Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (15 February 1874 – 5 January 1922) was an
Anglo-Irish
Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establis ...
Antarctic explorer
This list of Antarctic expeditions is a chronological list of expeditions involving Antarctica. Although the existence of a southern continent had been hypothesized as early as the writings of Ptolemy in the 1st century AD, the South Pole was no ...
who led three British expeditions to the
Antarctic
The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and other ...
. He was one of the principal figures of the period known as the
Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration
The Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration was an era in the exploration of the continent of Antarctica which began at the end of the 19th century, and ended after the First World War; the Shackleton–Rowett Expedition of 1921–1922 is often cit ...
.
Born in
Kilkea
Kilkea () is a village in County Kildare, Ireland, about from Dublin, and from the town of Carlow. The R418 regional road from Athy to Tullow passes through the village.
History
Formerly the land of the Ó Tuathails (O'Toole), after ...
,
County Kildare
County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...
, Ireland, Shackleton and his Anglo-Irish family moved to
Sydenham Sydenham may refer to:
Places Australia
* Sydenham, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney
** Sydenham railway station, Sydney
* Sydenham, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne
** Sydenham railway line, the name of the Sunbury railway line, Melbourne ...
in suburban south London when he was ten. Shackleton's first experience of the polar regions was as third officer on Captain
Robert Falcon Scott
Captain Robert Falcon Scott, , (6 June 1868 – c. 29 March 1912) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the ''Discovery'' expedition of 1901–1904 and the ill-fated ''Terra Nov ...
's
''Discovery'' expedition of 1901–1904, from which he was sent home early on health grounds, after he and his companions Scott and
Edward Adrian Wilson
Edward Adrian Wilson (23 July 1872 – 29 March 1912) was an English polar explorer, ornithologist, natural historian, physician and artist.
Early life
Born in Cheltenham on 23 July 1872, Wilson was the second son and fifth child of ...
set a new southern record by marching to latitude 82°S. During the
''Nimrod'' expedition of 1907–1909, he and three companions established a new record
Farthest South
Farthest South refers to the most southerly latitude reached by explorers before the first successful expedition to the South Pole in 1911. Significant steps on the road to the pole were the discovery of lands south of Cape Horn in 1619, Captai ...
latitude at 88°S, only 97
geographical mile
The geographical mile is a unit of length determined by 1 minute of arc along the Earth's equator. For the international ellipsoid 1924 this equalled 1855.4 metres. ''The American Practical Navigator'' 2017 defines the geographical mile as . Gre ...
s (112
statute mile
The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of distance; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 English ...
s or 180 kilometres) from the
South Pole
The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole, Terrestrial South Pole or 90th Parallel South, is one of the two points where Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on Earth and lies antipod ...
, the largest advance to the pole in exploration history. Also, members of his team climbed
Mount Erebus
Mount Erebus () is the second-highest volcano in Antarctica (after Mount Sidley), the highest active volcano in Antarctica, and the southernmost active volcano on Earth. It is the sixth-highest ultra mountain on the continent.
With a summ ...
, the most active Antarctic volcano. For these achievements, Shackleton was knighted by
King Edward VII
Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910.
The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...
on his return home.
After the race to the South Pole ended in December 1911, with
Roald Amundsen
Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (, ; ; 16 July 1872 – ) was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He was a key figure of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.
Born in Borge, Østfold, Norway, Amundsen bega ...
's conquest, Shackleton turned his attention to the crossing of Antarctica from sea to sea, via the pole. To this end, he made preparations for what became the
Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition
The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–1917 is considered to be the last major expedition of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Conceived by Sir Ernest Shackleton, the expedition was an attempt to make the first land crossing ...
, 1914–1917. Disaster struck this expedition when its ship, , became trapped in
pack ice
Drift ice, also called brash ice, is sea ice that is not attached to the shoreline or any other fixed object (shoals, grounded icebergs, etc.).Leppäranta, M. 2011. The Drift of Sea Ice. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. Unlike fast ice, which is "fasten ...
and was slowly crushed before the shore parties could be landed. The crew escaped by camping on the sea ice until it disintegrated, then by launching the lifeboats to reach
Elephant Island
Elephant Island is an ice-covered, mountainous island off the coast of Antarctica in the outer reaches of the South Shetland Islands, in the Southern Ocean. The island is situated north-northeast of the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, west-so ...
and ultimately
South Georgia Island
South Georgia ( es, Isla San Pedro) is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It lies around east of the Falkland Islands. Stretching in the east ...
, a stormy ocean voyage of and Shackleton's most famous exploit. In 1921, he returned to the Antarctic with the
Shackleton–Rowett Expedition
The Shackleton–Rowett Expedition (1921–22) was Sir Ernest Shackleton's last Antarctic project, and the final episode in the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.
The venture, financed by John Quiller Rowett, is sometimes referred to as the ' ...
, but died of a heart attack while his ship was moored in South Georgia. At his wife's request, he was buried there. The wreck of ''Endurance'' was discovered just over a century later.
Away from his expeditions, Shackleton's life was generally restless and unfulfilled. In his search for rapid pathways to wealth and security, he launched business ventures which failed to prosper, and he died heavily in debt. Upon his death, he was lauded in the press but was thereafter largely forgotten, while the heroic reputation of his rival Scott was sustained for many decades. Later in the 20th century, Shackleton was "rediscovered", and became a role model for leadership in extreme circumstances.
In his 1956 address to the
British Science Association
The British Science Association (BSA) is a charity and learned society founded in 1831 to aid in the promotion and development of science. Until 2009 it was known as the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA). The current Chie ...
,
Sir Raymond Priestley, one of his contemporaries, said "Scott for scientific method, Amundsen for speed and efficiency but when disaster strikes and all hope is gone, get down on your knees and pray for Shackleton", paraphrasing what
Apsley Cherry-Garrard
Apsley George Benet Cherry-Garrard (2 January 1886 – 18 May 1959) was an English explorer of Antarctica. He was a member of the ''Terra Nova'' expedition and is acclaimed for his 1922 account of this expedition, ''The Worst Journey in th ...
had written in a preface to his 1922 memoir ''
The Worst Journey in the World
''The Worst Journey in the World'' is a 1922 memoir by Apsley Cherry-Garrard of Robert Falcon Scott's ''Terra Nova'' expedition to the South Pole in 1910–1913. It has earned wide praise for its frank treatment of the difficulties of the exped ...
''. In 2002, Shackleton was voted eleventh in a BBC poll of the
100 Greatest Britons
''100 Greatest Britons'' is a television series that was broadcast by the BBC in 2002. It was based on a television poll conducted to determine who the British people at that time considered the greatest Britons in history. The series included in ...
.
Early years
Childhood
![Ernest Shackleton Plaque](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Ernest_Shackleton_Plaque.jpg)
Shackleton was born on 15 February 1874, in
Kilkea
Kilkea () is a village in County Kildare, Ireland, about from Dublin, and from the town of Carlow. The R418 regional road from Athy to Tullow passes through the village.
History
Formerly the land of the Ó Tuathails (O'Toole), after ...
,
County Kildare
County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...
,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. His father, Henry Shackleton, tried to enter the
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
, but his poor health prevented him from doing so. He became a farmer instead, settling in Kilkea. The Shackleton family are of English origin, specifically from
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
. Abraham Shackleton, an English
Quaker
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
, moved to Ireland in 1726 and started a school at
Ballitore
Ballitore () is a village in County Kildare, Ireland, sometimes spelt as Ballytore. It is noted for its historical Quaker associations. It was the first planned Quaker village in either England or Ireland - and remains the only one in Europe.
...
, County Kildare. Shackleton's mother, Henrietta Letitia Sophia Gavan, was descended from the Fitzmaurice family. Ernest was the second of their ten children and the first of two sons; the second, Frank, achieved notoriety as a suspect, later exonerated, in the 1907 theft of the so-called
Irish Crown Jewels
The Jewels Belonging to the Most Illustrious Order of Saint Patrick, commonly called the Irish Crown Jewels or State Jewels of Ireland, were the heavily jewelled star and badge regalia created in 1831 for the Sovereign and Grand Master of the ...
, which have never been recovered.
In 1880, when Ernest was six, Henry Shackleton gave up his life as a landowner to study medicine at
Trinity College, Dublin
, name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin
, motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin)
, motto_lang = la
, motto_English = It will last i ...
(TCD), moving his family to the city. Four years later, the family moved again, from Ireland to
Sydenham Sydenham may refer to:
Places Australia
* Sydenham, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney
** Sydenham railway station, Sydney
* Sydenham, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne
** Sydenham railway line, the name of the Sunbury railway line, Melbourne ...
in suburban London. Partly this was in search of better professional prospects for the newly qualified doctor, but another factor may have been unease about their
Anglo-Irish
Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establis ...
ancestry, following the assassination by Irish nationalists of
Lord Frederick Cavendish
Lord Frederick Charles Cavendish (30 November 1836 – 6 May 1882) was an English Liberal politician and ''protégé'' of the Prime Minister, William Ewart Gladstone. Cavendish was appointed Chief Secretary for Ireland in May 1882 but was m ...
