Wednesday 5 November 2025Before the Wire, which starts 26 October 2026Updated 23:59
Polar night, day 10 of 111. The sun returns 15 February.
Svalbard Wire starts on 26 October 2026. Pages before that date show the history of the island.
This day, 5 November
1962
On 5 November 1962 an explosion in the coal mine at Ny-Ålesund, on the south side of Kongsfjorden on Spitsbergen, killed the whole shift of 21 men. Mining at Ny-Ålesund stopped for good the following year, and criticism of conditions at the state-owned company brought down the Gerhardsen government.
History Store norske leksikon
From the timeline, Hunting and expeditions
1715
Russian fur trappers overwintered on Svalbard from the early eighteenth century: Store norske leksikon gives 1704 in one article and 1715 in another. Their hunting faded out around 1850, while Norwegian sealing vessels and wintering expeditions carried on.
History Store norske leksikon
The timeline by era
Svalbard