Oscar Dickson

Who was Oscar Dickson?

Baron Oscar Dickson, or Oskar Dickson was a Swedish magnate, bulk merchant, industrialist and philanthropist from a family of Scottish origin. In his time he was considered the most affluent of all Swedes.

Dickson, along with King Oscar II of Sweden and Aleksandr Mikhaylovich Sibiryakov, was the patron of a number of Arctic expeditions in the 19th century. He sponsored Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld's explorations to the Russian Arctic and Greenland, as well as Fridtjof Nansen's Polar journey on the Fram.

Ever an Arctic enthusiast, Oscar Dickson contributed to sponsor several important Polar ventures between the years 1860 and 1900. Dickson was made a Baron in 1885 by King Oscar. Dickson was a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences from 1878.