, the British
Chief Secretary for Ireland
The Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key political office in the British administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant, and officially the "Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant", from the early 19th century un ...
, in 1882. However, Shackleton took lifelong pride in his Irish roots, and frequently declared, "I am an Irishman".
Education
From early childhood, Shackleton was a voracious reader, a pursuit which sparked a passion for adventure. He was schooled by a governess until the age of eleven, when he began at Fir Lodge Preparatory School in West Hill,
Dulwich
Dulwich (; ) is an area in south London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark, with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth, and consists of Dulwich Village, East Dulwich, West Dulwich, and the Southwark half of ...
, in southeast London. At the age of thirteen, he entered
Dulwich College
Dulwich College is a 2–19 independent, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...
. The young Shackleton did not particularly distinguish himself as a scholar, and was said to be "bored" by his studies.
He was quoted later as saying: "I never learned much geography at school ... Literature, too, consisted in the dissection, the parsing, the analysing of certain passages from our great poets and prose-writers ... teachers should be very careful not to spoil
heir pupils'
Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officia ...
taste for poetry for all time by making it a task and an imposition." In his final term at the school he was still able to achieve fifth place in his class of thirty-one.
Merchant Navy officer
![HRM EHS p56](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/HRM_EHS_p56.jpg)
Shackleton's restlessness at school was such that he was allowed to leave at 16 and go to sea. The options available were a
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
cadetship at , which Shackleton could not afford; the mercantile marine cadet ships
''Worcester'' and ; or an apprenticeship "before the mast" on a sailing vessel. The third option was chosen. His father was able to secure him a berth with the North Western Shipping Company, aboard the
square-rigged
Square rig is a generic type of sail and rigging arrangement in which the primary driving sails are carried on horizontal spars which are perpendicular, or square, to the keel of the vessel and to the masts. These spars are called ''yards'' and ...
sailing ship ''Hoghton Tower''.
During the following four years at sea, Shackleton learned his trade, visiting the far corners of the earth and forming acquaintances with a variety of people from many walks of life, learning to be at home with all kinds of men. In August 1894, he passed his examination for second mate and accepted a post as third officer on a
tramp steamer
A boat or ship engaged in the tramp trade is one which does not have a fixed schedule, itinerary nor published ports of call, and trades on the spot market as opposed to freight liners. A steamship engaged in the tramp trade is sometimes called ...
of the Welsh Shire Line. Two years later, he had obtained his first mate's ticket, and in 1898, he was certified as a master mariner, qualifying him to command a British ship anywhere in the world.
In 1898, Shackleton joined
Union-Castle Line
The Union-Castle Line was a British shipping line that operated a fleet of passenger liners and cargo ships between Europe and Africa from 1900 to 1977. It was formed from the merger of the Union Line and Castle Shipping Line.
It merged with ...
, the regular mail and passenger carrier between
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
and
Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
. He was, as a shipmate recorded, "a departure from our usual type of young officer", content with his own company though not aloof, "spouting lines from Keats
ndBrowning", a mixture of sensitivity and aggression but, withal, sympathetic. Following the outbreak of the
Boer War
The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...
in 1899, Shackleton transferred to the troopship ''Tintagel Castle'' where, in March 1900, he met an army lieutenant, Cedric Longstaff, whose father
Llewellyn W. Longstaff
Lieutenant-Colonel Llewellyn Wood Longstaff (23 December 1841 – 20 November 1918) was an English industrialist and fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. He is best known for being the chief private-sector patron and financial angel of the D ...
was the main financial backer of the
National Antarctic Expedition
The ''Discovery'' Expedition of 1901–1904, known officially as the British National Antarctic Expedition, was the first official British exploration of the Antarctic regions since the voyage of James Clark Ross sixty years earlier (1839–184 ...
then being organised in London.
Shackleton used his acquaintance with the son to obtain an interview with Longstaff senior, with a view to obtaining a place on the expedition. Longstaff, impressed by Shackleton's keenness, recommended him to Sir
Clements Markham
Sir Clements Robert Markham (20 July 1830 – 30 January 1916) was an English geographer, explorer and writer. He was secretary of the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) between 1863 and 1888, and later served as the Society's president for ...
, the expedition's overlord, making it clear that he wanted Shackleton accepted. On 17 February 1901, his appointment as third officer to the expedition's ship ''Discovery'' was confirmed; on 4 June he was commissioned into the Royal Navy, with the rank of sub-lieutenant in the
Royal Naval Reserve
The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original Ro ...
. Although officially on leave from Union-Castle, this was in fact the end of Shackleton's Merchant Navy service.
''Discovery'' expedition, 1901–1903
![Discoveryboat](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/Discoveryboat.jpg)
The
British National Antarctic Expedition
The ''Discovery'' Expedition of 1901–1904, known officially as the British National Antarctic Expedition, was the first official British exploration of the Antarctic regions since the voyage of James Clark Ross sixty years earlier (1839–18 ...
, known as the ''Discovery'' expedition after the ship , was the brainchild of Sir Clements Markham, president of the
Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...
, and had been many years in preparation. It was led by
Robert Falcon Scott
Captain Robert Falcon Scott, , (6 June 1868 – c. 29 March 1912) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the ''Discovery'' expedition of 1901–1904 and the ill-fated ''Terra Nov ...
, a Royal Navy torpedo lieutenant lately promoted commander, and had objectives that included scientific and geographical discovery.
Although ''Discovery'' was not a Royal Navy unit, Scott required the crew, officers and scientific staff to submit to the conditions of the Naval Discipline Act, and the ship and expedition were run on Royal Navy lines. Shackleton accepted this, even though his own background and instincts favoured a different, more informal style of leadership. Shackleton's particular duties were listed as: "In charge of seawater analysis. Ward-room caterer. In charge of holds, stores and provisions
..He also arranges the entertainments."
''Discovery'' departed London on 31 July 1901, arriving at the Antarctic coast, via
Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
and New Zealand, on 8 January 1902. After landing, Shackleton took part in an experimental balloon flight on 4 February. He also participated, with the scientists
Edward Adrian Wilson
Edward Adrian Wilson (23 July 1872 – 29 March 1912) was an English polar explorer, ornithologist, natural historian, physician and artist.
Early life
Born in Cheltenham on 23 July 1872, Wilson was the second son and fifth child of ...
and
Hartley T. Ferrar, in the first sledging trip from the expedition's winter quarters in
McMurdo Sound
McMurdo Sound is a sound in Antarctica. It is the southernmost navigable body of water in the world, and is about from the South Pole.
Captain James Clark Ross discovered the sound in February 1841, and named it after Lt. Archibald McMurdo o ...
, a journey which established a safe route on to the
Great Ice Barrier
The Ross Ice Shelf is the largest ice shelf of Antarctica (, an area of roughly and about across: about the size of France). It is several hundred metres thick. The nearly vertical ice front to the open sea is more than long, and between hi ...
. During the Antarctic winter of 1902, in the confines of the iced-in ''Discovery'', Shackleton edited the expedition's magazine the ''
South Polar Times
The ''South Polar Times'' was a magazine created by the crew of the two Antarctic voyages led by Captain Robert Falcon Scott in the early 20th century: the Discovery Expedition (1901–04), and the Terra Nova Expedition (1910–13). It documents fi ...
''.
According to steward
Clarence Hare Clarence Howard Hare (2 Dec 1880 – 31 May 1967) was born in New Zealand and worked in Antarctica as Captain Robert Falcon Scott's steward. He was part of the shore party at Hut Point during the Discovery Expedition of 1901–1904, and na ...
, he was "the most popular of the officers among the crew, being a good mixer", though claims that this represented an unofficial rival leadership to Scott's are unsupported. Scott chose Shackleton to accompany Wilson and himself on the expedition's southern journey, a march southwards to achieve the highest possible latitude in the direction of the South Pole. This march was not a serious attempt on the Pole, although the attainment of a high latitude was of great importance to Scott, and the inclusion of Shackleton indicated a high degree of personal trust.
The party set out on 2 November 1902. The march was, Scott wrote later, "a combination of success and failure". A record
Farthest South
Farthest South refers to the most southerly latitude reached by explorers before the first successful expedition to the South Pole in 1911. Significant steps on the road to the pole were the discovery of lands south of Cape Horn in 1619, Captai ...
latitude of 82° 17' was reached, beating the previous record established in 1900 by
Carsten Borchgrevink
Carsten Egeberg Borchgrevink (1 December 186421 April 1934) was an Anglo-Norwegian polar explorer and a pioneer of Antarctic travel. He inspired Sir Robert Falcon Scott, Sir Ernest Shackleton, Roald Amundsen, and others associated with the Hero ...
