Alf Wollebæk

Alf Wollebæk (8 January 1879 – 9 March 1960) was a Norwegian zoologist and curator who made contributions to the study of marine and Arctic fauna. Born in Lier, Norway, to a military father, Wollebæk spent most of his professional career at the Natural History Museum at the University of Oslo, where he worked from 1908 until his retirement in 1949. He is particularly renowned for leading the Norwegian Zoological Expedition to the Galápagos Islands in 1925, during which he collected over 500 specimens and established the archipelago's first biological station on Floreana island. Throughout his career, Wollebæk published numerous scientific papers and popular books on Norwegian wildlife, including works on reptiles, mammals, and fish, while also maintaining a regular column in a scientific magazine. His contributions to zoology were recognized internationally, with the Galápagos sea lion being named Zalophus wollebaeki in his honour, and he received several prestigious awards including the King's Medal of Merit in gold in 1959, just a year before his death in Oslo.