Shackleton, Ernest -

(1874-1922): Explorer famous for the failed Endurance expedition, which set out to the Weddell Sea in 1914 to land on its southern shore in an attempt to cross the Antarctic by sled. His ship was crushed in the pack ice, and the expedition members consisting of Shackleton and a crew of 27 men spent the winter on ice floes until they reached Elephant Island off the end of Palmer Peninsula. From there Shackleton set off with five selected men to cross the Drake Passage in a 22-foot boat, to reach the South Georgia Islands and find help for a rescue operation. Against all odds, all men were rescued and reached England safely. (For more information see the book, Endurance, by A. Lansing, Carroll and Graf, New York, 1959.)