Henry Rudi

Henry Rudi (1889–1970) was a Norwegian huntsman and polar bear hunter. His father had come from Gudbrandsdalen, to settle in Troms. Rudi went on a total of 40 hunting trips to the Arctic regions, and wintered there for 25 of them. The animals that were usually hunted in these regions include Arctic fox, walrus and seal, but Rudi is most known for having killed 713 polar bears through his years in the Arctic. Areas in which Henry Rudi spent several winters, include Svalbard, Jan Mayen and Greenland. The winter of 1947, was the last time Rudi went hunting in the Arctic.

Life after the hunting

Henry Rudi grew up in the town of Tromsø. This was also where he spent his last days. He was known for his cheerful personality and spent a lot of his retirement days in the Ølhallen (The Beerhall) in Tromsø, where he gladly spoke to everybody who would listen about his adventures in the Arctic.

Acknowledgements

• 1953 - Awarded with HM The King's Medal of Merit
• 1969 - Honored by the sixth formers of Tromsø to be the Honorary Sixth Former of 1969
• He has also been honored with his own permanent exhibition in the Polar Museum in Tromsø, alongside great Arctic explorers such as Roald Amundsen and Fridtjof Nansen.

Bibliography

• Sørensen, Lars Normann 1958: Henry Rudi, Isbjørnkongen. Gyldendal, Oslo.