Shackleton, Sir Ernest Henry (1874–1922), British explorer, born in Kilkee, Southern Ireland. He left Dulwich College at 16 to join the
merchant marine and served before the mast in various
square-riggers, before becoming an officer in the Union Castle shipping line. He then served in the 1901 National Antarctic Expedition under
Captain Scott as its third lieutenant, but was invalided home after an attack of
scurvy. In January 1908 he led the British National Expedition which accomplished some useful scientific work and reached to within 160 kilometres (100 mls.) of the pole. For these achievements Shackleton received a knighthood.
In 1914 he again sailed for the Antarctic in command of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic expedition on board the 350-ton Norwegian sealer
Endurance, with the intention of crossing the continent of Antarctica from the Weddell to the Ross Seas. However, after a combination of adverse circumstances, the
Endurance was beset by
ice in the Weddell Sea, and was eventually crushed after drifting for nine months. Only Shackleton's superb natural gifts of leadership and organization enabled the expedition's members to survive. After drifting on ice floes, they eventually took to the ship's boats and reached Elephant Island in the South Shetland group, in April 1916. Leaving his second in command, Frank Wild, in charge, Shackleton sailed one of the boats, a 7-metre (23-ft)
whaler which he named
James Caird, to South Georgia, 480 kilometres (300 mls.) away, to seek help. After three unsuccessful attempts to rescue the Elephant Island party, they were taken off with the help of the Chilean
tug Yelcho.
In 1920 Shackleton, now in charge of the Shackleton–Rowett Antarctic expedition, sailed to the Antarctic on board the
Quest, but off South Georgia he died of a heart attack. The
James Caird is preserved at his old school.
Bibliography
Dunnett, H. , Shackleton's Boat (1994).
Huntford, R. , Shackleton (1985).