František Běhounek - Polar explorer

 František Běhounek - Polar explorer

The central motif of the stamp is a portrait of the polar explorer František Běhounek at a relatively young age. The second distinctive motif is an airship symbolizing Běhounek’s two expeditions to the North Pole.

The first trip was made in 1926 on the Norge airship with Roald Amundsen, and the second in 1928 with Umberto Nobile in the airship Italia. To the left of the portrait is a tent used for partial protection by the polar explorers. Ice cliffs fill the background of the stamp.

The artist was greatly inspired by the book The Polar Survivors and the film The Red Tent. František Běhounek was a versatile personality – a scientist, professor of physics, traveller, and writer. 

The asteroid 3278 Běhounek is named after him.

Courtesy: Czech Post