Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld

Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld
Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld
Born	18 November 1832 Helsinki, Finland
Died	12 August 1901(1901-08-12) (aged 68) Dalbyö, Södermanland, Sweden
Nationality	Finland, Sweden
Fields	Geology, mineralogy, cartography
Institutions	Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet
Alma mater	Imperial Alexander University of Finland
Known for	Vega expedition through the Northeast Passage
Notable awards	Founder's Medal of RGS (1869) Constantine Medal (1878) Vega Medal (1881) Murchison Medal (1900)

Baron Nils Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld (18 November 1832, Helsinki, Finland – 12 August 1901, Dalbyö, Södermanland, Sweden) was a Finnish and Swedish baron, geologist, mineralogist and Arctic explorer. He was a member of the prominent Finland-Swedish Nordenskiöld family of scientists.

Born in the Grand Duchy of Finland at the time it was a part of the Russian Empire, he was later, due to his political activity, forced to move to Sweden, where he later became a member of the Parliament of Sweden and of the Swedish Academy. He led the Vega expedition along the northern coast of Eurasia in 1878-1879. This was the first complete crossing of the Northeast Passage.

The Nordenskiölds were an old Finland-Swedish family, and members of the nobility. Nordenskiöld's father, Nils Gustav Nordenskiöld, was a prominent Finnish mineralogist, civil servant and traveller. He was also a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Adolf Erik was the father of Gustaf Nordenskiöld (explorer of Mesa Verde) and Erland Nordenskiöld (ethnographer of South America) and maternal uncle of Nils Otto Gustaf Nordenskjöld (another polar explorer). Nils Otto Gustaf Nordenskjöld's parents were cousins — Otto Gustaf Nordenskjöld (born in 1831 in Hässleby, Sweden) and Anna Elisabet Sofia Nordenskiöld (born in 1841 in Finland), who was the sister of Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld. The Swedish side of the family used the spelling "Nordenskjöld", whereas the Finnish side of the family used the "Nordenskiöld" spelling.