Thor Heyerdahl Biography, Life, Interesting Facts

Thor Heyerdahl was widely known for his explorative norms as well as adventuristic life. For more than a decade, their power and fame defined them. They had an urge and thirst for riches that they forgot about their native cultures. It came to a point where they befriended destruction and diseases were their balanced meal. But this wasn’t the case when it came to Thor Heyerdahl. He loved to learn about different cultures as well as animal and plants of the world. Right from his childhood life, Thor loved to nature, all thanks to his mother who owned a museum. Let’s take a look at his early and later life.

Childhood And Early Life

Thor Heyerdahl was first seen in the world on October 6, 1914, in Larvik, Norway. His mother, Alison Lyng was a zoologist and his father; Thor Heyerdahl manufactured beer. He gained interest in the study of plants and animals from his tender age. At seven years old, Thor fabricated a museum at his father’s workplace. He accommodated various specimens of bats, hedgehogs, lemmings, and butterflies. He then joined the University of Olso where he studied zoology.

Career

In the mid of 1936, Thor dropped out of college where he began his scientist journey. He toured Marquesas Island, and after a short time, he discovered Peruvian natives had occasionally visited the land. For one year Thor spent his life in Lillehammer Mountain where he came up with his researched theory that he called two waves of migration.

Early in 1953, Thor teamed up with several explorers where he toured Galapagos Island. It was here that he discovered that South American aboriginals visited the island. That had happened before the Inca Empire claimed that it was their soil.

Throughout his life, Thor wrote countable books that illustrated his explorations and research. The books were later written in more than five languages. In the mid of 1991, Thor discovered Tenerife in Spain. He then approved that the Pyramids of Guimar were actual pyramids and not heaps of stone.

 Personal Life And Achievements

Thor’s book The Kon-Tiki Experiment sold over twenty millions of copies, and it was later filmed in 1951.The movie received an Academy Award. In 1936 Heyerdahl married Liv Coucheron-Torp with whom he had two children. He then married Yvonne Dedekam-Simonsen in 1949.The couple was blessed with two daughters. Both of his first and second marriage ended in divorce. In 1991 he married Jacqueline Berr till his demise. In 2000 Thor founded The Thor Heyerdahl Institute that is located in Norway. Thor passed away on April 18, 2002.