast
* '''1646''': I. Ignatyev explores the mouth of the [[Kolyma River]] and adjoining coast
* '''1648''': Ya. Semyonov explores the mouth of [[Kotuy River]] and adjoining coast
* '''1648''': [[Semyon Dezhnev]] and [[Fedot Alekseyevich Popov]] explore from the Kolyma River through the [[Bering Strait]]
* '''1649''': Mikhail Stadukhin explores the coast from the Kolyma River to the Bering Strait
* '''1676''': English expedition led by John Wood fails to find the Northeast Passage
* '''1686–1687''': Ivan Tolstoukhov expedition explores the mouth of the Yenisey River and the coast of the [[Taymyr Peninsula]]
{{endplainlist}}

== 18th century ==
[[File:Chichagov VYa.jpg|thumb|[[Vasily Chichagov]]]]
{{startplainlist|style=text-indent:-2.8em; margin-left:2.8em;}}
* '''1712''': [[Merkury Vagin]] and [[Yakov Permyakov]] explore the vicinity of the mouth of the Yana River and adjoining coasts, both were murdered by mutineering expedition members
* '''1725–1730''': [[Vitus Bering]] leads the [[First Kamchatka expedition]]
* '''1728''': [[Claus Paarss]] attempts to cross Greenland's interior from the west in search of the old Norse Eastern Settlement
* '''1733–1743''': [[Second Kamchatka expedition]] explores the north coast of Russia and discovers [[Alaska]]
* '''1751''': [[Lars Dalager]] attempts to find the lost Eastern Settlement by crossing Greenland's ice sheet from the west
* '''1751–1753''': [[Peder Olsen Walløe]] explores the east coast of Greenland from [[Cape Farewell, Greenland|Cape Farewell]] in [[umiak]]s
* '''1760–1763''': S. F. Loshkin explores [[Novaya Zemlya]]
* '''1765–1766''': [[Vasily Chichagov]] explores the [[Kola Peninsula]] coast and Spitzbergen
* '''1768–1769''': F. F. Rozmyslov explores Novaya Zemlya and the [[Matochkin Strait]]
* '''1770–1771''': [[Samuel Hearne]] traces the [[Coppermine River]] to the Arctic Ocean
* '''1773''': [[Ivan Lyakhov]] discovered [[Kotelny Island]]
* '''1773''': The [[1773 Phipps expedition towards the North Pole|Phipps expedition towards the North Pole]] reaches 80° 37{{prime}} N, north of Spitsbergen.<ref name="Coleman2006">{{cite book|author=E. C. Coleman|title=The Royal Navy in Polar Exploration: From Frobisher to Ross|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M1kNAQAACAAJ|access-date=22 October 2012|year=2006|publisher=Tempus|isbn=9780752436609|pages=65–77}}</ref> This was the first Arctic expedition to carry out scientific research.<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Fred |last=Roots |title=Why the North Pole matters: An important history of challenges and global fascination |date=14 March 2017 |magazine=[[Canadian Geographic]] |url=https://canadiangeographic.ca/articles/why-the-north-pole-matters-an-important-history-of-challenges-and-global-fascination/ |access-date=15 August 2023 }}</ref>
* '''1776–1780''': [[James Cook]] charts the northwestern coast of America and sails through the Bering Strait during his [[Third voyage of James Cook|third voyage]] in search of the Northwest Passage
* '''1785–1794''': Russian expedition led by [[Joseph Billings]] explores Eastern Siberia, the [[Aleutian Islands]], and the west coast of Alaska
* '''1789''': [[Alexander Mackenzie (explorer)|Alexander Mackenzie]] traces the [[Mackenzie River]] to the Arctic Ocean
{{endplainlist}}

== 19th century ==
[[File:Врангель Фердинанд Петрович.jpg|thumb|[[Ferdinand von Wrangel]]]]
[[File:John Rae (explorer).jpg|thumb|[[John Rae (explorer)|John Rae]]]]
[[File:No-nb bldsa 1c070.jpg|thumb|[[J. A. D. Jensen]]]]
[[File:Mansporträtt. Andrée, Salomon August - Nordiska Museet - NMA.0033031.jpg|thumb|[[Salomon August Andrée]]]]
{{startplainlist}}

=== Early Period (1800–1818) ===
* '''1800''': [[Yakov Sannikov]] charts [[Stolbovoy Island]]
* '''1809–1811''': Yakov Sannikov and [[Matvei Gedenschtrom]] explore the [[New Siberian Islands]]
* '''1815–1818''': [[Otto von Kotzebue]] explores the Bering Strait during the [[Rurik expedition]]

