Storker Storkerson collection

The collection comprises of material relating to the Canadian Arctic Expedition, 1913-1918

Storker Theodor Storkerson was born on 26 June 1883 in Norway. At the age of sixteen, he registered as a seaman in the Merchant Navy, later serving as mate on the Anglo-American Polar Expedition, 1906-1908 (leader Ernest de Koven Leffingwell), which charted the continental shelf north of Alaska. He returned north to continue the surveys of the north coast of Alaska on the United States Scientific Expedition, 1909-1912 (leader Ernest de Koven Leffingwell), serving as an assistant from 1909 until 1910. Storkerson then lived with his wife on the Mackenzie River Delta until February 1914 when he joined the Northern Division of the Canadian Arctic Expedition, 1913-1918 (leader Vilhjalmur Stefansson), following the loss of the expedition ship Karluk in January 1914. Between 1914 and 1915, Storkerson explored the Beaufort Sea with Stefansson and Ole Andreasen, discovering Bernard Island and Brock Island. When Stefansson fell ill in 1918, Storkerson took over command of the ice-drift party, which camped on the ice and drifted for nine months over a large area of the Beaufort Sea, taking depth soundings and current measurements.

After the expedition, Storkerson joined Stefansson in establishing the Hudson's Bay Reindeer Company to introduce reindeer on a commercial scale to Baffin Island. After this venture proved unsuccessful, Storkerson returned to Norway in 1921 to establish his own private reindeer business. Following the failures of both his private business and his attempt to mount a North Polar expedition, Storkerson suffered a breakdown and was placed in an asylum in Norway. He died on 22 March 1940 at Sørøysund, Norway.

The collection is arranged chronologically

By appointment.

Some materials deposited at the Institute are NOT owned by the Institute. In such cases the archivist will advise about any requirements imposed by the owner. These may include seeking permission to read, extended closure, or other specific conditions.

Anyone wishing to consult material should ensure they note the entire MS reference and the name of the originator.

The term holograph is used when the item is wholly in the handwriting of the author. The term autograph is used when the author has signed the item.

Descriptions compiled by N. Boneham, Assistant Archivist with assistance from R. Stancombe and reference to Arctic, exploration and development c500 BC to 1915, an encyclopaedia by Clive Holland, Garland Publishing, London (1994) and Exploring Polar Frontiers, a historical encyclopaedia by William Mills, San Diego and Oxford, 2003 and 'Storker Storkerson' in Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift volume 11 number 2 1946 p87-91 and Dartmouth college and Civilization

Clive Holland Manuscripts in the Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge, England - a catalogue, Garland Publishing New York and London (1982) ISBN 0824093941.

Additional finding aids are available at the Institute.

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Further accessions possible