Showing results by author "Sir Ernest Shackleton" in All Categories

As war clouds darkened over Europe in 1914, a party led by Sir Ernest Shackleton set out to make the first crossing of the entire Antarctic continent via the Pole. But their initial optimism was short-lived as ice floes closed around their ship, gradually crushing it and marooning twenty-eight men on the polar ice. Alone in the world's most unforgiving environment, Shackleton and his team began a brutal quest for survival.

Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (1874 - 1922) was a polar explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic. 'The Voyage of the James Caird' is the story of Shackleton's 1916 failed attempt at a crossing of Antarctica from sea to sea via the pole. The expedition turned to disaster when Shackleton's ship, Endurance, became trapped in pack ice and was slowly crushed. The crew escaped by camping on the sea ice until it disintegrated, then by launching the lifeboats to reach Elephant Island.

Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (1874-1922) was a polar explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic. During the second expedition, from 1907 to 1909, he and three companions established a new record for the "farthest South latitude", which was 97 miles from the South Pole and the closest in pole exploration history. Members of his team also climbed Mount Erebus, the most active volcano on Antarctica. For these achievements, Shackleton was knighted by King Edward VII on his return home. 

Frederick Albert Cook (June 10, 1865 - August 5, 1940) was an American explorer and physician noted for his claims of achieving the first summit of Mount McKinley, in September 1906, and having reached the North Pole on April 21, 1908, which would have been a year before Robert Peary. Both claims have been largely discredited. Later, Dr. Cook was a founding member of the Arctic Club and Explorers Club.