Editing Thor Heyerdahl (section)

==Youth and personal life==
Heyerdahl was born in [[Larvik (town)|Larvik]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Thor Heyerdahl |url=https://www.kon-tiki.no/en/about-thor-heyerdahl |website=Kon-Tiki museet |publisher=Kon-Tiki Museum |access-date=28 November 2024 |language=no-NO}}</ref> Norway, the son of master brewer Thor Heyerdahl (1869–1957) and his wife, Alison Lyng (1873–1965). As a young child, Heyerdahl showed a strong interest in zoology, inspired by his mother, who had a strong interest in [[Charles Darwin]]'s theory of [[evolution]]. He created a small [[museum]] in his childhood home, with a common adder (''[[Vipera berus]]'') as the main attraction.

He studied [[zoology]] and [[geography]] at the faculty of biological science at the [[University of Oslo]].<ref>Thor Heyerdahl, In the Footsteps of Adam: A Memoir, London: Abacus Books, 2001, p. 78.</ref> At the same time, he privately studied [[Polynesia]]n culture and history, consulting what was then the world's largest private collection of books and papers on Polynesia, owned by [[Bjarne Kroepelien]], a wealthy wine merchant in Oslo. (This collection was later purchased by the University of Oslo Library from Kroepelien's heirs and was attached to the [[Kon-Tiki Museum]] research department.)

After seven terms and consultations with experts in [[Berlin]], a project was developed and sponsored by Heyerdahl's zoology professors, [[Kristine Bonnevie]] and Hjalmar Broch. He was to visit some isolated Pacific island groups and study how the local animals had found their way there.

On the day before they sailed together to the [[Marquesas Islands]] in 1936, Heyerdahl married Liv Coucheron-Torp (1916–1969), whom he had met at the University of Oslo, and who had studied [[economics]] there. He was 22 years old and she was 20 years old. Eventually, the couple had two sons: Thor&nbsp;Jr. (1938–2024)<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ranheim |first1=Mari |title=GD: Thor Heyerdahl junior er død |url=https://www.nrk.no/innlandet/thor-heyerdahl-junior-er-dod-1.17027205 |access-date=5 September 2024 |work=NRK |date=2 September 2024}}</ref> and Bjørn (1940–2021).<ref>{{cite news |title=Bjørn "Bamse" Heyerdahl er død |url=https://www.nrk.no/nyheter/bjorn-_bamse_-heyerdahl-er-dod-1.15469200 |access-date=5 September 2024 |work=NRK |date=24 April 2021}}</ref> The marriage ended in divorce shortly before the 1947 Kon-Tiki expedition, which Liv had helped to organize.<ref name=KTM>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/movies/2013/04/27/daughter-recalls-mother-inspiring-role-story/P2nwXHrazU88l4NN54bF7K/story.html|title='Kon-Tiki' and me |website=The Boston Globe.com|access-date=18 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611113144/https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/movies/2013/04/27/daughter-recalls-mother-inspiring-role-story/P2nwXHrazU88l4NN54bF7K/story.html|archive-date=11 June 2020|url-status=live}}</ref>

After the [[German occupation of Norway|occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany]], he served with the [[Free Norwegian Forces]] from 1944, in the far north province of [[Finnmark]].<ref name=obit1>[https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2002/apr/19/travelnews.internationaleducationnews.highereducation Obituary], Jo Anne Van Tilburg, 19 April 2002, The Guardian</ref><ref name=obit2>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1938294.stm "Explorer Thor Heyerdahl dies"], 18 April 2002, BBC</ref>

In 1949, Heyerdahl married Yvonne Dedekam-Simonsen (1924–2006). They had three daughters: Annette, Marian, and Helene Elisabeth. They were divorced in 1969. Heyerdahl blamed their separation on his being away from home and differences in their ideas for bringing up children. In his autobiography, he concluded that he should take the entire blame for their separation.<ref>Thor Heyerdahl, ''In the Footsteps of Adam''. Christophersen translation ({{ISBN|0-349-11273-8}}), London: Abacus, 2001, p. 254.</ref>

In 1991, Heyerdahl married [[Jacqueline Beer]] (born 1932) as his third wife. They lived in [[Tenerife]], [[Canary Islands]], and were very actively involved with archaeological projects, especially in [[Túcume]], Peru, and [[Azov]] until his death in 2002. He had still been hoping to undertake an archaeological project in [[Samoa]] before he died.<ref>J. Bjornar Storfjell, "Thor Heyerdahl's Final Projects". in ''Azerbaijan International'', Vol. 10:2 (Summer 2002), p. 25.</ref>