Svalbard From the timeline, Discovery and whaling
1610
Coal is seen in Kongsfjorden
The English whaler Jonas Poole found coal deposits in the Ny-Ålesund area in 1610. Mining there did not begin until 1916.
History Store norske leksikon
Thursday 4 December 2025Before the Wire, which starts 26 October 2026Updated 23:59
Polar night, day 39 of 111. The sun returns 15 February.
Svalbard Wire starts on 26 October 2026. Pages before that date show the history of the island.
The timeline by era
- 1596Discovery and whaling, 3 entries
- 1715Hunting and expeditions, 4 entries
- 1905The coal town, 6 entries
- 1920The Svalbard Treaty, 4 entries
- 1941War and rebuilding, 4 entries
- 1975The modern town, 3 entries
- 2015The present transition, 6 entries