Born in Brooklynn, NY but raised in Norway, throughout his childhood in Norway, Willie Knutsen dreamed of becoming an arctic explorer and had the chance at age 24 in 1936, when he accompanied the French count, Gaston Micard on his over-winter expedition to Northeast Greenland. Financially backed by Count Micard, Knutsen led his own expedition the next year, also to Northeast Greenland, and set up the then northern-most arctic scientific station in the world, Micadbu, where at, using equipment supplied by MIT University, the height of the Northern Lights was first measured. Knutsen would spend the next 35 years exploring the Arctic and became one of the last great Artic explorers. He had degrees in Art and architecture from Newcastle University, England, and painted and sketched throughout his travels. He won the Fridtjof Nansen Prize, The Roald Amundsen Prize (Norway) and many USA awards. He had two articles in National Geographic and was a member of The Explorers Club. Some of his archeological finds are in The Smithsonian (USA), and The Museum of Cultural History, Oslo Norway. After WW II, he became an arctic expert to the US Airforce and retired in 1969 as Lt. Colonel.