=== [[John Ross (Royal Navy officer)|Ross]], [[William Edward Parry|Parry]] and [[John Franklin|Franklin]] (1818–1846) ===
* '''1818''': [[Royal Navy]] expedition led by captain [[David Buchan]] sails north from Spitsbergen<ref>{{cite book |title=A Voyage Of Discovery Towards The North Pole, Performed In His Majesty's Ships Dorothea And Trent, Under The Command Of Captain David Buchan, R. N., 1818 |last=Beechey |first=F. W. |year=1843 |publisher=Richard Bentley |location=London |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MKwNAAAAQAAJ |access-date=2009-08-15}}</ref>
* '''1818''': Royal Navy expedition led by [[John Ross (Royal Navy officer)|John Ross]] with his nephew [[James Clark Ross]], sails north along the west coast of Greenland to [[Pituffik]] in search of the [[Northwest Passage]] and encounters the [[Inughuit]] ([[Greenlandic Inuit]]) of [[Cape York (Greenland)|Cape York]]
* '''1819''': Royal Navy expedition aboard {{HMS|Hecla|1815|6}} and {{HMS|Griper|1813|6}} led by [[William Parry (explorer)|William Edward Parry]] in search of the Northwest Passage<ref>*{{cite book|title=Letters Written During The Later Voyage Of Discovery In The Western Arctic Sea |last=An Officer Of The Expedition |year=1821 |publisher=Sir Richard Phillips And Co. |location=London |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hfXEySkwRQcC |access-date=2009-08-15}}</ref>
* '''1819–1822''': The [[Coppermine expedition]] in northern Canada, led by [[John Franklin]], includes [[George Back]] and [[John Richardson (naturalist)|John Richardson]]
==== 1820s ====
* '''1820–1824''': [[Ferdinand von Wrangel]] and [[Fyodor Matyushkin]] explore the [[East Siberian Sea]] and the [[Chukchi Sea]] areas
* '''1821–1824''': [[Fyodor Litke]] explores the eastern [[Barents Sea]] and the west coast of Novaya Zemlya, including Matochkin Strait
* '''1821–1823''': [[Pyotr Anjou]] continues exploration of New Siberian Islands
* '''1822''': [[William Scoresby]] lands in east Greenland near the mouth of the fjord system that would later be named for him – [[Scoresby Sound]]
* '''1823''': [[Douglas Clavering]] and [[Edward Sabine]] explore East Greenland northwards to [[Clavering Island]], where they get in contact with the now extinct Inuit of Northeast Greenland
* '''1825–1827''': The [[Mackenzie River expedition]] descends the Mackenzie River and maps much of the Arctic coast
* '''1826''': [[Frederick William Beechey]] aboard {{HMS|Blossom|1806|6}} explores the Alaskan coast from [[Point Barrow]] to the Bering Strait
* '''1827''': First Norwegian expedition to the Arctic, led by [[Baltazar Mathias Keilhau]]
* '''1827''': Royal Navy expedition to Spitsbergen led by William Edward Parry reaches 82°45{{prime}} N<ref>{{cite web |url=http://polardiscovery.whoi.edu/arctic/1819.html |title=Polar Discovery |publisher=Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution |access-date=May 20, 2013}}</ref>
* '''1828–1830''': Danish expedition led by [[Wilhelm August Graah]] tries to locate the Eastern Settlement in southeast Greenland, but does not reach [[Ammassalik Island]].
* '''1829–1833''': Royal Navy expedition led by [[John Ross (Royal Navy officer)|John Ross]] to search for the [[Northwest Passage]] explores [[James Ross Strait]] and [[King William Island|King William Land]], locates the [[North Magnetic Pole]]
==== 1830s and 1840s ====
* '''1832–1835''': [[Pyotr Pakhtusov]] explores the southern half of the eastern coast of Novaya Zemlya
* '''1833–1835''': Royal Navy expedition led by [[George Back]] from [[Fort Reliance, Northwest Territories|Fort Reliance]] to the mouth of the [[Back River (Nunavut)|Back River]] at [[Chantrey Inlet]]<ref>{{cite book |title=Narrative Of A Journey To The Shores Of The Arctic Ocean In 1833, 1834, and 1835; Under The Command Of Capt. Back, R. N., Volume I |last=King |first=Richard |year=1836 |publisher=Richard Bentley |location=London |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kLLGssORMlYC |access-date=2009-08-15}}</ref>
* '''1836''': [[George Back]] attempts to ascertain if [[Boothia Peninsula]] is an island or a peninsula but his ship, {{HMS|Terror|1813|6}}, is trapped by ice near [[Southampton Island]]<ref>{{cite book|title=Narrative Of A Journey To The Shores Of The Arctic Ocean In 1833, 1834, and 1835; Under The Command Of Capt. Back, R. N., Volume II |last=King |first=Richard |year=1836 |publisher=Richard Bentley |location=London |url=https://archive.org/details/narrativeajourn02kinggoog |access-date=2009-08-15}}</ref>
* '''1837''': [[Karl Ernst von Baer]] leads a natural history expedition to Novaya Zemlya
* '''1838–1839''': [[Avgust Tsivolko]] leads an expedition to Novaya Zemlya, primarily for surveying
* '''1838–1840''': [[La Recherche Expedition|La Recherche expedition]], under the command of [[Joseph Paul Gaimard]], a scientific venture to explore the islands in the North Atlantic
* '''1845''': [[Franklin expedition|Franklin's Northwest Passage expedition]] is sent to map the remaining Northwest Passage

