Thor Heyerdahl (1914 - 2002)

Born 6 Oct 1914 in Larvik, Vestfold, Norway

Ancestors

Husband of Liv Coucheron (Caucheron - Torp) Rockefeller — married 24 Dec 1936 (to 1948) in Eidanger, Telemark, Norge

Died 18 Apr 2002 at age 87 in Colla Micheri, Andora, Savona, Liguria, Italia

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Biography

Thor Heyerdahl is Notable.

Thor Heyerdahl was born in Norway

Thor Heyerdahl was a Norwegian adventurer and ethnographer with a background in zoology, botany, and geography. He is considered the founder of experimental archaeology. His research interests focused on prehistoric cultures and their migration and exchange potential. To investigate this, he undertook expeditions that brought him worldwide recognition. He became notable for his Kon-Tiki expedition (1947) on a hand-built balsa raft across the Pacific Ocean to demonstrate the possibility of cultural exchange between South America and the Polynesian islands. Heyerdahl made other voyages to demonstrate the possibility of contact between widely separated ancient peoples, notably the Ra II expedition (1970), on which he crossed the Atlantic Ocean from Morocco to Barbados, and the Tigris expedition (1977) from Iraq via Pakistan to Djibouti.

During his life, Heyerdahl received many awards, honors and honorary degrees from all over the world. Norwegian honors he received include:

• Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav

Commander: 1951

Commander with Star: 1970

Grand Cross: 1987

• St. Hallvard's Medal: 1997
• Peer Gynt Prize: 1999

Notwithstanding the worldwide acclaim of Heyerdahl's voyages, the details of his theories on migration were controversial and still are today.

Thor was born on 6 October 1914 and baptized on 5 April 1915 in Larvik, Vestfold. He was the son of Thor Heyerdahl and his wife Alison, née Lyng.^[1]

In 1933, Heyerdahl began studying zoology and geography at the University of Oslo.^[2] On 24 December 1936, he married (1) Liv Coucheron Torp in Eidanger, Telemark.^[3] Liv was an economics student, whom he had met at Oslo University.^[2] After their wedding, they lived temporarily on Fatu Hiva, one of the Marquesa Islands in Polynesia. After they returned to Norway in the spring of 1938, they had two sons:^[4]

• Thor Jr. (born 1938),
• Bjørn (born 1940).^[5]

Heyerdahl next turned to studying the Bella Coola Indians in British Columbia, Canada. During the Second World War, the family initially stayed in Canada; then Heyerdahl joined the Norwegian resistance against the German occupation as a lieutenant.

During his Kon-Tiki expedition in 1947, Heyerdahl sailed 8,000 km (5,000 mi) across the Pacific Ocean on a hand-built balsa raft from Peru to the Tuamotu Islands (French Polynesia). Thor and Liv divorced in 1948.^[6] In 1949 Thor married (2) Yvonne Dedekam-Simonsen (1924-2006). They had three daughters:^[4]

• Anette (1953-1990),
• Marian (born 1957),
• Helene Elisabeth "Bettina" (born 1959).

In the second half of the 1950s, Heyerdahl discovered possible migration movements between the South American Andes and Easter Island.

Thor and Yvonne divorced in 1969.^[6] In 1969 and 1970, Heyerdahl carried out two expeditions on the papyrus reed boats Ra I and Ra II, which were reconstructed based on the Egyptian-Phoenician model, to cross the Atlantic from Morocco. While the crew had to be rescued after having sailed more than 6,400 km (4,000 miles) on Ra I, Heyerdahl and his crew were able to reach Barbados on Ra II. The Tigris expedition on another reed boat in 1977 took Heyerdahl from Iraq through the Persian Gulf to Oman and Pakistan and then across the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea to Djibouti. It was intended to demonstrate that trade and migration could have linked Mesopotamia with the Indus Valley civilization. The Tigris would have been seaworthy for longer, but due to the warlike situation at the Horn of Africa, which prevented entry into the Red Sea, the journey was canceled and the reed boat was burned off Djibouti as a protest against the war in the region. In the years that followed, Heyerdahl was often outspoken on issues of international peace and the environment.

Archaeological expeditions took Heyerdahl to the Maldives (1982, 1983, 1984), Peru (1988–1993), Tenerife (1990–1998), and Sicily (2000–2002). He also made four visits to Azerbaijan in 1981, 1994, 1999, and 2000 as well as two visits to Azov (Russia) in 2001 and 2002 in conjunction with his Search for Odin, based on myths compiled by Snorri Sturluson.

Thor married (3) Jacqueline Beer (born 1932) in 1991.^[4] He passed away on 18 April 2002 in Colla Micheri, Liguria,^[7][8] where he had gone to spend the Easter holidays with some close family members. The Norwegian government honored him with a state funeral in Oslo Cathedral on 26 April 2002. He is buried in the garden of the family home in Colla Micheri.^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ Birth: Larvik kirkebøker, SAKO/A-352/F/Fa/L0012: Parish register (official) no. I 12, 1905-1933, p. 137
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} English Wikipedia article on Thor Heyerdahl
3. ↑ First Marriage: Eidanger kirkebøker, SAKO/A-261/G/Ga/L0005: Parish register (copy) no. 5, 1928-1942, p. 210
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} German Wikipedia article on Thor Heyerdahl
5. ↑ Wikidata: Item Q75875401
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} Norwegian Wikipedia article on Thor Heyerdahl
7. ↑ Death: "United States Social Security Death Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VMSF-52L : 11 January 2021), Thor Heyerdahl, 18 Apr 2002; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).
8. ↑ Death: Find A Grave: Memorial #6380670

See also:

• 1920 census for Larvik
• Wikidata: Item Q133622
• Britannica: Thor Heyerdahl. Norwegian ethnologist
• The Kon-Tiki Museum: About Thor Heyerdahl
• Norsk Biografisk Leksikon: Thor Heyerdahl, Etnograf. Av: Gunnar Håland.
• Who's Who: Thor Heyerdahl