Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)/Abruzzi, Prince Luigi Amadeo of Savoy-Aosta, Duke of

From Wikisource
Jump to: navigation, search

ABBUZZI (äb-röts'ē) , PRINCE LUIGI AMADEO OF SAVOY-AOSTA, DUKE OF, Italian explorer; born in Madrid, Jan. 29, 1873; nephew of King Humbert; in May, 1899, he started on an expedition, in the specially prepared steamer “Star of Italy,” for Franz Josef Land, intending, when frozen in, to use sledges in a search for the North Pole and the balloon explorer, Dr. Andrée. He returned to Norway in September, 1900, after having reached a point in latitude 86° 33' N., surpassing Nansen's farthest N. record by 19'. In 1906 he led an expedition into equatorial Africa. A personal feat was the climbing of Mt. Ruwenzori, 16,600 feet high, whose summit, so far as known, had never before been reached. In 1909, he reached the top of Mt. Austen in India, 24,000 feet. During the war with Tripoli, he headed an Italian squadron operating in the Adriatic and Mediterranean. At the outbreak of the World War, he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Italian navy, and after the entrance of his own country into the conflict in May, 1915, he acted in co-operation with the allied admirals in controlling the waters of southern Europe.
