Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton and others

Ernest Henry Shackleton was born on 15 February 1874 in Kilkea, Ireland, one of six children of Anglo-Irish parents. The family moved from their farm to Dublin, where his father, Henry studied medicine. On qualifying in 1884, Henry took up a practice in south London, and between 1887 and 1890, Ernest was educated at Dulwich College. On leaving school, he entered the merchant service, serving in the square-rigged ship Hoghton Tower until 1894 when he transferred to tramp steamers. In 1896, he qualified as first mate, and two years later, was certified as master, joining the Union Castle line in 1899.

In 1901, he became a sub-lieutenant in the Royal Naval Reserve, and joined the British National Antarctic Expedition, 1901-1904 (leader Robert Falcon Scott), serving as third officer in Discovery . During the expedition, he was responsible for seawater analysis and was editor of the expedition newspaper South Polar Times . In November 1902, Shackleton accompanied Scott and Edward Wilson on the first major sledging journey, exploring inland across the Ross Ice Shelf toward the South Pole. On 30 December 1902, they reached a record farthest south of 82° 17'. Although weakened by scurvy on the return journey, Shackleton struggled back on foot with the others and to his intense disappointment, was invalided home in March 1903 on the relief ship Morning .

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