. The journey was marred by the poor performance of the dogs, whose food had become tainted, and who rapidly fell sick. All 22 dogs died during the march. The three men all suffered at times from snow blindness, frostbite and, ultimately,
scurvy
Scurvy is a disease resulting from a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, feeling tired and sore arms and legs. Without treatment, decreased red blood cells, gum disease, changes to hair, and bleeding ...
. On the return journey, Shackleton had by his own admission "broken down" and could no longer carry out his share of the work.
He later denied Scott's claim in ''The Voyage of the Discovery'', that he had been carried on the
sled
A sled, skid, sledge, or sleigh is a land vehicle that slides across a surface, usually of ice or snow. It is built with either a smooth underside or a separate body supported by two or more smooth, relatively narrow, longitudinal runners ...
ge. He was in a seriously weakened condition; Wilson's diary entry for 14 January reads: "Shackleton has been anything but up to the mark, and today he is decidedly worse, very short winded and coughing constantly, with more serious symptoms that need not be detailed here but which are of no small consequence one hundred and sixty miles from the ship".
On 4 February 1903, the party finally reached the ship. After a medical examination (which proved inconclusive), Scott decided to send Shackleton home on the relief ship , which had arrived in McMurdo Sound in January 1903. Scott wrote: "He ought not to risk further hardship in his present state of health." There is conjecture that Scott's motive for removing him was resentment of Shackleton's popularity, and that ill-health was used as an excuse to get rid of him.
Years after the death of Scott, Wilson and Shackleton,
Albert Armitage
Albert Borlase Armitage (2 July 1864 – 31 October 1943) was a Scottish polar explorer and officer in the Merchant Navy.
Early life
Armitage was born in Balquhidder, near Loch Lubnaig in Perthshire on 2 July 1864. He was one of eight ...
, the expedition's second-in-command, claimed that there had been a falling-out on the southern journey, and that Scott had told the ship's doctor that "if he does not go back sick he will go back in disgrace." There is no corroboration of Armitage's story. Shackleton and Scott stayed on friendly terms, at least until the publication of Scott's account of the southern journey in ''The Voyage of the Discovery''. Although in public they remained mutually respectful and cordial, according to biographer Roland Huntford, Shackleton's attitude to Scott turned to "smouldering scorn and dislike"; salvage of wounded pride required "a return to the Antarctic and an attempt to outdo Scott".
Shore work, 1903–1907
![Emily Dorman (Lady Shackelton)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/Emily_Dorman_%28Lady_Shackelton%29.jpg)
After a period of convalescence in New Zealand, Shackleton returned to England via San Francisco and New York. As the first significant person to return from the Antarctic, he found that he was in demand; in particular, the Admiralty wished to consult him about its further proposals for the rescue of ''Discovery''. With Sir Clements Markham's blessing, he accepted a temporary post assisting the outfitting of the
''Terra Nova'' for the second ''Discovery'' relief operation, but turned down the offer to sail with her as chief officer. He also assisted in the equipping of the Argentine , which was being fitted out for the relief of the stranded
Swedish Antarctic Expedition
The Swedish Antarctic Expedition of 1901–1903 was a scientific expedition led by Otto Nordenskjöld and Carl Anton Larsen. It was the first Swedish endeavour to Antarctica in the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.
Background
Otto Nordensk ...
under
Otto Nordenskjöld
Nils Otto Gustaf Nordenskjöld (6 December 1869 – 2 June 1928) was a Finnish and Swedish geologist, geographer, and polar explorer.
Early life
Nordenskjöld was born in Hässleby in Småland in eastern Sweden, in a Finland Swedish family that ...
.
In search of more permanent employment, Shackleton applied for a regular commission in the Royal Navy, via the back-door route of the Supplementary List, but despite the sponsorship of Markham and
William Huggins
Sir William Huggins (7 February 1824 – 12 May 1910) was an English astronomer best known for his pioneering work in astronomical spectroscopy together with his wife, Margaret.
Biography
William Huggins was born at Cornhill, Middlesex, in ...
, the president of the
Royal Society
The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
, he was not successful. Instead, he became a journalist, working for the ''
Royal Magazine
''The Royal Magazine'' was a monthly British literary magazine that was published between 1898 and 1939. Its founder and publisher was Sir Arthur Pearson.
''The Royal Magazines first edition was published in November 1898. According to this issu ...
'', but he found this unsatisfactory. He was then offered, and accepted, the secretaryship of the
Royal Scottish Geographical Society
The Royal Scottish Geographical Society (RSGS) is an educational charity based in Perth, Scotland founded in 1884. The purpose of the society is to advance the subject of geography worldwide, inspire people to learn more about the world around ...
(RSGS), a post which he took up on 11 January 1904. On 9 April 1904, he married
Emily Dorman
Emily Shackleton (15 May 1868 – 9 June 1936), also known as Lady Shackleton, was the wife of Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton and the mother of Labour Party politician Edward Shackleton. She was also the sister of Arthur Dorman. ...
, with whom he had three children: Raymond, Cecily, and
Edward
Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”.
History
The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...
, himself an explorer and later a politician.
In 1905, Shackleton became a shareholder in a speculative company that aimed to make a fortune transporting Russian troops home from the Far East. Despite his assurances to Emily that "we are practically sure of the contract", nothing came of this scheme. He also ventured into politics, unsuccessfully standing in the
1906 General Election as the
Liberal Unionist Party
The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington (later the Duke of Devonshire) and Joseph Chamberlain, the party established a political ...
's candidate for
Dundee constituency in opposition to Irish Home Rule. In the meantime he had taken a job with wealthy Clydeside industrialist
William Beardmore (later Lord Invernairn), with a
roving commission A roving commission details the duties of a commissioned officer or other official whose responsibilities are neither geographically nor functionally limited.
Where an individual in an official position is given more freedom than would regularly be ...
which involved interviewing prospective clients and entertaining Beardmore's business friends. Shackleton by this time was making no secret of his ambition to return to Antarctica at the head of his own expedition.
Beardmore was sufficiently impressed with Shackleton to offer financial support, but other donations proved hard to come by. Nevertheless, in February 1907, Shackleton presented to the Royal Geographical Society his plans for an Antarctic expedition, the details of which, under the name
British Antarctic Expedition, were published in the Royal Geographical Society's newsletter, ''
Geographical Journal
''The Geographical Journal'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal of the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers). It publishes papers covering research on all aspects of geography. It also publishes shorter ...
''. The aim was the conquest of both the geographical South Pole and the
South Magnetic Pole. Shackleton then worked hard to persuade others of his wealthy friends and acquaintances to contribute, including Sir
Philip Lee Brocklehurst, who subscribed £2,000 (approximately ) to secure a place on the expedition; author Campbell Mackellar; and
Guinness
Guinness () is an Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in 1759. It is one of the most successful alcohol brands worldwide, brewed in almost 50 countries, and available in ove ...
baron
Lord Iveagh
Earl of Iveagh (pronounced —especially in Dublin—or ) is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, created in 1919 for the businessman and philanthropist Edward Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh, Edward Guinness, 1st Viscount Iveagh. He was ...
, whose contribution was secured less than two weeks before the departure of the expedition ship ''Nimrod''.
On 4 August 1907, Shackleton was appointed a Member of the
Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...
, 4th Class (MVO; the present-day grade of lieutenant).
''Nimrod'' expedition, 1907–1909
![TheSouthernParty (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/TheSouthernParty_%28cropped%29.jpg)
On 1 January 1908, the set off on the
British Antarctic Expedition from
Lyttelton Harbour
Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō is one of two major inlets in Banks Peninsula, on the coast of Canterbury, New Zealand; the other is Akaroa Harbour on the southern coast. It enters from the northern coast of the peninsula, heading in a pred ...
, New Zealand. Shackleton's original plans had envisaged using the old ''Discovery'' base in McMurdo Sound to launch his attempts on the South Pole and South Magnetic Pole. Before leaving England, he had been pressured to give an undertaking to Scott that he would not base himself in the McMurdo area, which Scott was claiming as his own field of work. Shackleton reluctantly agreed to look for winter quarters at either the
Barrier Inlet—which ''Discovery'' had briefly visited in 1902—or
King Edward VII Land
King Edward VII Land or King Edward VII Peninsula is a large, ice-covered peninsula which forms the northwestern extremity of Marie Byrd Land in Antarctica. The peninsula projects into the Ross Sea between Sulzberger Bay and the northeast corne ...
.
