Editing Ernest Shackleton (section)

== Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, 1914–1917 ==
{{Main|Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition|Ross Sea party|Personnel of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition}}
[[File:Shackleton Endurance Aurora map2.png|upright=1.25|thumb|alt=Outline of Antarctica coast, with different lines indicating the various journeys made by ships and land parties during the expedition|Map showing the routes of the ships, support team and planned continental crossing of the [[Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition]]{{pb}}{{legend-line|red solid 2px|Voyage of the {{ship||Endurance|1912 ship|2}}}}{{legend-line|yellow solid 2px|Drift of the ''Endurance'' in pack ice}}{{legend-line|limegreen solid 2px|Sea ice drift after the ''Endurance'' sinks}}{{legend-line|royalblue solid 2px|Voyage of the ''James Caird''}}{{legend-line|#45fefd solid 2px|Planned trans-Antarctic route}}{{legend-line|darkorange solid 2px|Voyage of the {{SY|Aurora||2}} to Antarctica}}{{legend-line|violet solid 2px|Retreat of the ''Aurora''}}{{legend-line|saddlebrown solid 2px|Supply depot route}}]]

=== Preparations ===
In December 1913, Shackleton published details of his new expedition, grandly titled the "Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition".{{sfn|Barczewski|2007|p=87}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://digital.nls.uk/shackleton-prospectus/ |title=Shackleton's prospectus for the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition |website=National Library of Scotland |access-date=10 February 2024 |archive-date=10 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240210182630/https://digital.nls.uk/shackleton-prospectus/ |url-status=live }}</ref> There is a legend that Shackleton posted an advertisement emphasising the hardship and danger of the planned voyage, so that he could better narrow down the selection of candidates for his expedition, but no record of any such advertisement has survived and its existence is considered doubtful.{{sfn|Koehn|2017|page=30}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/shackleton-probably-never-took-out-an-ad-seeking-men-for-a-hazardous-journey-5552379/ |title=Shackleton Probably Never Took Out an Ad Seeking Men for a Hazardous Journey |last=Schultz |first=Colin |date=10 September 2013 |access-date=1 February 2024 |website=SmithsonianMag.com |url-status=live |archive-date=24 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240124170142/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/shackleton-probably-never-took-out-an-ad-seeking-men-for-a-hazardous-journey-5552379/}}</ref> Two ships were to be employed: ''[[Endurance (1912 ship)|Endurance]]'' would carry the main party into the Weddell Sea, aiming for [[Vahsel Bay]] from where a team of six, led by Shackleton, would begin the crossing of the continent; meanwhile, a second ship, the [[SY Aurora|''Aurora'']], would take a supporting party under Captain [[Aeneas Mackintosh]] to McMurdo Sound on the far side of the continent.{{sfn|Lansing|1999|pp=10–13}} This party would be tasked with laying supply depots across the Great Ice Barrier as far as the Beardmore Glacier, the depots holding the food and fuel required to enable Shackleton's party to complete their journey of {{convert|1800|mi|km}} across the continent.{{sfn|Shackleton, ''South'' | loc=preface, pp. xii–xv}}

Shackleton used his considerable fund-raising skills to support the expedition, which was financed largely by private donations, although the British government gave £10,000 (equivalent to £{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|10000|1914}}}} in {{Inflation-year|UK}}).{{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nls.uk/learning-zone/geography-and-exploration/shackleton-and-wordie/funding/ |title=Funding: Plan to cross the Antarctic continent |work=National Library of Scotland |access-date=10 February 2024 |url-status=live |archive-date=5 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905095714/https://www.nls.uk/learning-zone/geography-and-exploration/shackleton-and-wordie/funding/}}</ref> Scottish [[jute]] magnate [[Sir James Caird, 1st Baronet, of Belmont Castle|Sir James Caird]] donated £24,000,{{sfn|Alexander|1998|p=10}} Midlands industrialist [[Frank Dudley Docker]] gave £10,000, and tobacco heiress [[Janet Stancomb-Wills]] gave an undisclosed but reportedly "generous" sum.{{sfn|Huntford|1985|pp=375–377}} There was considerable public interest; Shackleton received more than 5,000 applications to join his expedition.{{sfn|Fisher|Fisher|1957|p=308}}

At times, his interviewing and selection methods seemed eccentric; believing that character and temperament were as important as technical ability,{{sfn|Huntford|1985|p=386}} his questions were unconventional. Physicist [[Reginald W. James|Reginald James]] was asked if he could sing;{{sfn|Fisher|Fisher|1957|p=312}} others were accepted on sight because Shackleton liked the look of them, or after the briefest of interrogations.{{sfn|Fisher|Fisher|1957|pp=311–315}} He loosened some of the traditional hierarchies to promote camaraderie, such as distributing the ship's chores equally among officers, scientists and able seamen. He made a point of socialising with his crew members every evening after dinner, leading sing-alongs, jokes and games.{{sfn|Koehn|2017|page=38}} He finally selected a [[Personnel of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition|crew of fifty-six]]; shared equally, twenty-eight men on each ship.{{sfn|Alexander|1998|p=16}}

