Fridtjof Nansen

Fridtjof Nansen was a male Human explorer and diplomat in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, from Norway. He was famed for his exploration of Greenland, and for his attempt to reach the North Pole by ski. In later life, he became involved in politics, and became a High Commissioner of the League of Nations for refugee issues.

During the crisis at Tezwa in 2379, Captain Jean-Luc Picard reflected on a famous quote by Nansen: "The difficult is what takes a little time; the impossible is what takes a little longer." 

The USS Nansen was presumably named for Fridtjof Nansen.