Hinrich Johannes Rink
Hinrich Johannes Rink | |
|---|---|
| Born | 26 August 1819 |
| Died | 15 December 1893 (aged 74) |
| Nationality | Danish |
| Alma mater | University of Copenhagen; University of Kiel |
| Known for | Founder of the first Kalaallisut language newspaper |
| Awards | Silver medal, Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters (1852) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Geology and Greenlandic research |
Dr. Hinrich Johannes Rink (first name sometimes as Henrik) (26 August 1819 – 15 December 1893) was a Danish geologist, one of the pioneers of glaciology, and the first accurate describer of the inland ice of Greenland. Rink, who first came to Greenland in 1848, spent 16 winters and 22 summers in the Arctic region, and became notable for Greenland's development. Becoming a Greenlandic scholar and administrator, he served as Royal Inspector of South Greenland and went on to become Director of the Royal Greenland Trading Department. With "Forstanderskaber", Rink introduced the first steps towards Greelandic home rule.
Rink carried out and printed in four volumes the first systematic collection of Greenlandic oral tradition stories. He was the founder of Atuagagdliutit, the first Kalaallisut language newspaper.