Titina made history by being the first dog to fly over the top of the world.
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| Umberto Nobile and Titina |
Titina, a fox terrier, was a stray puppy who wandered the streets of Rome when she met Umberto Nobile, an Italian aviator and aeronautical engineer. The hungry puppy stood on her hind legs and pawed at Nobile, winning his heart. He scooped her up and named her Titina after Billy Murray's hit song Titina. The two bonded, and wherever Nobile went, his dog went with him.
In 1926, Nobile, Roald Amundsen (a Norwegian explorer leading this expedition and the leader of the first expedition to reach the South Pole) and 14 others set out on an airship to be the first to fly over the North Pole. Nobile brought his beloved dog with him despite objections from others - not everyone was happy with the presence of a dog because the small gondola hanging under the airship was already crowded with 16 men.
The airship, named Norge and designed by Nobile, left Italy and made it to Spitsbergen, the starting point of the North Pole Expedition. Before taking off, they learned that Richard Byrd's American expedition had successfully flown over the North Pole in a tri-motor airplane. Despite their disappointment, they went ahead with the flight. They took off on May 11, flew over the North Pole the following day, and landed two days later in Teller, Alaska.
Three explorers, including Byrd, claimed to be the first to reach the North Pole but disputes later arose over the legitimacy of their claims. Therefore, Amundsen is said to be the first verified explorer to have reached the North Pole.
Titina wasn't enthused about flying, but she was more than willing to go because of her love for her master. The journalist who was on board reported that Titina was "a dog marked by destiny, a dog of greatest character."