=== Search for [[Franklin's lost expedition|Franklin]] (1846–1857) ===
* '''1848''': [[John Richardson (naturalist)|John Richardson]] and [[John Rae (explorer)|John Rae]] lead the [[Rae–Richardson Arctic expedition]] and search overland for Franklin's lost expedition
* '''1849''': [[Henry Kellett]] discovers [[Herald Island (Arctic)|Herald Island]] searching for Franklin's lost expedition
* '''1850–1854''': [[McClure Arctic expedition]] led by [[Robert McClure]], a British search for the members of Franklin's lost expedition
* '''1850–1851''': [[First Grinnell expedition]] led by [[Edwin De Haven]], the first American search for the members of Franklin's lost expedition, finds the graves of crew members [[John Torrington]], [[William Braine]] and [[John Hartnell]] on Beechey Island
* '''1851''': [[William Kennedy (explorer)|William Kennedy]] leads a search expedition for Franklin in the ''Prince Albert'', sponsored by [[Jane Franklin|Lady Franklin]]
* '''1852''': [[Edward Augustus Inglefield]] sets out to search for Franklin's ill-fated expedition in the {{ship||Isabel|1850 ship|2}}, also sponsored by Jane Franklin
* '''1853–1855''': [[Second Grinnell expedition]] led by [[Elisha Kane]] looks for Franklin searching [[Grinnell Land]]<ref>{{cite book |title=Professor Sonntag's Thrilling Narrative Of The Grinnell Exploring Expedition To The Arctic Ocean In The Years 1853, 1854, and 1855 In Search of Sir John Franklin, Under The Command of Dr. E. K. Kane, U.S.N. |last=Sonntag |first=August |year=1865 |publisher=Jas. T. Lloyd & Co. |location=Philadelphia |url=https://archive.org/details/professorsonnta00augugoog |access-date=2009-08-15}}</ref>
* '''1857–1859''': [[McClintock Arctic expedition]] led by [[Francis Leopold McClintock]] is the fifth expedition sponsored by Lady Franklin and finds artefacts, a crew member's skeleton and the final written communications from the last survivors of the Franklin expedition

=== [[Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld|Nordenskiöld]] Period (1857–1879) ===
* '''1858''': Swedish expedition to Spitsbergen led by [[Otto Martin Torell]]
==== 1860s ====
*'''1860''': [[Paul A. Chadbourne]], a [[Williams College]] professor, conducts the Williams College Lyceum of Natural History expedition to Greenland.<ref>{{cite web |title=Charles Everett Ranlett Papers |url=https://archivesspace.williams.edu/repositories/2/resources/153 |publisher=Williams College Archives and Special Collections |access-date=October 7, 2020}}</ref>
* '''1860–1861''': [[American Arctic Expedition]] led by [[Isaac Israel Hayes]] who claims to see the [[Open Polar Sea]]
* '''1860–1862''': First expedition led by American [[Charles Francis Hall]] searching for Franklin
* '''1861''': Swedish expedition to Svalbard led by [[Otto Martin Torell]] explores [[Hinlopen Strait]] and the north coast of [[Nordaustlandet]]
* '''1861–1862''': Otto Paul von Krusenstern's expedition through the Kara Sea on the ''Yermak''
* '''1864''': Swedish expedition to Svalbard led by [[Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld]]
* '''1864–1869''': Charles Francis Hall leads his second expedition to determine the fate of Franklin, to [[King William Island]]
* '''1867''': [[Edward Whymper]] and [[Robert Brown (botanist, born 1842)|Robert Brown]] attempt to explore the inland ice of Greenland
* '''1868''': [[German North Polar Expedition|First German North Polar Expedition]] led by [[Carl Koldewey]] along the east coast of Greenland
* '''1868''': Swedish expedition led by [[Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld]] attempts farthest north from Svalbard
* '''1869–1870''': Second German North Polar Expedition ({{ship||Germania|ship, 1869|2}} and ''Hansa'') led by Carl Koldewey reaches [[Sabine Island]]
==== 1870s ====
* '''1870''' [[Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld]] leads a short journey on the inland ice of Western Greenland
* '''1871''': [[Benjamin Leigh Smith]]'s first expedition explores the northeastern boundary of Svalbard
* '''1871–1873''': [[Polaris expedition|''Polaris'' expedition]], known for the death of its commander, [[Charles Francis Hall]]
* '''1872''': [[Benjamin Leigh Smith]] returns to Svalbard in his second expedition
* '''1872–1873''': Swedish expedition to Svalbard led by [[Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld]] winters at [[Mosselbukta]]
* '''1872–1874''': [[Austro-Hungarian North Pole expedition]] led by Captain [[Karl Weyprecht]] discovers [[Franz Josef Land]]
* '''1873''': [[Benjamin Leigh Smith]] comes to Nordenskiöld's aid in Spitsbergen
* '''1875''': [[Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld]] is the first to reach the [[Yenisey]] by sea
* '''1875–1876''': [[British Arctic Expedition]] led by Captain [[George Nares]]
* '''1876''': [[Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld]] repeats his voyage to the Yenisey
* '''1876–1878''': [[:nb:Den norske Nordhavsekspedisjon 1876–78|Norwegian Northern Seas expedition]] in ''Vøringen'' explored the [[Atlantic Ocean|Northern Atlantic]] up to 80°N
* '''1877–1878''': [[Henry W. Howgate]] leads the Howgate Preliminary Polar Expedition to promote scientific experiments, and whaling as a source of revenue
* '''1878''': [[J. A. D. Jensen]] explores the inland ice sheet from west Greenland
* '''1878–1881''': different voyages with Dutch polar schooner ''Willem Barents'' in the area around Spitsbergen and Novaya Zemlya, organised by the [[Royal Dutch Geographical Society]]
* '''1878–1879''': Swedish [[Vega Expedition|''Vega'' expedition]] led by [[Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld]] completes the Northeast Passage

