Ernest Shackleton

Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (1874 - 1922) is an Anglo-Irish explorer become famous for its forwardings in the the Antarctic at the beginning of the 20th century.

Youth

Ernest Henry Shackleton was born the February 15th 1874, with Kilkea, in Ireland, second child of a family which will count 10 of them (eight girls and two boys). It enters the Merchant navy at 17 years and at sea accomplishes many voyages on board a British Trois-mâts. It obtains its patent of lieutenant at 24 years.

Forwardings in the Antarctic

Forwarding Discovery (1901-1904)

See also: Forwarding Discovery

In 1901, it embarks for the first time with Robert Falcon Scott and Doctor Edward Wilson for a forwarding in the the Antarctic. In November 1902, they cross the most southern latitude ever reached by the man, 82°16 Southern. Reached by the Scurvy, it is returned by Scott in London and must give up temporarily its dreams of explorer.

Forwarding Nimrod (1907-1909)

See also: Forwarding Nimrod

Aguerri by preceding forwarding, it assembles its own forwarding, and, the August 7th 1907, it leaves again towards the the Antarctic, which it reaches with the beginning of the year 1908. After many efforts, forwarding reached, on January 9th, 1909, the Latitude record of Southern 88°23, but its members are constrained to make half-turn, to only 180 km of the South pole. After having carried out a crossing with foot of almost 3000 km in the the Antarctic, it turns over once again towards the the United Kingdom. The South pole is conquered the December 14th 1911 by Roald Amundsen.

On its return to London, Shackleton is anobli by the king.

Forwarding Endurance (1914-1917)

See also: Forwarding Endurance

Shackleton, disappointed, decides, as challenge, to try a crossing of the Antarctic continent to foot, while passing by the pole, that is to say 3300 km of walk. With 27 men, it leaves the the United Kingdom on August 8th, 1914 on board the three masts Endurance . Among the members of forwarding appear Frank Hurley, Frank Worsley and Frank Wild. They live one of more testing adventures of the history of polar exploration, but no man loses the life there: the Odyssey of the " Endurance". However, the second boat, the Aurora , which was chartered to recover the members of forwarding on his arrival on other side of the Antarctic continent, does not have team such a welded and taken along by such a charismatic leader. Having lost three men (whose captain) after Aurora broke its mooring ropes in the Détroit McMurdo, in Mer of Ross, ten men are stripped with the foot of the volcano Erebus in the island of Ross.

After having saved the shipwrecked men of the Endurance , to sir Ernest Shackleton turns over to help these ten men whom he hopes to find alive after the one year stay that those passed under the roof of the old hut of Scott. Only seven of them survived thanks to the meat of seal and penguin and with some provisions remained in this hut.

On its return to the United Kingdom, on May 29th, 1917, Shackleton, in spite of its heroic exploits, is not accommodated as hero because, him is said, the true heroes are with the face. One was then into full First World War.

Forwarding Shackleton-Rowett (1921-1922)

See also: Forwarding Shackleton-Rowett

To the end of the year 1921, Shackleton turned over in the Antarctic with Frank Wild and some old of the epopee of the Endurance , of which the captain Worsley, to make statements of charts and observations scientific. It will never return from this last voyage. The evening even of its arrival in South Georgia, the January 5th 1922, Shackleton, which suffered since years from cardiac failures, was victim of an heart attack in middle of the night, in its bed, taken care by the two doctors of the Endurance who belonged to forwarding.

His wife asked that it rest in South Georgia, or a stele was set up with its memory with the foot of the mountain Ducie Fell.

Personal life

Shackleton married in Emily Dorman with the church of Westminster on April 9th, 1904. They had two wire, Raymond and Edward, and a girl, Cecily. However Shackleton maintained several connections, including one with the American actress Rosalind Chetwynd (Rosa Lynd), who began in 1910 and continued until the death of the explorer.

Anecdotes

  • the Royal Air Force called in its honor one of its bombers the Avro Shackleton , which is a Avro Lincoln equipped with a new fuselage.
  • the successor of this plane within the RAF is the Hawker-Siddeley Nimrod which draws its name from the ship on which Shackleton at the time of one of its forwardings sailed. It is based on a of Havilland Comet , the first jet.

See too

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