Ernest Henry Shackleton was born in Ireland in 1874. His education was never completed, as he followed a natural inclination to go to sea before graduating from college. He sailed round the world four times, and during the Boer War took part in the transportation of troops. In 1901 he was a member of Scott’s expedition, which reached “farthest south” at that time. After running for Parliament in 1906 and failing to be elected, he organized the expedition of 1908–09.
He was knighted by the British government for his services as an explorer, and has received many medals and other high honors.
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ROALD AMUNDSEN
Roald Amundsen
FIVE
To accomplish that which for three centuries had been unsuccessfully attempted would satisfy most people. But not a man like Roald Amundsen, descendant of Vikings. To discover the Northwest Passage, long sought by Hudson, Cabot, Frobisher, Franklin, and other adventure-loving explorers, and to locate the exact position of the North Magnetic Pole, where the north end of the compass needle points, was not enough for this intrepid Norwegian. And so he set out for the South Pole—and reached it.