Thor Heyerdahl is the most famous Norwegian that ever lived. And if you do not know who he is, it is time to find out. On April 28 1947 Thor Heyerdahl set off from Peru with five other men to cross the Pacific Ocean in a primitive raft made of balsa logs and reed to demonstrate that the Pacific Islands of Polynesia may have been populated by settlers from South America.
The National Geographic Society thought he was on a suicide mission as the reed boat was built with material that they felt could not survive a journey across the Pacific. But after 101 days at sea they finally made it to the French Polynesian atoll of Raroia. While skeptics still did not believe that South Americans had sailed across the Pacific to populate Polynesia they were impressed by Thor Heyerdahl’s skills.
The Kon Tiki Museum in Oslo is dedicated to this expedition and is worth a visit.