Despite the outbreak of the [[First World War]] on 3&nbsp;August 1914, ''Endurance'' was directed by the First Lord of the Admiralty, [[Winston Churchill]], to "proceed",{{efn|name=Churchill, Proceed}} and left British waters on 8&nbsp;August. Shackleton delayed his own departure until 27&nbsp;September, meeting the ship in [[Buenos Aires]].{{sfn|Fisher|Fisher|1957|pp=324–325}} On setting sail for South Georgia at the end of October, he sent a [[cablegram]] to the ''[[Daily Chronicle]]'', conveying the patriotic message: "We hope in our small way to add victories in science and discovery to that certain victory which our nation will achieve in the cause of honor and liberty."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://archive.nytimes.com/iht-retrospective.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/11/15/1914-sir-ernest-shackleton-outlines-his-polar-projects/ |title=1914: Sir Ernest Shackleton Outlines His Polar Projects - The New York Herald, European Edition, Oct. 31, 1914 |newspaper=[[International Herald Tribune]] |date=15 November 2014 |access-date=9 February 2024 |via=''The New York Times'' archive |url-status=live |archive-date=9 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240209114907/https://archive.nytimes.com/iht-retrospective.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/11/15/1914-sir-ernest-shackleton-outlines-his-polar-projects/}}</ref>

=== Crew ===
Shackleton led the expedition, Captain [[Frank Worsley]] commanded the ''Endurance''{{sfn|Johnson|2003|p=60}} and Captain Aeneas Mackintosh the ''Aurora''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.spri.cam.ac.uk/archives/shackleton/expeditions/aurora.html |title=Articles from the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition (Aurora) – About the expedition |date=16 September 2021 |access-date=8 February 2024 |work=Scott Polar Research Institute |url-status=live |archive-date=9 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230209031908/https://www.spri.cam.ac.uk/archives/shackleton/expeditions/aurora.html}}</ref><!--Stenhouse took over as captain when Mackintosh went ashore with the Ross Sea party.--> On the ''Endurance'', the second-in-command was the experienced explorer Frank Wild,{{sfn|Alexander|1998|p=13}} and the first officer was [[Lionel Greenstreet]].{{sfn|Lansing|1999|p=18}} The meteorologist was [[Leonard Hussey]],{{sfn|Lansing|1999|p=15}} who was also an able banjo player.{{sfn|Alexander|1998|p=53}} Surgeon [[James McIlroy (surgeon)|James McIlroy]] was head of the scientific staff, which included geologist [[James Wordie]].{{sfn|Lansing|1999|p=38}} [[Alexander Macklin]] was the second of the two surgeons,{{sfn|Lansing|1999|p=15}} also in charge of keeping the 70&nbsp;dogs healthy. [[Tom Crean (explorer)|Tom Crean]] was in more immediate charge as head dog-handler. Other crew included navigator [[Hubert Hudson]],{{sfn|Lansing|1999|p=35}} physicist Reginald James,{{sfn|Lansing|1999|p=15}} a carpenter [[Harry McNish]], and a biologist named [[Robert Clark (zoologist)|Robert Clark]].{{sfn|Lansing|1999|p=24}}

Of later independent fame was the expedition's official photographer [[Frank Hurley]],{{sfn|Lansing|1999|p=22}} known on this mission for his perilous shots.<ref name="NYT-AMNH-1999" /> [[Perce Blackborow]] was a nineteen-year-old Welsh sailor who had stowed away on the ship after being refused a job;{{sfn|Worsley|1931|p=5}} although angered by this, Shackleton realised it was too late to turn back by the time the situation was discovered, so Blackborow was allowed to join the crew and assigned to the ship's galley.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-60525094 |title=Endurance: The Newport stowaway on Shackleton shipwreck |date=26 February 2002 |access-date=7 February 2024 |work=BBC News |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221119052950/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-60525094 |archive-date=19 November 2022}}</ref>

There was a (male) cat on board, named [[Mrs Chippy]], that belonged to the carpenter Harry McNish. Mrs Chippy was shot when the ''Endurance'' sank, due to the belief that he would not have survived the ordeal that followed.<ref>{{cite book|title=Favourite Cat Stories: New Tales of Feline Frolics for Devoted Cat Lovers |first=Stella |last=Whitelaw |year=2000 |publisher=Michael O'Mara Books |isbn=978-1-85479-541-0 |page=131 |chapter=Mrs Chippy}}</ref>{{sfn|Lansing|1999|p=58}}