To conserve coal, the ship was towed by the steamer ''Koonya'' to the Antarctic ice, after Shackleton had persuaded the New Zealand government and the Union Steamship Company to share the cost. In accordance with Shackleton's promise to Scott, the ship headed for the eastern sector of the Great Ice Barrier, arriving there on 21 January 1908. They found that the Barrier Inlet had expanded to form a large bay, in which were hundreds of whales, which led to the immediate christening of the area as the
Bay of Whales
The Bay of Whales was a natural ice harbour, or iceport, indenting the front of the Ross Ice Shelf just north of Roosevelt Island, Antarctica. It is the southernmost point of open ocean not only of the Ross Sea, but worldwide. The Ross Sea ...
.
It was noted that ice conditions were unstable, precluding the establishment of a safe base there. An extended search for an anchorage at King Edward VII Land proved equally fruitless, so Shackleton was forced to break his undertaking to Scott and set sail for McMurdo Sound, a decision which, according to second officer Arthur Harbord, was "dictated by common sense" in view of the difficulties of ice pressure, coal shortage and the lack of any nearer known base. ''Nimrod'' arrived at McMurdo Sound on 29 January, but was stopped by ice north of ''Discovery''s old base at
Hut Point
A hut is a small dwelling, which may be constructed of various local materials. Huts are a type of vernacular architecture because they are built of readily available materials such as wood, snow, ice, stone, grass, palm leaves, branches, hid ...
. After considerable weather delays, Shackleton's base was eventually established at
Cape Royds
Cape Royds is a dark rock cape forming the western extremity of Ross Island, facing on McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. It was discovered by the Discovery Expedition (1901–1904) and named for Lieutenant Charles Royds, Royal Navy, who acted as meteoro ...
, about north of Hut Point. The party was in high spirits, despite the difficult conditions; Shackleton's ability to communicate with each man kept the party happy and focused.
The "Great Southern Journey", as
Frank Wild
John Robert Francis Wild (18 April 1873 – 19 August 1939), known as Frank Wild, was an English sailor and explorer. He participated in five expeditions to Antarctica during the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, for which he was awar ...
called it, began on 29 October 1908. On 9 January 1909, Shackleton and three companions—Wild,
Eric Marshall
Lieutenant Colonel Eric Marshall (29 May 1879 – 26 February 1963) was a British Army doctor and Antarctic explorer with the Nimrod Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton in 1907–09, and was one of the party of four men (Marshall, Shackleton, ...
and
Jameson Adams—reached a new
Farthest South
Farthest South refers to the most southerly latitude reached by explorers before the first successful expedition to the South Pole in 1911. Significant steps on the road to the pole were the discovery of lands south of Cape Horn in 1619, Captai ...
latitude of 88° 23' S, a point only from the Pole. En route the South Pole party discovered the
Beardmore Glacier
The Beardmore Glacier in Antarctica is one of the largest valley glaciers in the world, being long and having a width of . It descends about from the Antarctic Plateau to the Ross Ice Shelf and is bordered by the Commonwealth Range of the Queen ...
—named after Shackleton's patron—and became the first persons to see and travel on the South Polar Plateau. Their return journey to McMurdo Sound was a race against starvation, on half-rations for much of the way. At one point, Shackleton gave his one biscuit allotted for the day to the ailing Frank Wild, who wrote in his diary: "All the money that was ever minted would not have bought that biscuit and the remembrance of that sacrifice will never leave me". They arrived at Hut Point just in time to catch the ship.
The expedition's other main accomplishments included the first ascent of
Mount Erebus
Mount Erebus () is the second-highest volcano in Antarctica (after Mount Sidley), the highest active volcano in Antarctica, and the southernmost active volcano on Earth. It is the sixth-highest ultra mountain on the continent.
With a summ ...
, and the discovery of the approximate location of the
South Magnetic Pole, reached on 16 January 1909, by
Edgeworth David
Sir Tannatt William Edgeworth David (28 January 1858 – 28 August 1934) was a Welsh Australian geologist and Antarctic explorer. A household name in his lifetime, David's most significant achievements were discovering the major Hunter V ...
,
Douglas Mawson
Sir Douglas Mawson OBE FRS FAA (5 May 1882 – 14 October 1958) was an Australian geologist, Antarctic explorer, and academic. Along with Roald Amundsen, Robert Falcon Scott, and Sir Ernest Shackleton, he was a key expedition leader during ...
, and
Alistair Mackay
Alistair Forbes Mackay (22 February 1878 – ) was a Scottish physician, biologist, and polar explorer known for being the first, along with Australians Douglas Mawson and Edgeworth David, to reach the South Magnetic Pole on 16 Janua ...
. Shackleton returned to the United Kingdom as a hero, and soon afterwards published his expedition account, ''Heart of the Antarctic''. Emily Shackleton later recorded: "The only comment he made to me about not reaching the Pole was 'a live donkey is better than a dead lion, isn't it?' and I said 'Yes darling, as far as I am concerned'".
In 1910, Shackleton made a series of three recordings describing the expedition using an Edison
phonograph
A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...
. Several mostly intact cases of whisky and brandy left behind in 1909 were recovered in 2010, for analysis by a distilling company. A revival of the vintage—and since lost—formula for the particular brands found has been offered for sale with a portion of the proceeds to benefit the New Zealand
Antarctic Heritage Trust Currently the Antarctic Heritage Trust consists of two partners, the Antarctic Heritage Trust (New Zealand) which was formed in 1987 and the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust, founded in 1993. The Trust is a coalition established to promote the following ...
which discovered the lost spirits.
Between expeditions, 1909–1914
Public hero
![Ernest Shackleton Vanity Fair 1909-10-06](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/Ernest_Shackleton_Vanity_Fair_1909-10-06.jpg)
On Shackleton's return home, public honours were quickly forthcoming. King Edward VII received him on 10 July and raised him to a
Commander of the Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Monarchy of Canada, Canadian monarch, Mon ...
; in the King's Birthday Honours list in November, he was made a
knight
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...
, becoming Sir Ernest Shackleton. He was honoured by the Royal Geographical Society, who awarded him a gold medal; a proposal that the medal be smaller than that earlier awarded to Captain Scott was not acted on. All the members of the Nimrod Expedition shore party received silver
Polar Medal
The Polar Medal is a medal awarded by the Sovereign of the United Kingdom to individuals who have outstanding achievements in the field of polar research, and particularly for those who have worked over extended periods in harsh climates. It w ...
s on 23 November, with Shackleton receiving a clasp to his earlier medal. Shackleton was also appointed a Younger Brother of
Trinity House
"Three In One"
, formation =
, founding_location = Deptford, London, England
, status = Royal Charter corporation and registered charity
, purpose = Maintenance of lighthouses, buoys and beacons
, he ...
, a significant honour for British mariners.
Besides the official honours, Shackleton's Antarctic feats were greeted in Britain with great enthusiasm. Proposing a toast to the explorer at a lunch given in Shackleton's honour by the Royal Societies Club,
Lord Halsbury
Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...
, a former
Lord Chancellor
The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. The ...
, said: "When one remembers what he had gone through, one does not believe in the supposed degeneration of the British race. One does not believe that we have lost all sense of admiration for courage
ndendurance". The heroism was also claimed by Ireland: the Dublin ''
Evening Telegraph
''Evening Telegraph'' is a common newspaper name, and may refer to:
* ''Evening Telegraph'' (Dundee), Scotland
* ''Evening Telegraph'' (Dublin), Ireland, published 1871–1924.
* ''Coventry Evening Telegraph
The ''Coventry Telegraph'' is a lo ...
's'' headline read "South Pole Almost Reached By An Irishman", while the ''Dublin Express'' spoke of the "qualities that were his heritage as an Irishman".
Shackleton's fellow-explorers expressed their admiration;
Roald Amundsen
Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (, ; ; 16 July 1872 – ) was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He was a key figure of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.
Born in Borge, Østfold, Norway, Amundsen bega ...
wrote, in a letter to RGS Secretary
John Scott Keltie
Sir John Scott Keltie (29 March 1840 – 12 January 1927) was a Scottish geographer, best known for his work with the Royal Geographical Society.
History
Keltie was born in Dundee and attended school in Perth. He matriculated at the Univers ...
, that "the English nation has by this deed of Shackleton's won a victory that can never be surpassed".
Fridtjof Nansen
Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen (; 10 October 186113 May 1930) was a Norwegian polymath and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He gained prominence at various points in his life as an explorer, scientist, diplomat, and humanitarian. He led the team t ...
sent an effusive private letter to Emily Shackleton, praising the "unique expedition which has been such a complete success in every respect". The reality was that the expedition had left Shackleton deeply in debt, unable to meet the financial guarantees he had given to backers. Despite his efforts, it required government action, in the form of a grant of £20,000 (2008: £1.5 million) to clear the most pressing obligations. It is likely that many debts were not pressed and were written off.
