II.

First Antarctic Expeditions

In 1901 Shackleton joined the British National Antarctic Expedition led by British naval officer Robert Falcon Scott, sailing on the ship Discovery. The goal of the expedition was to reach the South Pole from a base on Ross Island in the Ross Sea. Despite inadequate rations and little knowledge of sled dog driving, Scott, Shackleton, and British zoologist Edward Wilson reached latitude 82°17’ south on December 30, 1902, the farthest south anyone had reached at that time. Their trek home was a race against starvation, with Shackleton also suffering from scurvy. Upon their return to base, Scott sent the ailing Shackleton home on a relief ship.

Shackleton made another attempt to reach the South Pole between 1907 and 1909 as the leader of the British Antarctic Expedition. After sailing on the Nimrod to a base on Ross Island, Shackleton and three companions pioneered a route up through the Transantarctic Mountains to the polar plateau by way of the Beardmore Glacier. By January 9, 1909, they had trekked to latitude 88°23' south, within 179 km (111 mi) of the South Pole, but dwindling food supplies forced them to turn back. Shackleton later told his wife, Emily, “I thought you'd rather have a live donkey than a dead lion.” Shackleton was knighted in 1909 by British monarch Edward VII for setting the record for the farthest southern latitude reached.