=== Race for the Pole (1879–1900) ===
* '''1879–1882''': [[Jeannette expedition|''Jeannette'' expedition]] commanded by [[George W. De Long]] attempts to reach the North Pole by sea from the Bering Strait
* '''1880''': Henry W. Howgate leads the Howgate Arctic expedition for scientific and geographical exploration of Greenland
* '''1880''': [[Benjamin Leigh Smith]]'s fourth expedition explores the southwestern area of Franz Josef Land
* '''1881–1882''': [[Benjamin Leigh Smith]]'s final expedition is shipwrecked in Franz Josef Land
==== [[First International Polar Year|International Polar Year]] ====
* '''1881–1884''': [[Lady Franklin Bay Expedition]], [[Signal Corps (United States Army)|US Army Signal Corps]] expedition led by [[Adolphus Greely]]
* '''1882–1883''': The Danish [[Dijmphna|Dijmphna expedition]] travels to the territory between Russia and the North Pole
* '''1883–1885''': Umiak expedition, led by [[Gustav Frederik Holm]] and [[Thomas Vilhelm Garde]] along the southeastern coast of Greenland in the shallow waters between the coast and the sea ice
* '''1883''': Failed attempt by Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld to cross Greenland from the west
* '''1886''': Failed attempt by [[Robert Peary]] to cross Greenland
* '''1888–1889''': First successful crossing of the Greenland inland ice by the Norwegian expedition led by [[Fridtjof Nansen]] (from east to west)
==== 1890s ====
* '''1891–1892''': The East Greenland expedition on the ''Hekla'' led by [[Carl Ryder]] fails to get through the sea ice of east Greenland, but explores the [[Scoresby Sound]] system in detail
* '''1891–1892''': Second [[Peary expedition to Greenland of 1891–92|Peary expedition to Greenland]] led by Peary to discover if Greenland is an island or a peninsula
* '''1892''': [[Björling–Kallstenius Expedition]] led by [[Alfred Björling]] was eventually wrecked on the [[Carey Islands]]
* '''1893–1895''': Third US Greenland expedition led by Peary
* '''1893–1896''': [[Nansen's Fram expedition|Nansen's ''Fram'' expedition]] by Fridtjof Nansen and [[Hjalmar Johansen]] on the {{ship||Fram|ship|2}} and over ice towards the [[North Pole]]
* '''1894''' Failed attempt by [[Walter Wellman]] to reach the North Pole from Svalbard
* '''1894–1897''': [[Jackson–Harmsworth expedition]], led by [[Frederick George Jackson]], explores Franz Josef Land hoping in vain to find more land polewards
* '''1895-1896''': [[Ingolf expedition]], hydrographical and biological studies in the waters around [[Greenland]], [[Iceland]] and [[Jan Mayen]]
* '''1897''': [[Salomon August Andrée]] leads a failed three man [[Andrée's Arctic balloon expedition|Arctic balloon expedition]] in an attempt to reach the Pole, Andrée along with [[Knut Frænkel]] and [[Nils Strindberg]] die
* '''1898–1899''': Failed attempt by [[Walter Wellman]] to reach the North Pole from Franz Josef Land
* '''1898–1902''': Second ''Fram'' voyage by [[Otto Sverdrup]] explores the North American Arctic around [[Ellesmere Island]]
* '''1898-1902''': Peary's Sixth Expedition and first attempt at the North Pole
* '''1898–1900''': The Carlsbergfund expedition to East Greenland led by [[Georg Carl Amdrup]] explores the [[Blosseville Coast]]
* '''1899''': [[Alfred Gabriel Nathorst]] explores the fjords of northeast Greenland, in particular the [[King Oscar Fjord]] system
* '''1898–1902''': The [[Swedish–Russian Arc-of-Meridian Expedition]] measures a [[meridian arc]] in Svalbard throughout five summer seasons and one winter season
* '''1899–1900''': Italian North Pole expedition led by [[Prince Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi]] on the renamed {{ship||Stella Polare||2}} captained by [[Umberto Cagni]]
{{endplainlist}}

