Who was the first person to reach the South Pole, in December 1911?

Roald Amundsen was the first person to reach the South Pole, arriving in December 1911.

The Norwegian explorer and his team reached the geographic South Pole on 14 December 1911. Amundsen’s expedition traveled with sled dogs and carefully planned supply depots, drawing on techniques he had learned from Arctic Indigenous peoples. His team’s preparations and route selection helped them complete the journey efficiently and return safely to their base.

Robert Falcon Scott’s British expedition reached the pole about a month later, on 17 January 1912. Scott and the other members of his polar party died during the return journey. The contrasting outcomes made the race a major episode in the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.

Amundsen had originally planned an Arctic expedition, but changed direction after learning that Robert Peary claimed to have reached the North Pole. His later achievements included the first expedition to navigate the Northwest Passage and, with his airship crew, a 1926 flight over the North Pole.