Born on February 9, 1865, in Königsberg, Kingdom of Prussia, Erich Von Drygalski was a German geophysicist, geographer and polar scientist and an Arctic veteran.
Image Credits: en.wikipedia.org
At the end of the 19th century, when many countries and avid explorers in Western Europe were resolute to head south to the Antarctic, the German South Polar Commission also suggested a national expedition to Antarctica. For his experience in the field of geophysics and geography at the University of Berlin, Drygalski was chosen to be a part of the expedition along with 31 others (22 crew members, 5 naval officers, 5 scientists).
This was the first German expedition to the Antarctic, led by Drygalski in the ship Gauss.
Image Credits: coolantarctica.com
The Gauss Expedition started from Kiel (Northern Germany) on August 11, 1901 and reached Kerguelen Islands in the Southern Indian Ocean on January 2, 1902. After some very difficult navigation through the Ocean, the crew first sighted land on February 21 1902. But as luck would have it, later that day their ship was trapped while trying to enter a gap between two ice ridges.