Biding time
![Shackleton-tour](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Shackleton-tour.jpg)
In the period immediately after his return, Shackleton engaged in a strenuous schedule of public appearances, lectures and social engagements. He then sought to cash in on his celebrity by making a fortune in the business world. Among the ventures which he hoped to promote were a tobacco company, a scheme for selling to collectors postage stamps overprinted "King Edward VII Land"—based on Shackleton's appointment as Antarctic postmaster by the New Zealand authorities—and the development of a Hungarian mining concession he had acquired near the city of
Nagybanya
Baia Mare ( , ; hu, Nagybánya; german: Frauenbach or Groß-Neustadt; la, Rivulus Dominarum) is a municipality along the Săsar River, in northwestern Romania; it is the capital of Maramureș County. The city lies in the region of Maramureș ...
, now part of
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
.
None of these enterprises prospered, and his main source of income was his earnings from lecture tours. He still harboured thoughts of returning south, even though in September 1910, having recently moved with his family to
Sheringham
Sheringham (; population 7,367) is an English seaside town within the county of Norfolk, United Kingdom.Ordnance Survey (2002). ''OS Explorer Map 252 - Norfolk Coast East''. . The motto of the town, granted in 1953 to the Sheringham Urban Distr ...
in Norfolk, he wrote to Emily: "I am never again going South and I have thought it all out and my place is at home now". He had been in discussions with Douglas Mawson about a scientific expedition to the Antarctic coast between
Cape Adare
Cape Adare is a prominent cape of black basalt forming the northern tip of the Adare Peninsula and the north-easternmost extremity of Victoria Land, East Antarctica.
Description
Marking the north end of Borchgrevink Coast and the west e ...
and
Gaussberg
Gaussberg (or Schwarzen Berg, Mount Gauss) is an extinct, high volcanic cone in East Antarctica fronting on Davis Sea immediately west of Posadowsky Glacier. It is ice-free and conical in nature, having formed subglacially about 55,000 y ...
, and had written to the RGS about this in February 1910.
Any future resumption by Shackleton of the quest for the South Pole depended on the results of Scott's
Terra Nova Expedition
The ''Terra Nova'' Expedition, officially the British Antarctic Expedition, was an expedition to Antarctica which took place between 1910 and 1913. Led by Captain Robert Falcon Scott, the expedition had various scientific and geographical objec ...
, which left from Cardiff in July 1910. By early 1912, the world was aware that the pole had been conquered, by the Norwegian
Roald Amundsen
Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (, ; ; 16 July 1872 – ) was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He was a key figure of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.
Born in Borge, Østfold, Norway, Amundsen bega ...
. The fate of Scott's expedition was not then known. Shackleton's mind turned to a project that had been announced, and then abandoned, by the British explorer
William Speirs Bruce
William Speirs Bruce (1 August 1867 – 28 October 1921) was a British Natural history, naturalist, polar region, polar scientist and Oceanography, oceanographer who organized and led the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition (SNAE, 1902–04) ...
, for a continental crossing, from a landing in the
Weddell Sea
The Weddell Sea is part of the Southern Ocean and contains the Weddell Gyre. Its land boundaries are defined by the bay formed from the coasts of Coats Land and the Antarctic Peninsula. The easternmost point is Cape Norvegia at Princess Martha ...
, via the South Pole to McMurdo Sound. Bruce, who had failed to acquire financial backing, was happy that Shackleton should adopt his plans, which were similar to those being followed by the German explorer
Wilhelm Filchner
Wilhelm Filchner (13 September 1877 – 7 May 1957) was a German army officer, scientist and explorer. He conducted several surveys and scientific investigations in China, Tibet and surrounding regions, and led the Second German Antarctic Expeditio ...
. Filchner had left
Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven (, , Low German: ''Bremerhoben'') is a city at the seaport of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany.
It forms a semi-enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the Riv ...
in May 1911; in December 1912, the news arrived from South Georgia that his expedition had failed. The transcontinental journey, in Shackleton's words, was the "one great object of Antarctic journeyings" remaining, now open to him.
Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, 1914–1917
Preparations
![Shackleton Endurance Aurora map2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Shackleton_Endurance_Aurora_map2.png)
Shackleton published details of his new expedition, grandly titled the "Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition", early in 1914. There is a legend that says Shackleton's newspaper article was written a certain way so that he could better narrow down and select candidates for his expedition. Two ships would be employed; ''
Endurance
Endurance (also related to sufferance, resilience, constitution, fortitude, and hardiness) is the ability of an organism to exert itself and remain active for a long period of time, as well as its ability to resist, withstand, recover from a ...
'' would carry the main party into the Weddell Sea, aiming for Vahsel Bay from where a team of six, led by Shackleton, would begin the crossing of the continent. Meanwhile, a second ship, the
''Aurora'', would take a supporting party under Captain
Aeneas Mackintosh
Aeneas Lionel Acton Mackintosh (1 July 1879 – 8 May 1916) was a British Merchant Navy officer and Antarctic explorer, who commanded the Ross Sea party as part of Sir Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, 1914–1917. T ...
to McMurdo Sound on the opposite side of the continent. This party would then lay supply depots across the Great Ice Barrier as far as the Beardmore Glacier; these depots would hold the food and fuel that would enable Shackleton's party to complete their journey of across the continent.
Shackleton used his considerable fund-raising skills, and the expedition was financed largely by private donations, although the British government gave £10,000 (about £900,000 in 2019 terms). Scottish
jute
Jute is a long, soft, shiny bast fiber that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from flowering plants in the genus ''Corchorus'', which is in the mallow family Malvaceae. The primary source of the fiber is ''Corchorus olit ...
magnate
Sir James Caird gave £24,000, Midlands industrialist
Frank Dudley Docker gave £10,000, and tobacco heiress
Janet Stancomb-Wills
Dame Janet Stancomb Graham Stancomb-Wills, DBE (25 January 1854 – 22 August 1932) was the first woman mayor of Ramsgate in Kent, an office which she held from 1923–24, and she was also the first person to receive, in 1922, the Freedom of the ...
gave an undisclosed but reportedly "generous" sum. Public interest in the expedition was considerable; Shackleton received more than 5,000 applications to join it.
His interviewing and selection methods sometimes seemed eccentric; believing that character and temperament were as important as technical ability, he asked unconventional questions. Thus physicist Reginald James was asked if he could sing; others were accepted on sight because Shackleton liked the look of them, or after the briefest of interrogations. Shackleton also loosened some traditional hierarchies to promote camaraderie, such as distributing the ship's chores equally among officers, scientists, and seamen. He also socialized with his crew members every evening after dinner, leading sing-alongs, jokes, and games.
He ultimately selected a
crew of 56, twenty-eight on each ship.
Despite the outbreak of the First World War on 3 August 1914, ''Endurance'' was directed by the
First Lord of the Admiralty
The First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible for the di ...
,
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
, to "proceed", and left British waters on 8 August. Shackleton delayed his own departure until 27 September, meeting the ship in
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
.
Crew
While Shackleton led the expedition, Captain F. Worsley commanded the ''Endurance'' and Lieutenant J. Stenhouse the ''Aurora''. On the ''Endurance'', the second in command was the experienced explorer Frank Wild. The meteorologist was Captain L. Hussey, also an able banjo player. McIlroy was head of the scientific staff, which included Wordie.
Alexander Macklin
Alexander Hepburne Macklin (1889 – 21 March 1967) was a British physician who served as one of the two surgeons on Sir Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–1917. In 1921–1922, he joined the Shackleton–Row ...
was one of two surgeons and also in charge of keeping the 70 dogs healthy.
Tom Crean Tom or Thomas Crean may refer to:
*Thomas Crean (1873–1923), Irish rugby union player, British Army soldier and doctor
*Tom Crean (explorer) (1877–1938), Irish seaman and Antarctic explorer
*Tom Crean (basketball)
Thomas Aaron Crean (born Ma ...
was in more immediate charge as head dog-handler. Other crew included James, Hussey, Greenstreet, a carpenter Harry McNish, and a biologist named Clark. Of later independent fame was the photographer
Frank Hurley
James Francis "Frank" Hurley (15 October 1885 – 16 January 1962) was an Australian photographer and adventurer. He participated in a number of expeditions to Antarctica and served as an official photographer with Australian forces durin ...
, known on this mission for his perilous shots. There also was
Perce Blackborow
Perce Blackborow (1896–1949) was a Welsh sailor and a stowaway on Ernest Shackleton's ill-fated Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–1917.
Biography
Blackborow was born in 1896 in Newport, Monmouthshire.
Intruder on ''Endurance''
B ...
who was a Welsh sailor that stowed away on the journey; although Shackleton was annoyed by this, there was no reason to turn back by the time the situation was discovered, and Blackborow was made a steward.
There was a (male) cat named
Mrs Chippy
Mrs Chippy was a male ship's cat who accompanied Sir Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–1917.
