Person
Heyerdahl, Thor (1914-2002)
Norway 1914-10-06 - Liguria (Italia) 2002-04-18
He was a Norwegian adventurer and ethnographer. Heyerdahl did many expeditions during his life yet he is best known for his Kon-Tiki expedition in 1947. During the expedition he sailed across the Pacific Ocean in a hand-built raft from South America to the Tuamotu Islands in order to demonstrate that ancient people could have made long sea voyages, creating contacts between societies. The expedition was filmed and entitled Kon-Tiki, also was released in 1950. A year later in 1951, it won an Academy Award, the award for Best Foreign Language Oscar at the 85th Academy Award, and a Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 70th Golden Globe Awards. Becoming the first time that a Norwegian film was nominated for both an Oscar and a Golden Globe.