== 20th century ==
[[File:Johan Peter Koch.jpg|thumb|[[Johan Peter Koch]]]]
[[File:Knud Rasmussen.jpg|thumb|[[Knud Rasmussen]]]]
[[File:Georgy Ushakov.jpg|thumb|[[Georgy Ushakov]]]]
[[File:Cowper biophoto.jpg|thumb|[[David Scott Cowper]]]]
{{startplainlist}}

=== [[Roald Amundsen|Amundsen]] and the Heroic Age (1900–1925) ===
* '''1898, 1899, 1906, 1907''': [[Albert I, Prince of Monaco]] leads four Arctic expeditions with ''Princesse Alice''
* '''1900–1903''': [[Russian polar expedition of 1900–1902]] on-board {{ship||Zarya|polar ship|2}} is led by [[Eduard Toll]]
* '''1901–1902''': [[Baldwin-Ziegler Polar Expedition]] financed by US industrialist [[William Ziegler (industrialist)|William Ziegler]], led by Evelyn Baldwin
* '''1902–1904''': The Literary expedition led by [[Ludvig Mylius-Erichsen]] together with [[Knud Rasmussen]] explores the northwest Greenland coast between [[Uummannaq]] and [[Qaanaaq|Thule]]
* '''1903–1906''': Roald Amundsen's ''Gjøa'' expedition – first [[Northwest Passage]] traversal
* '''1903–1905''': [[Ziegler Polar Expedition]] overland, led by [[Anthony Fiala]]
* '''1905–1906''': North Pole expedition led by [[Robert Peary]], from [[Ellesmere Island]]
* '''1906–1908''': The [[Danmark Expedition]] led by Ludvig Mylius-Erichsen, mapped the last unknown areas of Northeast Greenland, but ended fatally for the main exploring team
* '''1906, 1907, 1909''': The airship {{ship||America|airship|2}} and [[Walter Wellman]]
* '''1906–1908''': Anglo-American Polar expedition ([[Ejnar Mikkelsen]]–[[Ernest de Koven Leffingwell]] expedition)
* '''1907''': [[Johan Peter Koch]] and [[Aage Bertelsen]] report seeing [[Fata Morgana Land]], a [[phantom island]] off the coast of northeast Greenland

==== Disputed Polar Claims ====
* '''1907–1909''': US North Pole expedition led by [[Frederick Cook]] claims to be the first to reach the pole
* '''1908''': expedition led by [[Charles Bénard Le Pontois|Charles Bénard]] explores Novaya Zemlya
* '''1908–1909''': expedition led by [[Robert Peary]] also claims reaching the North Pole first
* '''1909–1912''': The '''{{vanchor|Alabama expedition}}''' to northeast Greenland led by [[Ejnar Mikkelsen]] in an operation to recover bodies and logs of the ill-fated Danmark expedition
* '''1910–1915''': Russian [[Arctic Ocean Hydrographic Expedition]] in {{ship||Taymyr|1909 icebreaker|2}} and {{ship||Vaygach|1909 icebreaker|2}}
* '''1912''': First Thule expedition – Knud Rasmussen and [[Peter Freuchen]] explores North Greenland and establishes that [[Peary Land]] is not an island
* '''1912''': Swiss expedition led by [[Alfred de Quervain]] crosses Greenland by dog-sled
*'''1912''': German Arctic Expedition to Spitsbergen, led by [[Herbert Schröder-Stranz]]
* '''1912–1913''': [[Danish Expedition to Queen Louise Land]] – Johan Peter Koch and [[Alfred Wegener]] cross the inland ice in north Greenland
* '''1912–1914''': [[Brusilov Expedition]], ill-fated expedition led by Captain [[Georgy Brusilov]]
* '''1912–1914''': Russian expedition aboard ''Foka'', led by [[Georgy Sedov]]
* '''1913''': [[Crocker Land Expedition]] to search for Crocker Island, a hoax reported by Robert Peary
* '''1913–1918''': [[Canadian Arctic Expedition 1913–1916]] led by [[Vilhjalmur Stefansson]], initially in {{HMCS|Karluk}} which [[Last voyage of the Karluk|was lost]] in 1913 and explored land that was unknown to the Inuit
* '''1916–1918''': Second Thule expedition – Knud Rasmussen and [[Lauge Koch]] explore North Greenland
* '''1918–1925''': [[Roald Amundsen#The Northeast Passage|Roald Amundsen]] traverses the [[Northeast Passage]] with {{ship||Maud|ship|2}}
* '''1919''': Third Thule expedition – Knud Rasmussen explores north Greenland and lays out depots for [[Roald Amundsen]]'s polar drift in ''Maud''
* '''1919–1920''': Fourth Thule expedition – Knud Rasmussen explores east Greenland
* '''1921''':[[1921 Oxford University Spitsbergen expedition|Oxford University Spitsbergen expedition]] led by [[F. C. R. Jourdain]]
* '''1921–1923''': Bicentenary Jubilee expedition led by Lauge Koch explores north Greenland
* '''1921–1923''': [[Wrangel Island]] Expedition – a land claim and colonisation attempt conceived, but not led by [[Vilhjalmur Stefansson]] – all members die apart from [[Iñupiat]] seamstress and cook [[Ada Blackjack]]
* '''1921–1924''': Fifth Thule expedition led by Knud Rasmussen crossing the [[Northwest Passage]] on dog sledges from Thule across [[Northern Canada|Arctic Canada]] to [[Nome, Alaska]] demonstrates how [[Inuit culture]] could spread rapidly
* '''1924''': Oxford University Arctic Expedition led by [[George Binney]], uses a [[seaplane]] to assist in the first traverse of [[Nordaustlandet]]