Life
Mrs Chippy, a tiger-striped tabby cat, tabby, was taken on board the ship used by the expedition's Weddell Sea pa ...
that belonged to the carpenter Harry McNish. Mrs Chippy was shot when the ''Endurance'' sank, due to the belief that he would not have survived the ordeal that followed.
Loss of ''Endurance''
''Endurance'' departed from South Georgia for the Weddell Sea on 5 December, heading for Vahsel Bay. As the ship moved southward
navigating in ice,
first year ice was encountered, which slowed progress. Deep in the Weddell Sea, conditions gradually grew worse until, on 19 January 1915, ''Endurance'' became frozen fast in an
ice floe
An ice floe () is a large pack of floating ice often defined as a flat piece at least 20 m across at its widest point, and up to more than 10 km across. Drift ice is a floating field of sea ice composed of several ice floes. They may caus ...
.
On 24 February, realising that she would be trapped until the following spring, Shackleton ordered the abandonment of ship's routine and her conversion to a winter station. She drifted slowly northward with the ice through the following months. When spring arrived in September, the breaking of the ice and its later movements put extreme pressures on the ship's hull.
![Shackletonold](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/Shackletonold.jpg)
Until this point, Shackleton had hoped that the ship, when released from the ice, could work her way back towards Vahsel Bay. On 24 October, water began pouring in. After a few days, with the position at 69° 5' S, 51° 30' W, Shackleton gave the order to abandon ship, saying, "She's going down!"; and men, provisions and equipment were transferred to camps on the ice. On 21 November 1915, the wreck finally slipped beneath the surface.
For almost two months, Shackleton and his party camped on a large, flat floe, hoping that it would drift towards
Paulet Island
Paulet Island is a circular island about in diameter, lying south-east of Dundee Island, off the north-eastern end of the Antarctic Peninsula. Because of its large penguin colony, it is a popular destination for sightseeing tours.
Descripti ...
, approximately away, where it was known that stores were cached. After failed attempts to march across the ice to this island, Shackleton decided to set up another more permanent camp (Patience Camp) on another floe, and trust to the drift of the ice to take them towards a safe landing. By 17 March, their ice camp was within of Paulet Island; however, separated by impassable ice, they were unable to reach it. On 9 April, their ice floe broke into two, and Shackleton ordered the crew into the lifeboats and to head for the nearest land.
After five harrowing days at sea, the exhausted men landed their three lifeboats at
Elephant Island
Elephant Island is an ice-covered, mountainous island off the coast of Antarctica in the outer reaches of the South Shetland Islands, in the Southern Ocean. The island is situated north-northeast of the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, west-so ...
, from where the ''Endurance'' sank. This was the first time they had stood on solid ground for 497 days. Shackleton's concern for his men was such that he gave his mittens to photographer
Frank Hurley
James Francis "Frank" Hurley (15 October 1885 – 16 January 1962) was an Australian photographer and adventurer. He participated in a number of expeditions to Antarctica and served as an official photographer with Australian forces durin ...
, who had lost his during the boat journey. Shackleton suffered frostbitten fingers as a result.
On 9 March 2022, it was announced that the ''Endurance'' had been located from the location where it was lost, below the surface.
Open-boat journey
Elephant Island
Elephant Island is an ice-covered, mountainous island off the coast of Antarctica in the outer reaches of the South Shetland Islands, in the Southern Ocean. The island is situated north-northeast of the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, west-so ...
was an inhospitable place, far from any shipping routes; rescue by means of chance discovery was very unlikely. Consequently, Shackleton decided to risk an open-boat journey to the 720-nautical-mile-distant
South Georgia
South Georgia ( es, Isla San Pedro) is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It lies around east of the Falkland Islands. Stretching in the east ...
whaling stations, where he knew help was available. The strongest of the tiny lifeboats, christened after the expedition's chief sponsor, was chosen for the trip. Ship's carpenter
Harry McNish
Henry McNish (11 September 187424 September 1930), often referred to as Harry McNish or by the nickname Chippy, was the carpenter on Sir Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–1917. He was responsible for much of the ...
made various improvements, including raising the sides, strengthening the keel, building a makeshift deck of wood and canvas, and sealing the work with oil paint and seal blood.
Shackleton chose five companions for the journey:
Frank Worsley
Frank Arthur Worsley (22 February 1872 – 1 February 1943) was a New Zealand sailor and explorer who served on Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–1916, as captain of ''Endurance''. He also served in the Royal N ...
, ''Endurance''s captain, who would be responsible for navigation;
Tom Crean Tom or Thomas Crean may refer to:
*Thomas Crean (1873–1923), Irish rugby union player, British Army soldier and doctor
*Tom Crean (explorer) (1877–1938), Irish seaman and Antarctic explorer
*Tom Crean (basketball)
Thomas Aaron Crean (born Ma ...
, who had "begged to go"; two strong sailors in
John Vincent and
Timothy McCarthy, and finally the carpenter McNish. McNish had clashed with Shackleton during the time when the party was stranded on the ice, but, while Shackleton did not forget the carpenter's earlier insubordination, Shackleton recognised his value for this particular job. Not only did Shackleton recognize their value for the job but also because he knew the potential risk they were to morale. This allowed for Shackleton to remain in control of the morale of his crew members. The attitudes of his men were a point of emphasis in leading his men back to safety.
Shackleton refused to pack supplies for more than four weeks, knowing that if they did not reach South Georgia within that time, the boat and its crew would be lost. The ''James Caird'' was launched on 24 April 1916; during the next fifteen days, it sailed through the waters of the southern ocean, at the mercy of the stormy seas, in constant peril of capsizing. On 8 May, thanks to Worsley's navigational skills, the cliffs of South Georgia came into sight, but hurricane-force winds prevented the possibility of landing. The party was forced to ride out the storm offshore, in constant danger of being dashed against the rocks. They later learned that the same hurricane had sunk a 500-ton steamer bound for South Georgia from Buenos Aires.
On the following day, they were able, finally, to land on the unoccupied southern shore. After a period of rest and recuperation, rather than risk putting to sea again to reach the whaling stations on the northern coast, Shackleton decided to attempt a land crossing of the island. Although it is likely that Norwegian whalers had previously crossed at other points on ski, no one had attempted this particular route before. For their journey, the survivors were only equipped with boots they had pushed screws into to act as climbing boots, a carpenter's
adze
An adze (; alternative spelling: adz) is an ancient and versatile cutting tool similar to an axe but with the cutting edge perpendicular to the handle rather than parallel. Adzes have been used since the Stone Age. They are used for smoothing ...
, and 50 feet of rope. Leaving McNish, Vincent and McCarthy at the landing point on South Georgia, Shackleton travelled with Worsley and Crean over extremely dangerous mountainous terrain for 36 hours to reach the whaling station at
Stromness
Stromness (, non, Straumnes; nrn, Stromnes) is the second-most populous town in Orkney, Scotland. It is in the southwestern part of Mainland Orkney. It is a burgh with a parish around the outside with the town of Stromness as its capital.
E ...
on 20 May.
The next successful crossing of South Georgia was in October 1955, by the British explorer
Duncan Carse
Verner Duncan Carse (28 July 1913 – 2 May 2004) was an English explorer and actor known for surveying South Georgia and for the portrayal of Special Agent Dick Barton on BBC Radio.
Early life
Carse was born on 28 July 1913 in Fulham, London, ...
, who travelled much of the same route as Shackleton's party. In tribute to their achievement, he wrote: "I do not know how they did it, except that they had to—three men of the heroic age of Antarctic exploration with 50 feet of rope between them—and a carpenter's
adze
An adze (; alternative spelling: adz) is an ancient and versatile cutting tool similar to an axe but with the cutting edge perpendicular to the handle rather than parallel. Adzes have been used since the Stone Age. They are used for smoothing ...
".
Rescue
![AllSafeAllWell](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/AllSafeAllWell.jpg)
Shackleton immediately sent a boat to pick up the three men from the other side of South Georgia while he set to work to organise the rescue of the Elephant Island men. His first three attempts were foiled by sea ice, which blocked the approaches to the island. He appealed to the Chilean government, which offered the use of the , a small seagoing tug from its navy. ''Yelcho'', commanded by Captain
Luis Pardo
Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish language, Spanish form of the originally Germanic language, Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese language, Portuguese and ...
, and the British whaler ''Southern Sky'' reached
Elephant Island
Elephant Island is an ice-covered, mountainous island off the coast of Antarctica in the outer reaches of the South Shetland Islands, in the Southern Ocean. The island is situated north-northeast of the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, west-so ...
on 30 August 1916, at which point the men had been isolated there for four and a half months, and Shackleton quickly evacuated all 22 men. The ''Yelcho'' took the crew first to
Punta Arenas
Punta Arenas (; historically Sandy Point in English) is the capital city of Chile's southernmost region, Magallanes and Antarctica Chilena. The city was officially renamed as Magallanes in 1927, but in 1938 it was changed back to "Punta Aren ...
and after some days to
Valparaiso in Chile where crowds warmly welcomed them back to civilisation.