=== Loss of ''Endurance'' ===
''Endurance'' departed from South Georgia for the Weddell Sea on 5&nbsp;December 1914, heading for Vahsel Bay.{{sfn|Shackleton, ''South''|pp=1–3}} As the ship moved southward [[Ice navigation|navigating in ice]], she encountered [[first-year ice]], which slowed progress. Deep in the Weddell Sea, conditions gradually grew worse until, on 19&nbsp;January 1915, ''Endurance'' became frozen fast in an [[drift ice|ice floe]].{{sfn|Shackleton, ''South''|pp=29–30}}

On 24 February, realising that they would be trapped until the following spring, Shackleton ordered the abandonment of the ship's routine and her conversion to a winter station.{{sfn|Shackleton, ''South''|p=36}} ''Endurance'' drifted slowly northward with the ice through the following months. When spring arrived in September, the breaking of the ice and its later movements put extreme pressure on the ship's hull.{{sfn|Shackleton, ''South''|pp=63–66}}

[[File:Shackletonold.jpg|thumb|upright|Shackleton after the loss of ''Endurance''|alt=A black-and-white photograph of Shackleton staring into the camera]]
Shackleton had been hoping that the ship, when released from the ice, could work her way back towards Vahsel Bay, but his hopes were dashed on 24&nbsp;October when water began pouring in. After a few days, with the position at 69°5′&nbsp;S, 51°30′&nbsp;W, he gave the order to abandon ship, saying, "She's going down!"; and men, provisions and equipment were transferred to camps on the ice.{{sfn|Shackleton, ''South''|pp=75–76}} On 21&nbsp;November 1915, the wreck of ''Endurance'' finally slipped beneath the surface.{{sfn|Shackleton, ''South''|p=98}}{{efn|''Endurance'' was located on 5&nbsp;March 2022 by the Endurance22 expedition of researchers and technicians, {{convert|4|mi}} from where it was lost and {{convert|3008|m|order=flip}} below the surface.<ref>{{cite web|last=Pitofsky |first=Marina |url=https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2022/03/09/ernest-shackleton-endurance-ship-found-antarctica-100-years-after-wreck/9437513002/ |title=Ernest Shackleton's ship Endurance, which sank in 1915 near Antarctica, has been found |website=[[USA Today]] |date=9 March 2022 |access-date=9 March 2022 |url-status=live |archive-date=13 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220313034332/https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2022/03/09/ernest-shackleton-endurance-ship-found-antarctica-100-years-after-wreck/9437513002/}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://endurance22.org/endurance-is-found |title=Endurance is Found |website=Endurance22.org |type=press release|date=9 March 2022 |author=AlexW |url-status=live |archive-date=10 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231210150924/https://endurance22.org/endurance-is-found }}</ref>}}

For almost two months, Shackleton and his party camped on a large, flat floe, hoping that it would drift towards [[Paulet Island]], approximately {{convert|250|mi|km|0}} away, where it was known that stores were cached.{{sfn|Shackleton, ''South''|p=100}} After failed attempts to march across the ice to this island, Shackleton decided to set up another more permanent camp (Patience Camp) on another floe, and trust to the drift of the ice to take them towards a safe landing.{{sfn|Shackleton, ''South''|p=106}} By 17&nbsp;March, their ice camp was within {{convert|60|mi|km|0}} of Paulet Island;{{sfn|Fisher|Fisher|1957|p=366}} however, separated by impassable ice, they were unable to reach it. On 9&nbsp;April, their ice floe broke into two, and Shackleton ordered the crew into the lifeboats and to head for the nearest land.{{sfn|Shackleton, ''South''|pp=121–122}}

After five harrowing days at sea, the exhausted men landed their three lifeboats at [[Elephant Island]], {{convert|346|mi}} from where the ''Endurance'' had sunk.{{sfn|Shackleton, ''South'' (film)}} This was the first time they had set foot on solid ground for 497&nbsp;days.{{sfn|Shackleton, ''South''|p=143}} Shackleton's concern for his men was such that he gave his mittens to photographer Frank Hurley, who had lost his own mittens during the boat journey. Shackleton suffered frostbitten fingers as a result.{{sfn|Perkins|2000|p=36}}

=== Open-boat journey ===
{{Main|Voyage of the James Caird}}
[[File:LaunchingTheJamesCaird2.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Launching the {{ship||James Caird|boat|2}} from the shore of [[Elephant Island]], 24 April 1916|alt=A black-and-white photograph of a group of people guiding the ''James Caird'' away from a shore]]

