Thorvald Nilsen

Thorvald Nilsen (6 August 1881 – 19 April 1940 ) was a Norwegian naval officer and polar explorer.

He was born in Kristiansand where he attended Kristiansand Cathedral School. He was enrolled in the Maritime War at Karljohansvern in Horten, graduating in 1903. He received his skipper's certificate in 1906.

He was captain of the ship Fram for Amundsen's South Pole expedition from 1910 to 1912. During this period the ship was also used for oceanographic observations and measurements in the south Atlantic Ocean. He was decorated Knight, First Class of the Order of St. Olav in 1913. He served as a naval officer in Norway during World War I, and later settled in Buenos Aires, where he died in 1940.