There remained the men of the
Ross Sea Party
The Ross Sea party was a component of Sir Ernest Shackleton's 1914–1917 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. Its task was to lay a series of supply depots across the Great Ice Barrier from the Ross Sea to the Beardmore Glacier, along the polar ...
, who were stranded at
Cape Evans
Cape Evans is a rocky cape on the west side of Ross Island, Antarctica, forming the north side of the entrance to Erebus Bay.
History
The cape was discovered by the British National Antarctic Expedition, 1901–04, under Robert Falcon Scott, wh ...
in McMurdo Sound, after ''Aurora'' had been blown from its anchorage and driven out to sea, unable to return. The ship, after a drift of many months, had returned to New Zealand. Shackleton travelled there to join ''Aurora'', and sailed with her to the rescue of the Ross Sea party. This group, despite many hardships, had carried out its depot-laying mission to the full, but three lives had been lost, including that of its commander,
Aeneas Mackintosh
Aeneas Lionel Acton Mackintosh (1 July 1879 – 8 May 1916) was a British Merchant Navy officer and Antarctic explorer, who commanded the Ross Sea party as part of Sir Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, 1914–1917. T ...
.
First World War
When Shackleton returned to England in May 1917, Europe was in the midst of the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Suffering from a heart condition, made worse by the fatigue of his arduous journeys, and too old to be conscripted, he nevertheless volunteered for the army. Repeatedly requesting posting to the front in France, he was by now drinking heavily. In October 1917, he was sent to
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
to boost British propaganda in South America. Unqualified as a diplomat, he was unsuccessful in persuading Argentina and Chile to enter the war on the Allied side. He returned home in April 1918.
Shackleton was then briefly involved in a mission to
Spitzbergen
Svalbard ( , ), also known as Spitsbergen, or Spitzbergen, is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. North of mainland Europe, it is about midway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole. The islands of the group range ...
to establish a British presence there under guise of a mining operation. On the way he was taken ill in
Tromsø
Tromsø (, , ; se, Romsa ; fkv, Tromssa; sv, Tromsö) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Tromsø (city), city of Tromsø.
Tromsø lies ...
, possibly with a heart attack. Appointment to a military expedition to
Murmansk
Murmansk (Russian: ''Мурманск'' lit. "Norwegian coast"; Finnish: ''Murmansk'', sometimes ''Muurmanski'', previously ''Muurmanni''; Norwegian: ''Norskekysten;'' Northern Sámi: ''Murmánska;'' Kildin Sámi: ''Мурман ланнҍ'') i ...
obliged him to return home again, before departing for northern Russia.
Russian Civil War
Shackleton was specially appointed a temporary major on 22 July 1918.
From October 1918, he served with the
North Russia Expeditionary Force in the
Russian Civil War
, date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...
under the command of Major-General
Edmund Ironside
Edmund Ironside (30 November 1016; , ; sometimes also known as Edmund II) was King of the English from 23 April to 30 November 1016. He was the son of King Æthelred the Unready and his first wife, Ælfgifu of York. Edmund's reign was marred by ...
, with the role of advising on the equipment and training of British forces in arctic conditions.
For his "valuable services rendered in connection with Military Operations in North Russia" Shackleton was appointed an
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
in the 1919 King's Birthday Honours, and was also
mentioned in despatches
To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...
by General Ironside. Shackleton returned to England in early March 1919, full of plans for the economic development of Northern Russia.
[ In the midst of seeking capital, his plans foundered when Northern Russia fell to ]Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
control. He was finally discharged from the army in October 1919, retaining his rank of major.
Final expedition and death
Shackleton returned to the lecture circuit
The "lecture circuit" is a euphemistic reference to a planned schedule of regular lectures and keynote speeches given by celebrities, often ex-politicians, for which they receive an appearance fee. In Western countries, the lecture circuit has bec ...
and published his own account of the ''Endurance'' expedition, ''South
South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...
'', in December 1919. In 1920, tired of the lecture circuit, Shackleton began to consider the possibility of a last expedition. He thought seriously of going to the Beaufort Sea
The Beaufort Sea (; french: Mer de Beaufort, Iñupiaq: ''Taġiuq'') is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located north of the Northwest Territories, the Yukon, and Alaska, and west of Canada's Arctic islands. The sea is named after Sir Fr ...
area of the Arctic
The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...
, a largely unexplored region, and raised some interest in this idea from the Canadian government. With funds supplied by former schoolfriend John Quiller Rowett
John Quiller Rowett (1876 – 1 October 1924) was a British businessman, philanthropist, and co-founder of the Rowett Research Institute.
Shackleton
A schoolfriend of Sir Ernest Shackleton at Dulwich College, Rowett was the sole financial backe ...
, he acquired a 125-ton Norwegian sealer, named ''Foca I'', which he renamed .
The plan changed; the destination became the Antarctic, and the project was defined by Shackleton as an "oceanographic and sub-antarctic expedition". The goals of the venture were imprecise, but a circumnavigation of the Antarctic continent and investigation of some "lost" sub-Antarctic islands, such as Tuanaki Tuanaki or Tuanahe is the name of an anecdotal vanished group of islets, once part of the Cook Islands. It was located south of Rarotonga and within two days sail of Mangaia.
In 1916, the Polynesian Society of Honolulu reprinted an account by a sai ...
, were mentioned as objectives.
Rowett agreed to finance the entire expedition, which became known as the Shackleton–Rowett Expedition
The Shackleton–Rowett Expedition (1921–22) was Sir Ernest Shackleton's last Antarctic project, and the final episode in the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.
The venture, financed by John Quiller Rowett, is sometimes referred to as the ' ...
. On 16 September 1921, Shackleton recorded a farewell address on a sound-on-film
Sound-on-film is a class of sound film processes where the sound accompanying a picture is recorded on photographic film, usually, but not always, the same strip of film carrying the picture. Sound-on-film processes can either record an analog ...
system created by Harry Grindell Matthews
Harry Grindell Matthews (17 March 1880 – 11 September 1941) was an English inventor who claimed to have invented a death ray in the 1920s.
Earlier life and inventions
Harry Grindell Matthews was born on 17 March 1880 in Winterbourne, Glouc ...
, who claimed it was the first "talking picture" ever made. The expedition left England on 24 September 1921.
Although some of his former crew members had not received all their pay from the ''Endurance'' expedition, many of them signed on with their former "Boss". When the party arrived in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
, Shackleton suffered a suspected heart attack. He refused a proper medical examination, so ''Quest'' continued south, and on 4 January 1922, arrived at South Georgia
South Georgia ( es, Isla San Pedro) is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It lies around east of the Falkland Islands. Stretching in the east ...
.
In the early hours of the next morning, Shackleton summoned the expedition's physician, Alexander Macklin
Alexander Hepburne Macklin (1889 – 21 March 1967) was a British physician who served as one of the two surgeons on Sir Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–1917. In 1921–1922, he joined the Shackleton–Row ...
, to his cabin, complaining of back pains and other discomfort. According to Macklin's own account, Macklin told him he had been overdoing things and should try to "lead a more regular life", to which Shackleton answered: "You are always wanting me to give up things, what is it I ought to give up?" "Chiefly alcohol, Boss", replied Macklin. A few moments later, at 2:50 a.m. on 5 January 1922, Shackleton suffered a fatal heart attack.
Macklin, who conducted the postmortem, concluded that the cause of death was atheroma
An atheroma, or atheromatous plaque, is an abnormal and reversible accumulation of material in the inner layer of an arterial wall.
The material consists of mostly macrophage cells, or debris, containing lipids, calcium and a variable amount o ...
of the coronary arteries exacerbated by "overstrain during a period of debility". Leonard Hussey
Leonard Duncan Albert Hussey, Officer of the Order of the British Empire, OBE (6 May 1891 – 25 February 1964) was an English meteorologist, archaeologist, explorer, medical doctor and member of Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expe ...
, a veteran of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic expedition, offered to accompany the body back to Britain; while he was in Montevideo
Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...
en route to England, a message was received from Emily Shackleton asking that her husband be buried in South Georgia. Hussey returned to South Georgia with the body on the steamer , and on 5 March 1922, Shackleton was buried in the Grytviken
Grytviken ( ) is a settlement on South Georgia in the South Atlantic and formerly a whaling station and the largest settlement on the island. It is located at the head of King Edward Cove within the larger Cumberland East Bay, considered the b ...
cemetery, South Georgia, after a short service in the Lutheran church
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
, with Edward Binnie
Edward Beveridge Binnie (1884 in Stanley, Falkland Islands — 1956 in Sandefjord, Norway) was the second resident magistrate of South Georgia, serving from October 1914 to April 1927, during which time he resided at King Edward Point.