Elephant Island was an inhospitable place, far from any shipping routes. Rescue by means of a chance discovery was very unlikely, so Shackleton decided to risk an open-boat journey to the South Georgia whaling stations where he knew help would be available.{{sfn|Worsley|1931|pp=95–99}} The strongest of the tiny {{convert|20|ft|m|adj=on}} lifeboats, christened {{ship||James Caird|boat|2}} after the expedition's chief sponsor, was chosen for the trip.{{sfn|Worsley|1931|pp=95–99}}{{sfn|Barczewski|2007|p=105}} Ship's carpenter Harry McNish made various improvements, which included raising the sides, strengthening the keel, building a makeshift deck of wood and canvas, and sealing the work with oil paint and seal blood.{{sfn|Worsley|1931|pp=95–99}}

Shackleton chose five companions for the journey:{{sfn|Barczewski|2007|p=105}} the ship's captain Frank Worsley, who would be responsible for navigation; Tom Crean, who had "begged to go"; two strong sailors in [[John Vincent (sailor)|John Vincent]] and [[Timothy McCarthy (sailor)|Timothy McCarthy]]; and McNish.{{sfn|Worsley|1931|pp=95–99}} The carpenter had earlier clashed with Shackleton when the party was stranded on the ice but, while not forgetting his earlier insubordination, Shackleton recognised McNish's value for this particular job.{{efn|name=McNish's 'mutiny'}}{{sfn|Huntford|1985|pp=475, 656}}

Shackleton insisted on packing only enough supplies to last for four weeks, knowing that if they failed to reach South Georgia within that time, the boat and its crew would be lost.{{sfn|Alexander|1998|p=137}} The ''James Caird'' was launched on 24&nbsp;April 1916;{{sfn|Barczewski|2007|p=105}} during the next fifteen days, it sailed through the waters of the southern ocean, at the mercy of the stormy seas and in peril of capsizing. Thanks to Worsley's navigational skills, the cliffs of South Georgia came into sight on 8&nbsp;May, but hurricane-force winds prevented any possibility of landing. The party was forced to ride out the storm offshore, in continual danger of being dashed against the rocks. They later learned that the same storm had sunk a 500-ton steamer bound for South Georgia from Buenos Aires.{{sfn|Worsley|1931|p=162}}

The next day, they were able to land on the unoccupied southern shore, and a period of rest and recuperation followed. Rather than risking another sea journey to reach the whaling stations on the northern coast, Shackleton decided to attempt a land crossing of the island. Although it is likely that Norwegian whalers had already crossed the island at other points on ski, no one had previously attempted this particular route.{{sfn|Huntford|1985|p=574}} For their journey, the men were only equipped with boots they had adapted for climbing by pushing screws into the soles, a carpenter's [[adze]], and {{convert|50|ft}} of rope. Leaving McNish, Vincent and McCarthy at the landing point on South Georgia, Shackleton travelled with Worsley and Crean over {{convert|32|mi|km}}{{sfn|Shackleton, ''South'' (film)}} of dangerous mountainous terrain for 36&nbsp;hours, reaching the whaling station at [[Stromness (South Georgia)|Stromness]] on 20&nbsp;May.{{sfn|Worsley|1931|pp=211–212}}

=== Rescue ===
[[File:AllSafeAllWell.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|"All Safe, All Well", allegedly depicting Shackleton's return to Elephant Island in August 1916. To create this image, a photograph of the departure of the ''James Caird'' in April 1916 was [[Photograph manipulation|doctored]] by photographer [[Frank Hurley]].{{sfn|Alexander|1998|pp=202–203}}|alt=A black-and-white photograph of a group of men waving to something in the distance]]
Shackleton immediately sent a boat to pick up the three men from the other side of South Georgia Island, while he set to work organising the rescue of those left behind on Elephant Island. His first three attempts were foiled by sea ice, which blocked the approaches to the island. He appealed to the Chilean government and was offered the use of the {{ship||Yelcho|1906|2}}, a small seagoing tug from the Chilean Navy. ''Yelcho'', commanded by Captain [[Luis Pardo]], and the British whaler ''Southern Sky'', reached Elephant Island on 30&nbsp;August 1916, at which point the men had been isolated there for four and a half months. Shackleton quickly evacuated all 22&nbsp;men.{{sfn|Alexander|1998|pp=166–169, 182–185}} The party was taken on ''Yelcho'' first to [[Punta Arenas]] and after some days to [[Valparaíso]] in Chile, where crowds warmly welcomed them back to civilisation.{{sfn|Mill|1923|pp=237,239}}

At the same time that the ''Endurance'' was suffering these perils, the ''Aurora'' (the expedition supporting component) also suffered misfortune. The remaining men of the [[Ross Sea party]] had been stranded at [[Cape Evans]] in McMurdo Sound when the ''Aurora'' was blown from its anchorage and driven out to sea, unable to return. After a drift of many months, the ship returned to New Zealand. Shackleton travelled there to join ''Aurora'', and sailed with her to rescue the Ross Sea party. Said party had successfully completed its depot-laying mission, despite many hardships, during which three lives had been lost, including party commander Aeneas Mackintosh.{{sfn|Huntford|1985|pp=634–641}}