=== [[Richard E. Byrd|Byrd]] and the Aircraft Age (1925–1958) ===
* '''1925''': [[Flying boat]] expedition led by Roald Amundsen and [[Lincoln Ellsworth]]
* '''1926''': Aircraft flight by [[Richard E. Byrd]] and [[Floyd Bennett]]
==== Polar Conquest ====
* '''1926''': The airship {{ship||Norge|airship|2}} (Roald Amundsen, [[Umberto Nobile]] and Lincoln Ellsworth) becomes the ''first'' '''''verified''''' trip to the [[North Pole]]
* '''1928''': [[Carl Ben Eielson]]–[[Hubert Wilkins]] Arctic Ocean crossing
* '''1928''': The airship {{ship|Airship|Italia||2}} (Umberto Nobile); airship crashed, but Nobile was rescued
* '''1928''': [[Roald Amundsen]] disappears in the Arctic aboard a [[Latham 47]] while searching for Nobile
* '''1928''': [[USCGC Marion (WSC-145)|Marion]] expedition to [[Davis Strait]] and [[Baffin Bay]]
* '''1930–1931''': [[Alfred Wegener]]'s [[German Greenland Expedition]] that led to his death on the Greenland ice sheet, halfway between [[Eismitte]] and West Camp
* '''1930''': [[Bratvaag Expedition]], led by [[Gunnar Horn]] to [[Franz Josef Land]], found long lost remains of [[Salomon August Andrée]]'s expedition
* '''1930–1931''': [[British Arctic Air Route Expedition]] was an expedition, led by [[Gino Watkins]], that aimed to draw improved maps and charts of poorly surveyed sections of Greenland's coastline
* '''1931''': Successful research trip by airship [[LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin#Polar flight (1931)|''Graf Zeppelin'']] led by [[Hugo Eckener]]
* '''1931''': Sir [[Hubert Wilkins]] with submarine {{ship||Nautilus|USS 0-12|2}} (failed {{convert|800|km|abbr=on}} south of the pole)
* '''1931''': Sixth Thule expedition led by Knud Rasmussen explores northeast Greenland
* '''1931''': [[Arne Høygaard]] and [[Martin Mehren]] cross Greenland by dog-sled
* '''1931–1934''': The [[three-year expedition to East Greenland]] led by Lauge Koch explores northeast Greenland

==== [[International Polar Year#The Second International Polar Year (1932–1933)|Second International Polar Year]] ====
* '''1932''': Icebreaker {{ship||A. Sibiryakov|icebreaker|2}} makes the successful crossing of the [[Northern Sea Route]] in a single navigation without wintering
* '''1932–1933''': [[1932–33 East Greenland expedition|East Greenland expedition]], also known as the Pan Am expedition, a four-man expedition to continue the work of the British Arctic Air Route Expedition
* '''1932–1933''': [[Dalstroy]] expedition to the [[Kolyma River]] in a convoy headed by the icebreaker {{ship||Fyodor Litke|1909 icebreaker|2}}
* '''1933''': Russian steamship {{SS|Chelyuskin}} managed to get through most of the Northern Route before it was caught in the ice in September
* '''1934''': British Trans-Greenland Expedition led by [[Sir Martin Lindsay, 1st Baronet|Martin Lindsay]]
* '''1935''': [[Ushakov Island]], the last piece of undiscovered territory in the Soviet Arctic, was found by [[Georgy Ushakov]] aboard the {{ship||Sadko|1913 icebreaker|2}}
* '''1935''': French expedition led by [[Paul-Émile Victor]] crosses Greenland by dog-sled
* '''1937''': Soviet aircraft [[Tupolev ANT-25]] made several transpolar flights
* '''1937''': Soviet and Russian manned [[drifting ice station]]s are, as of 2017, 41 scientific [[drift station]]s operating or were operating on [[drift ice]]
*'''1937–1938''': German Spitsbergen Expedition led by Dr. Herbert Rieche
* '''1937–1938''': [[MacGregor Arctic Expedition]] was led by [[Clifford J. MacGregor]] and overwintered at [[Etah, Greenland]]
*'''1938''': Cambridge Spitsbergen Expedition led by L.H.McCabe
* '''1938–1939''': [[Mørkefjord expedition]] was an exploratory expedition to northeast Greenland led by [[Eigil Knuth]]