He had ...
officiating. Macklin wrote in his diary: "I think this is as 'the Boss' would have had it himself, standing lonely in an island far from civilisation, surrounded by stormy tempestuous seas, & in the vicinity of one of his greatest exploits."
Study of diaries kept by Eric Marshall
Lieutenant Colonel Eric Marshall (29 May 1879 – 26 February 1963) was a British Army doctor and Antarctic explorer with the Nimrod Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton in 1907–09, and was one of the party of four men (Marshall, Shackleton, ...
, medical officer to the 190709 expedition, suggests that Shackleton suffered from an atrial septal defect
Atrial septal defect (ASD) is a congenital heart defect in which blood flows between the atria (upper chambers) of the heart. Some flow is a normal condition both pre-birth and immediately post-birth via the foramen ovale; however, when this d ...
("hole in the heart"), a congenital heart defect
A congenital heart defect (CHD), also known as a congenital heart anomaly and congenital heart disease, is a defect in the structure of the heart or great vessels that is present at birth. A congenital heart defect is classed as a cardiovascular ...
, which may have been a cause of his health problems.
Shackleton's will was proven in London on 12 May 1922. Dying heavily in debt, Shackleton's small estate consisted of personal effects to the value of £556 2s. 2d. (equivalent to £ in ) which he bequeathed to his wife. Lady Shackleton survived her husband by 14 years, dying in 1936.
On 27 November 2011, the ashes of Frank Wild were interred on the right-hand side of Shackleton's gravesite in Grytviken. The inscription on the rough-hewn granite block set to mark the spot reads: "Frank Wild 1873–1939, Shackleton's right-hand man."
Legacy
Early
Before the return of Shackleton's body to South Georgia, there was a memorial service held for him with full military honours at Holy Trinity Church, Montevideo
Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...
, and on 2 March a service was held at St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...
, London, at which the King and other members of the royal family were represented. Within a year the first biography, ''The Life of Sir Ernest Shackleton'', by Hugh Robert Mill
Hugh Robert Mill (28 May 1861 – 5 April 1950) was a British geographer and meteorologist who was influential in the reform of geography teaching, and in the development of meteorology as a science. He was President of the Royal Meteorologica ...
, was published. This book, as well as being a tribute to the explorer, was a practical effort to assist his family; Shackleton died some £40,000 in debt (equivalent to £ in ) A further initiative was the establishment of a Shackleton Memorial Fund, which was used to assist the education of his children and the support of his mother.
During the ensuing decades Shackleton's status as a polar hero was generally outshone by that of Captain Scott, whose polar party had by 1925 been commemorated on more than 30 monuments in Britain alone, including stained glass windows, statues, busts and memorial tablets. A statue of Shackleton designed by Charles Sargeant Jagger
Charles Sargeant Jagger (17 December 1885 – 16 November 1934) was a British sculptor who, following active service in the First World War, sculpted many works on the theme of war. He is best known for his war memorials, especially the Royal A ...
was unveiled at the Royal Geographical Society's Kensington
Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London.
The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...
headquarters in 1932, but public memorials to Shackleton were relatively few. The printed word saw much more attention given to Scott—a forty-page booklet on Shackleton, published in 1943 by OUP as part of a "Great Exploits" series, is described by cultural historian Stephanie Barczewski as "a lone example of a popular literary treatment of Shackleton in a sea of similar treatments of Scott". This disparity continued into the 1950s.
Later
In 1959, Alfred Lansing's ''Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage'' was published. This was the first of a number of books about Shackleton that began to appear, showing him in a highly positive light. At the same time, attitudes towards Scott were gradually changing as a more critical note was sounded in the literature, culminating in Roland Huntford
Roland Huntford ( Horwitch;Race To The Pole: Tragedy, Heroism, and Scott's Antarctic Quest, Ranulph Fiennes, Hyperion, 2004, p. 387 born 1927) is an author, principally of biographies of Polar explorers.
Background and education
Huntford, the ...
's 1979 treatment of him in his dual biography ''Scott and Amundsen'', described by Barczewski as a "devastating attack". This negative picture of Scott became accepted as the popular truth as the kind of heroism that Scott represented fell victim to the cultural shifts of the late twentieth century. Within a few years, he was thoroughly overtaken in public esteem by Shackleton, whose popularity surged while that of his erstwhile rival declined. In 2002, in a BBC poll conducted to determine the "100 Greatest Britons
''100 Greatest Britons'' is a television series that was broadcast by the BBC in 2002. It was based on a television poll conducted to determine who the British people at that time considered the greatest Britons in history. The series included in ...
", Shackleton was ranked 11th while Scott was down in 54th place.
In 1983 the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
'', which was released on DVD in 2017. In 2001 Margaret Morrell and Stephanie Capparell presented Shackleton as a model for corporate leadership in their book ''Shackleton's Way: Leadership Lessons from the Great Antarctic Explorer''. They wrote: "Shackleton resonates with executives in today's business world. His people-centred approach to leadership can be a guide to anyone in a position of authority". Other management writers soon followed this lead, using Shackleton as an exemplar for bringing order from chaos. In 2017 Nancy Koehn argued that, in spite of Shackleton's mistakes, financial problems and narcissism, he developed the capability to be successful.
The Centre for Leadership Studies at the
offers a course on Shackleton, who also features in the management education programmes of several American universities. In
" principles, with the motto "The Journey is Everything". Shackleton has also been cited as a model leader by the
, and in a textbook on Congressional leadership, Peter L Steinke calls Shackleton the archetype of the "nonanxious leader" whose "calm, reflective demeanor becomes the antibiotic warning of the toxicity of reactive behaviour". In 2001, the Athy Heritage Centre-Museum, Athy, County Kildare, Ireland, established the Ernest Shackleton Autumn School, which is held annually, to honour the memory of Ernest Shackleton.
, a period of discovery characterised by journeys of geographical and scientific exploration in a largely unknown continent without any of the benefits of modern travel methods or radio communication. In the preface to his 1922 book ''
, one of Scott's team on the Terra Nova Expedition, wrote: "For a joint scientific and geographical piece of organisation, give me Scott; for a Winter Journey, Wilson; for a dash to the Pole and nothing else, Amundsen: and if I am in the devil of a hole and want to get out of it, give me Shackleton every time".
In 1993 Trevor Potts re-enacted the Boat Journey from Elephant Island to South Georgia in honour of Sir Ernest Shackleton, totally unsupported, in a replica of the ''James Caird''. In 2002,
in the title role. Broadcast in the US on the
. Shackleton is considered a saint by the God's Gardeners, a fictional religious sect that is the focus of
auction in London in 2011, a biscuit that Shackleton gave "a starving fellow traveller" on the 1907–1909 ''Nimrod'' expedition sold for £1250. That same year, on the date of what would have been Shackleton's 137th birthday, Google honored him with a
. Asteroid
in 2005, was named in his memory. The official was published by the
on 10 December 2011 ().
In January 2013, a joint British-Australian team set out to duplicate Shackleton's 1916 trip across the Southern Ocean. Led by explorer and environmental scientist
, the team was assembled at the request of Alexandra Shackleton, Sir Ernest's granddaughter, who felt the trip would honour her grandfather's legacy. Also in 2013, a genus of
'' by botanists Søchting, Frödén & Arup.
In October 2015, Shackleton's decorations and medals were auctioned; the sale raised £585,000.
This team became the first to replicate the so-called "double crossing", sailing from Elephant Island to South Georgia and crossing the South Georgian mountains from King Haakon Bay (where Shackleton had landed nearly 100 years prior) to Stromness.
The expedition very carefully matched legacy conditions, using a replica of the ''James Caird'' (named for the project's patron: the ''Alexandra Shackleton''), period clothing (by
), replica rations (both in calorific content and rough constitution), period navigational aids, and a
just as Shackleton had used. This expedition was made into a documentary film, screening as ''Chasing Shackleton'' on
on the centenary of the Endurance expedition. In August 2016 a statue of Shackleton by Mark Richards was erected in
. In 2017, the musical play ''Ernest Shackleton Loves Me'' by Val Vigoda and Joe DiPietro made its debut in New York City at the Tony Kiser Theater, an
venue. Blended with a parallel story of a struggling composer, the play retells the adventure of ''Endurance'' in detail, incorporating photos and videos of the journey.
(1909)
* Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO, 1909; MVO 4th Class: 1907)
* Officer of the Order of the British Empire, Military Division (OBE, 1918)
* Polar Medal (1904; with clasp for Nimrod Expedition: 1909)
* British War Medal (1918)
* Allied Victory Medal (1918, with MID)
Other decorations
* Knight of the
, refers to the reported situations where an unseen presence such as a "spirit" provided comfort or support during traumatic experiences.