<P> The first consistent , verified , and scientifically convincing attainment of the Pole was on 12 May 1926 , by Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and his US sponsor Lincoln Ellsworth from the airship Norge . Norge , though Norwegian - owned , was designed and piloted by the Italian Umberto Nobile . The flight started from Svalbard in Norway , and crossed the Arctic Ocean to Alaska . Nobile , with several scientists and crew from the Norge , overflew the Pole a second time on 24 May 1928 , in the airship Italia . The Italia crashed on its return from the Pole , with the loss of half the crew . </P>
who was first man to reach north pole
Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and his US sponsor Lincoln Ellsworth