Sir Ernest Shackleton Trivia Quiz

Answer: County Kildare, Ireland on February 15, 1874

Ernest Henry Shackleton was born on February 15, 1874 in County Kildare, Ireland to a Quaker farmer and landowner, Henry Shackleton and his wife, Henrietta Savan Shackleton.

Answer: He was a farmer turned medical doctor.

Henry Shackleton was a landowner and farmer, but with Ireland's diastrous potato crops, he knew that supporting his large family by farming would not be possible. When Ernest was six years old, Henry Shackleton moved the family to Dublin, Ireland and began his medical studies at Trinity College.

He was thirty-three years old at the time. After finishing his medical training, Henry Shackleton moved the family from Dublin to London, England where he began his career as a doctor.

Answer: True

There were ten children in Shackleton's family. He had nine siblings-eight sisters and one brother.

Answer: Left school and went to sea

Henry Shackleton wanted his son to follow him and become a doctor, but the adventuresome Ernest longed to go to sea. When Shackleton was sixteen years old, with his father's permission, he left Dulwich College and joined the crew of the "Houghton Tower" bound for South America. Over the next five years, Shackleton made voyages to and from the Far East and America.

In 1898, at the age of twenty-four, Shackleton was certified as Master which meant he could command a British ship anywhere on the seven seas.

Answer: She was a friend of his sister.

It was while Shackleton was on shore leave in the summer of 1897 that he first met Emily Dorman, the woman who later became his wife. Emily, five years his senior, was a friend of Shackleton's sister. The couple began a long courtship and were married at Christ Church in Westminster on April 9, 1904. By this time, Shackleton had already left the sea and been to Antarctica as part of an expedition led by Robert Scott.

The couple's first child was born on February 2, 1905.

Answer: True

Shackleton's first expedition to Antarctica, called the National Antarctic Expedition, was organized by the Royal Geographic Society and was led by Robert Scott. On November 2, 1902, Shackleton, Scott, and Dr. Edward Wilson set out for the South Pole.

The going was slow and the food began running low. Their sled dogs began to die, and they had to pull the heavy sled themselves. Shackleton developed scurvy and a terrible cough. By the time Scott agreed to turn back, the trio were in a race to stay alive long enough to reach camp. Shackleton began coughing up blood and was so ill that when their relief ship came, Scott ordered Shackleton to return to England. Shackleton always felt that the hardships endured on this expedition had weakened his heart.

Answer: He was the first to circumnavigate Antarctica.

Shackleton took part in the first Antarctic hot air balloon ride while on his first expedition in 1902 with Robert Scott. When Shackleton led his own race to the South Pole in 1908-1909, he took along a motorcar which had been made and donated to him by a company in Scotland.

The car was not a success. Its weight was too heavy, and the tires could not get traction on the ice. It was during this expedition that Shackleton's party became the first to climb Antarctica's 12,448-foot Mount Erebus. In 1921, Shackleton sailed aboard the "Quest" intending to be the first to circumnavigate the continent of Antarctica, but he died aboard ship on January 5, 1922, shortly after reaching South Georgia.

Answer: No

Shackleton's furthest point south was reached on January 9, 1909, when his party came within ninety-seven miles of the South Pole. How did these early Antarctic explorers know when they reached the South Pole? Their progress was measured in degrees of latitude. Both Scott and Amundsen reached the latitude that is considered the South Pole at 90 degrees South. Shackleton's team reached latitude 83 degrees 23' South. Shackleton was knighted by King Edward VII in 1909.

Answer: 750 to 800 miles

On December 14, 1911, Shackleton's set out for Antarctica in the "Endurance". The purpose of the expedition was to to become the first party to ever cross Antarctica overland, a distance of some 1500 miles. On January 15, 1915, the "Endurance" became frozen in pack ice, and on October 27, it began to buckle, forcing them to abandoned ship.

They set up camp on an ice floe, but April 9, 1916, the ice was so thin that Shackleton and his men set out in three lifeboats. After six days, the men reached an isolated, uninhabited spot called Elephant Island. Shackleton knew for his men to survive, he must bring help from the Norwegian whaling station on South Georgia, nearly 800 miles away. On April 24, Shackleton and four other men set off in the lifeboat "James Caird".

They arrived on South Georgia on May 8. After making four attempts to return to Elephant Island, Shackleton finally rescued his men August 28, 1916, 126 days after setting out.

Answer: True

Many of the men from the "Endurance" party were with Shackleton on the "Quest" for what was to be his final expedition. Shackleton's plan was to be the first circumnavigate Antarctica, but he died of a massive heart attack shortly after reaching South Georgia, on Jan. 5, 1922.

He was only forty-seven years old, leaving behind a legacy of courage that still inspires us today. At the request of his wife, Lady Emily Shackleton, he was buried on South Georgia. Brought back in recent years was the bottle left as a tribute to the "Boss" from his men.

Inside was a picture of the "Quest" party signed by each, with a a request that the finder return it to the Royal Geographic Society. Thank you for taking my quiz.