Ernest Shackleton

This is Shackleton

Ernest Shackleton was an explorer that wanted to go to a place that nobody had ever gone before. He wanted to go to the South Pole. He was born on February 15, 1875. He loved to read as a kid and went to school at Dulwitch College in England. He didn’t like school so he joined the merchant marines and started exploring.

He went on four expeditions to Antarctica. He went on his 1st expedition when he was 21. His 1st expedition was The Discovery. It was named The Discovery because that was the name of the ship they sailed on. They got within 400 miles. That was the farthest anybody has gotten. Shackleton became famous after his 1st expedition because of his leadership skills.

Shackleton got home and went on another expedition, this was the Nimrod Expedition. Not a lot is known about that one but that they were low on food and hunted penguins and seals and they drank seal blood. They also shot their ponies for food. They made it even further south to 97 miles from the South Pole. They had to go back because they ran out of food. They got within 97 miles of the South Pole.

His 3rd expedition was The Endurance, named after Shackleton’s family motto "By Endurance we conquer.” They left on Friday, August 1, 1914. The crew got stranded on an ice flow and were trapped there for 11 months. One day they saw a small channel of water. They tried to break it open so they could get their ship out. The ice was 18 feet thick in some places so they could not break the ice apart. A few days later their ship was crushed by the ice. They now realized they were in grave danger because the ice was melting below them! They camped on the ice for another eight months. Then Shackleton knew that he had to go for help.

Two days later Shackleton and 5 others set off on the largest small boat journey ever attempted in a 22 foot boat. 15 days later they saw land! They tried to row there but the current pulled them back out to sea! Shackleton’s men were exhausted and now losing hope. They drifted for a little while until they saw land again! This time they could get to it. They got to land and had to hike about 25 miles through rough terrain to finally get to a whaling station. Shackleton stayed for several days until he decided that he had to go back to Elephant Island where some of his men had been stranded since he left on his journey. He set off in a good boat this time and when he got there the men were very happy to see them. One of the men had died and one was missing. Shackleton searched for him for 2 days but found not a trace. He and the group of men decided to leave…

This is Shackelton's grave site

Shackleton was an explorer that wanted to put the British flag on the South Pole and he did not accomplish that goal but he gave the world a better understanding of the Arctic.

Earnest Shackleton is my hero because he did not give up after his first trip to the South Pole so he is very perseverant. He also did not leave anybody behind that was in his crew, which shows that he is very loyal. Earnest Shackleton is very hard working because he needed to survive and he did not give up on hunting.