==== Post-War ====
* '''1946''': [[Operation Nanook (1946)|Operation Nanook]] was a US cartographic mission to Thule and to erect a radio and weather station
* '''1948''': Russian scientific expedition led by [[Aleksandr Kuznetsov (explorer)|Aleksandr Kuznetsov]] lands an aircraft at Pole 
* '''1952–1954''': [[British North Greenland expedition]] was a British scientific mission, led by Commander [[James Simpson (explorer)|James Simpson]]
* '''1955''': Cross-polar flight by [[Louise Arner Boyd]]

=== Era of Satellites, Submarines and Icebreakers (1958–onward) ===
* '''1958''': [[USS Nautilus (SSN-571)]] crosses the Arctic Ocean from the Pacific to the Atlantic beneath the polar sea ice, reaching the North Pole on 3 August 1958
* '''1959''': [[Discoverer 1]], a prototype with no camera, is the first satellite in [[polar orbit]]<ref>[https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1959-002A Discoverer 1]</ref>
* '''1959''': [[USS Skate (SSN-578)]] becomes first submarine to surface at the North Pole on 17 March 1959
* '''1960''': [[TIROS-1]], is the first [[weather satellite]] in polar orbit; eventually returned 22,952 cloud cover photos<ref>{{cite web |url=http://goespoes.gsfc.nasa.gov:80/poes/timeline_1.html |title=POES Project Timeline |publisher=[[NASA]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120511164043/http://goespoes.gsfc.nasa.gov/poes/timeline_1.html |archive-date=May 11, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* '''1968''': [[Ralph Plaisted]] and three others reach the North Pole by [[snowmobile]] and are the first confirmed overland conquest of the Pole
* '''1968–1969''': [[Wally Herbert]], British explorer, reaches Pole on foot and traverses the [[Arctic Ocean]]
* '''1971''': Former football player [[Tony Dauksza]] becomes the first person to traverse the Northwest Passage in a canoe
* '''1977''': {{ship||Arktika|1972 icebreaker|2}}, nuclear-powered icebreaker, reaches the North Pole
* '''1979–1982''': [[Kenichi Horie]] in ''Mermaid'', was the first person to sail the Northwest Passage solo
* '''1982''': As part of the [[Transglobe Expedition]] Sir [[Ranulph Fiennes]] and [[Charles R. Burton]] cross the Arctic Ocean in a single season
* '''1986''': [[Will Steger]] and party reach the north pole by [[dog sled]] without resupply
* '''1986–1989''': [[David Scott Cowper]] became the first person to have completed the Northwest Passage single-handed as part of a circumnavigation of the world
* '''1988''': Will Steger completes first south–north traverse of Greenland
* '''1988''': [[Soviet–Canadian 1988 Polar Bridge Expedition]] a group of thirteen Russian and Canadian skiers set out from Siberia skiing to Canada over the North Pole aided by satellites.
* '''1989''': [[Arved Fuchs]] and [[Reinhold Messner]] are the first to reach the South Pole and cross Antarctica (1,750 miles route) with neither animal nor motorised help 
* '''1991-1992''': [[Lonnie Dupre]] completes first west to east winter crossing of arctic Canada traveling by dog team from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska via the northwest passage before turning south ending in Churchill, Manitoba.  The 3000-mile journey started in October and ended in April. 
* '''1992''': Crossing of the Greenland inland ice from east to west by a Japanese expedition led by Kenji Yoshikawa
* '''1993–1994''': Pam Flowers dog sledded alone{{convert|2,500|mi|abbr=on}} from [[Barrow, Alaska]], to [[Naujaat|Repulse Bay (Naujaat)]], Canada<ref>Alone Across The Arctic</ref>
* '''1994''': [[Shane Lundgren]] led expedition that began in Moscow and proceeded north of the [[Arctic Circle]] across Siberia to [[Magadan]]
* '''1995''': [[Marek Kamiński]] and [[Wojciech Moskal]] reached the North Pole on 23 May 1995 (27 December 1995, Marek Kamiński reached the [[South Pole]] alone)
* '''1997''': [[Børge Ousland]] completed the first unsupported solo crossing of the Antarctic
{{endplainlist}}

