Samuel Balto

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Samuel Johannesen Balto (1862-1922) was a Norwegian explorer and adventurer. A Sami from the town of Karasjok, he was recruited by Fridtjof Nansen for an expedition to Greenland in 1888 and participated in the first recorded crossing of the interior of the island together with Nansen and four other expedition members of the SS Viking.

Balto later emigrated to the United States with a large group of Samis hired as reindeer herdsmen in Alaska and eventually became a gold miner.

The legendary sled dog Balto, who became famous during the 1925 serum run to Nome (which transported diphtheria medication across the U.S. territory of Alaska to combat an epidemic) was named after Samuel Balto.

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