Shackleton, Ernest Henry (1874–1922)

The British explorer Ernest Shackleton, leading his second Antarctic expedition (1914–16). His ship Endurance left South Georgia in December 1914 for the transantarctic crossing but was crushed by the ice. Shackleton and his crew eventually reached Elephant Island, from where he and five others set out in an open boat to get help. They finally landed in South Georgia in May 1916.

Irish Antarctic explorer. In 1908–09, he commanded the British Antarctic expedition that reached 88° 23′ S latitude, located the magnetic South Pole, and climbed Mount Erebus. He was knighted in 1909.

Shackleton was a member of Scott's Antarctic expedition 1901–04, and also commanded the expedition 1914–16 to cross the Antarctic, when he had to abandon his ship, the Endurance, crushed in the ice of the Weddell Sea. He died on board the Quest on his fourth expedition 1921–22 to the Antarctic.

Shackleton was born at Kilkee in County Clare (now in the Republic of Ireland), and educated at Dulwich College, London. His first polar journey was as third lieutenant on the National Antarctic Expedition of 1901. Seven years later, the famous expedition under his command started on 1 January 1908, when the Nimrod left New Zealand for the Antarctic. On 20 October 1908, in company with Lieutenant Adams, Dr Eric Marshall and Frank Wild, Shackleton set out for the South Pole, equipped with sledges to traverse the ice and with provisions for 91 days. On 9 January 1909 they reached 88° 23′ S latitude, 156 km/97 mi from the South Pole, a record far surpassing that set by Scott's first expedition. Later, the expedition members Sir T W Edgeworth David and Sir D Mawson reached the magnetic South Pole. In recognition of his achievement, Shackleton was presented with the special gold medal of the Royal Geographical Society and was knighted the same year. On the abortive expedition of 1914–16, Shackleton's party was only rescued after he and five others had voyaged to the island of South Georgia in a 7-metre boat. In September 1921 he left London for a three-year tour in Antarctica. Following his death on this voyage, he was buried, in accordance with his wish, on South Georgia. He published accounts of his journeys in The Heart of the Antarctic (1909), and South: The Story of Shackleton's Last Expedition 1914–17 (1919).