1874-1922

British Explorer

Sir Ernest Shackleton, British polar explorer and veteran of four Antarctic expeditions, is considered one of the greatest explorers of all time. During the early years of the twentieth century, a worldwide race was on to forge routes to the South Pole on the Antarctic continent. Extreme conditions, including treacherous seas, sub-zero temperatures, ice, and unmapped and unknown mountains and glaciers, met these expeditions on their quests for scientific and geographic information. Shackleton is respected and revered for his leadership qualities tested under conditions that were as severe as any human being had ever endured and for his scientific contributions.

Ernest Shackleton was born February 15, 1874, in Kildare, Ireland. He went to a Quaker school in Ireland until the agricultural depression in the late 1870s forced the family to move to London. At the age of 16, after attending Dulwich College...