== 21st century ==
[[File:Fiann_Paul_and_Alex_Gregory_aboard_Polar_Row.jpg|thumb|[[Fiann Paul]], [[Alex Gregory]] and Carlo Facchino ocean rowing aboard Polar Row.]]
{{startplainlist|style=text-indent:-2.8em; margin-left:2.8em;|}}
* '''2000''': [[Ukraine - North Pole - 2000|Ukrainian parachute expedition to the North Pole]]
* '''2001''': [[Lonnie Dupre]] with teammate John Holescher complete the first circumnavigation of Greenland, a 6,500 mile, all non-motorized journey by kayak and dog team.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}
* '''2002''': Jean Lemire and the crew of the {{ship||Sedna IV||2}} successfully navigate the [[Northwest Passage]] on a three-mast [[schooner]], sailing from [[Montreal]] to [[Vancouver]] in five months while filming ''[[La grande traversée]]'' and four other documentaries about the effects of [[global warming]] on the Canadian [[Arctic Archipelago]] (at the time, only the seventh sailboat in history to make the legendary Northwest Passage from east to west)<ref name="CanalD">{{cite web |title=Jean Lemire Chief of mission |url=https://1000jours.canald.com/en/about/ship-crew/29/jeanlemire |website=1000jours.canald.com |publisher=[[Canal D]] |access-date=27 January 2019}}</ref> 
* '''2003''': [[Pen Hadow]] makes solo trek from Canada to North Pole without resupply<ref name="ti030520">{{cite news|last1=Dougary|first1=Ginny|title=Pen Hadow makes history by walking solo to the North Pole|url=https://www.thetimes.com/travel/advice/pen-hadow-makes-history-by-walking-solo-to-the-north-pole-3smvnqxngt5|access-date=15 August 2017|work=[[The Times]]|date=May 20, 2003}}</ref>
* '''2004''': Five members of the Ice Warrior Squad reach the [[Geomagnetic North Pole]], including the first two women in history to do so.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}
* '''2006''': Start of the French [[Tara expedition|''Tara'' expedition]]
* '''2007''': [[Arktika 2007]], Russian submersible descends to the ocean floor below the North Pole from the {{ship||Akademik Fyodorov||2}}
* '''2007''': [[Top Gear: Polar Special]], BBC's Top Gear team are the first to reach the [[North Magnetic Pole|magnetic North Pole]] in a car
* '''2007''': The [[Arctic Mars Analog Svalbard Expedition]] uses Mars analog sites on Svalbard for testing of science questions and payload instruments onboard Mars missions
* '''2008''': [[Alex Hibbert]] and George Bullard complete the Tiso Trans Greenland expedition. The longest fully unsupported land Arctic journey in history at {{convert|1374|mi|abbr=on|}}{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}
* '''2009''': David Scott Cowper becomes the only person to have sailed the Northwest Passage solo in a single season.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}
* '''2011''': [[MLAE-2011]] led by [[Vasily Igorevich Yelagin]] travelled from [[Dudinka]], Russia – North Pole – [[Resolute, Nunavut]], Canada
* '''2011''': [[Old Pulteney Row To The Pole]], a publicity stunt sponsored by [[Old Pulteney distillery|Old Pulteney]] whisky, organised by [[Jock Wishart]] who also operated the  [[Polar Race]]
* '''2015''': Interdisciplinary Arctic Expedition "Kartesh" – complex arctic expedition, organized by the Polar Expedition Gallery project (later rebranded as Polar Expedition "Kartesh") in collaboration with the [[Moscow State University|LMSU]] Marine Research Center. Research tasks: assessing the Arctic coastline vulnerability towards human impact; marine and coastal ecosystem and Arctic seas landform condition monitoring; West Arctic biodiversity research; oil oxidizing microorganism activity research; testing new methods of water areas [[remote sensing]].{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}
* '''2017''': Polar Row, led by [[Fiann Paul]], is the world's most record-breaking expedition (14 [[Guinness World Records]]). The team covered 1440 miles measured in a straight line in the [[Arctic Ocean]] open waters in a row boat and pioneered [[ocean rowing]] routes from [[Tromsø]] to Longyearbyen, from [[Longyearbyen]] to Arctic Ice Pack (79º55'500 N) and from the [[Arctic ice pack]] to [[Jan Mayen]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://guinnessworldrecords.com/search?term=%22Polar%20Row%22&page=1&type=all&max=20&partial=_Results&/ |title=Polar Row |access-date=5 October 2019|publisher=Guinness World Records}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.mensjournal.com/adventure/articles/speaking-with-the-men-of-the-record-breaking-polar-row-expedition-w501659|title=Freezing Temps and Rotting Hands: Speaking With the Men of the Record-Breaking Polar Row Expedition|work=Men's Journal|access-date=2017-10-05}}</ref>
* '''2019''': [[MOSAiC Expedition]] under the direction of the [[Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research]] with 300 scientists from 20 nations on board the German ice-breaker [[RV Polarstern|''Polarstern'']] to collect data about the ocean, the ice, the atmosphere and life in the Arctic in order to understand climate change
{{endplainlist|}}

== See also ==
* [[List of Antarctic expeditions]]
* [[List of firsts at the Geographic North Pole]]

== Footnotes ==
{{reflist}}

{{Polar exploration|state=collapsed}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arctic expeditions}}
[[Category:Arctic-related lists|Expeditions]]
[[Category:Arctic expeditions| ]]
[[Category:Explorers of the Arctic| ]]
[[Category:Lists of expeditions]]