Research Paper On Ernest Shackleton

“Sir Ernest Shackleton was an Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer, who made three expeditions to the continent, most famously in 1914 on the Endurance” (Sir Ernest Shackleton). The ‘founder’ of the Shackleton family was Abraham Shackleton. Abraham was a profound Quaker born in Kildare County, Ireland. The Shackleton family originated in the English country of the Yorkshire and consisted of pure Anglo-Irish blood.
On February 15, 1874 Ernest Henry Shackleton was born in Kilkea House, Kildare County, Ireland. He was the second oldest of ten children and the oldest of two boys. When Shackleton was six years old, the family moved to London where the children were raised.
It was obvious at a very young age that Shackleton was interested in traveling. Henry Shackleton dreamed of his oldest son following in his footsteps, but Ernest would have no part of it. At the age of sixteen, Shackelton sailed from Liverpool to Valparaiso (Heacox 38). He joined the merchant navy and by the age of eighteen he achieved the rank of first mate. Having traveled during his two years of service, his passion for travel was ignited.
Subsequently, Shackleton met his wife Emily in 1897.

The Shackleton had a long enduring Latin family motto - Fortitudine vincimus meaning ‘by endurance we conquer’ (Heacox 52). News of Shackleton’s expedition of the Endurance traveled quickly. The Endurance sailed down the Thames on August 1, 1914. This was the same day that Germany declared war on England. The crew of the Endurance felt as if they would be betraying their home if they left without a fight. They wrote to the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill proposing that they would fight in the war as a whole unit. Within an hour, they received a simple reply from the Admiralty saying, ‘Proceed.’. Within two hours, a wire came from Mr. Winston Churchill. The men were thank for their offer, but were admonished to continue with their