Finn Devold


Finn Devold was a Norwegian Arctic explorer, marine biologist and meteorologist. His father was parish priest Harald Ophus Devold. Together with his brother Hallvard Devold, Finn shared the same interest in the Arctic areas and in the expansion of Norwegian sovereignty in Greenland.

Biography

Finn interrupted his science studies and traveled to the Arctic in 1923. Together with his brother Hallvard he worked at the Kvadehuken meteorology station in Svalbard which had been established in 1920 by the Geophysical Institute of Tromsø. While there he took part in a rescue operation of two English airmen whose aircraft had crash-landed nearby. In October 1924 the Kvadehuken facility was closed up for financial reasons and less than two years later he and his brother moved to the meteorological station in Jan Mayen. In 1927 Finn measured the elevation of Beerenberg, a volcano that is the island's highest point. After leaving Jan Mayen in 1928 Finn traveled to northeastern Greenland with his brother, who was a leader of the "Greenland case" , a movement that sought to bring large swathes of East Greenland under Norwegian sovereignty. During that time he also became Fridtjof Nansen's assistant.

Norwegian claims in East Greenland

Finn took an active part in the 1931–33 Norwegian territorial claim movement in Greenland led from Myggbukta Station, where his brother was leader of expeditions that were undertaken with the station as a base. By 1932 about 80 cabins manned by Norwegian trappers and fishermen had been built in different areas of East Greenland, including some in the distant King Frederick VI Coast and Storfjord Station in the Kangerlussuaq Fjord in between. Finn Devold led the actions in southeastern Greenland, where he had established the Finnsbu radio station.
12 July 1932 the Norwegian flag was raised at Myggbukta in the northeastern claim of Norway, where Helge Ingstad was named governor. At the same time Finn Devold was asked to formally raise the flag at Finnsbu in Southeast Greenland. Denmark protested and brought the case to the Permanent Court of International Justice in The Hague. Following the 1933 resolution of the court awarding Greenland to the Danish government, Norway's claims in Greenland were given up and most Norwegian outposts were closed.
Finn left Greenland on relief ship Signalhorn, which evacuated the staff of the stations in the Storfjord and Finnsbu areas and brought them back to Norway in August 1933. Even then, some of the stations, such as Jonsbu at the northern end and Torgilsbu at the southern, continued operation for a few years under Danish jurisdiction and restrictions.

Later life

In 1936 Finn was hired by the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research. He left involvement in politics and concentrated in his studies, obtaining a degree in mathematics and science in 1940. In 1943 he became a fisheries consultant at the Institute. He specialized in Atlantic herring fisheries and in 1950 he followed herring migrations on the new vessel "GO Sars". Finn carefully surveyed Atlantic herring's migration patterns before winter herring fishing. He published some of the results of his research in the Norwegian press and in time his work became internationally recognized. Towards the final part of his career Finn became concerned about herring overfishing that led to the depletion of Norwegian spring spawning herring populations after the 1960s. Although he retired in 1972, Finn Devold continued his research on herring fisheries. He died in Bergen in 1977.

Works