Exploring the nations paving the way for the future of AI
The expedition had caught the imagination of the British public, and Scott was lauded as a national hero. He resumed his full-time naval career and, in 1908, married sculptor Kathleen Scott.
Robert Falcon Scott was born on June 6, 1868, and seemed predestined for a career in the armed services. In fact, Scott began his naval career in 1881, as a 13-year-old cadet.
While on leave in London in 1899, Scott had the good fortune to meet the president of the Royal Geographical Society and learned of an impending Antarctic expedition with RRS Discovery. He volunteered to lead the expedition.
By 1897 Scott had become a first lieutenant, serving on various Royal Navy vessels including HMS Vulcan and HMS Majestic.
On September 13, 1911, Scott revealed his plans for the South Pole march. A team of 16 men would set out towards the Beardmore Glacier. Twelve men in three groups would then ascend the glacier, after which Scott would decide the composition of the final polar group.
RRS Discovery reached Antarctica in January 1902, mooring alongside the Ross Ice Shelf. The expedition had both scientific and exploration objectives, including a long trek towards the South Pole.
The retreat proved a harrowing experience and brought about Shackleton's physical collapse and early departure from the expedition. Scott and Wilson fared better, but still struggled to reach the relative safety of Discovery.
Among the crew was Ernest Shackleton (pictured), who would himself later become a celebrated polar explorer. Also onboard was Edward Wilson, who served as the expedition's junior surgeon, zoologist, and expedition artist.
Sixty-five men formed the shore and ship's parties of the Terra Nova Expedition, among them seven Discovery veterans, including Edgar Evans and Edward Wilson.
RRS Discovery departed England on August 6, 1901, bound for New Zealand. After being resupplied, she left for Antarctica on December 21.
The scientific results of the expedition included important biological, zoological, and geological findings. Wilson used his artistic skills to record emperor penguin populations, the first breeding colonies ever discovered.
After Scott's shore party had disembarked, Terra Nova, commanded by Victor Campbell, set sail for King Edward VII Land, ostensibly to explore the region and carry out scientific work.
The journey by dog sled was undertaken by Shackleton, Scott, and Wilson. The intrepid trio came within 480 miles (770 km) of their objective before Shackleton's declining health and the death of several dogs forced them to turn back.
Terra Nova arrived off Ross Island on January 4, 1911. Scott chose as his polar base Hut Point, which he'd used during the Discovery expedition. He renamed the location Cape Evans after his second-in-command.
Scott wasn't alone in wanting to plant a flag at the South Pole. A Norwegian team led by Roald Amundsen had the same aspirations. The race was on.
While Campbell's "Northern Party" set up camp at Robertson Bay, near Cape Adare, Scott's "Southern Party" busily collected supplies at Cape Evans on Ross Island.
At Cape Evans, Scott celebrated his 43rd birthday on June 6, 1911. Ponting captured the festive occasion.
Photographer Herbert Ponting was commissioned to document the expedition. His cameras caught some of the most enduring images of what today is called the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.
Scott also approved the appointment of Lawrence Oates, a British Army officer who took part in operations in the Transvaal, the Orange River Colony, and Cape Colony during the Second Boer War.
Crestfallen and exhausted, Scott's men posed for this photograph at the pole under the Union Jack using an automatic trigger, a 'selfie' of sorts the original of which sold for £12,500 (US$15,255) at auction in 2017.
Scott and his team arrived at the South Pole on January 17, only to be devastated to learn that Amundsen (pictured) had beaten them to it. In fact, the Norwegians had preceded them by a month.
Frostbitten and severely dehydrated, the three survivors struggled on. A fierce blizzard on March 20 halted their progress and bound the men to their tent for nine days. On March 29, Scott wrote the final entry in his diary, which read in part: "We shall stick it out to the end, but we are getting weaker of course and the end cannot be far. It seems a pity, but I do not think I can write more. R. Scott. Last Entry: For God's sake, look after our people."
On November 12, 1912, a search party found the frozen bodies of Robert Falcon Scott, Henry Robertson Bowers, and Edward Wilson. Along with geological specimens collected during the trek, Scott's records and diaries were retrieved, the entries of which gave a full account of the journey.
On January 3, 1912, Scott revealed the names of the five men who would join him on the trek to the South Pole: Edward Wilson, Lawrence Oates, Edgar Evans, and Henry Robertson Bowers. The rest of the men returned to base.
The British Antarctic Expedition quickly became known as the Terra Nova Expedition, named for the relief vessel that had sailed to Antarctica in 1904. Scott's objective this time was clear—to be the first to reach the geographic South Pole.
In February 1904, Discovery was resupplied by the steam yacht Morning and Terra Nova, a whaler. It took explosives to free Discovery from solid pack ice. The three vessels departed Antarctica shortly afterwards. Discovery returned to Britain in September 1904.
While working for the Admiralty in London, Scott was released to take up the full-time command of the British Antarctic Expedition of 1910. It would prove a fateful decision.
Also enlisted was Edgar Evans, a Royal Navy petty officer who'd served with Scott on HMS Majestic in 1899. He effectively served as Scott's right -and man on the expedition.
Despite having no previous polar experience, master mariner Henry Robertson Bowers was recommended to Scott by the former president of the Royal Geographical Society, Sir Clements Markham, who had been the main organizer of Scott's earlier Discovery expedition.
Edward Wilson had accompanied Scott and Shackleton on the grueling attempt to reach the South Pole during the previous expedition. He was arguably Scott's closest companion.
After failing to finds a suitable landing site, Campbell headed for Victoria Land. It was here that Terra Nova encountered Roald Amundsen's expedition camped in the Bay of Whales, readying itself for the push south.
The polar group set out with high expectations. The weather was good, though the going was tough.
The homeward march was made in atrocious conditions. Edgar Evans was the first to succumb, dying on February 17 during the descent of the Beardmore Glacier. A month later, Oates voluntarily left the tent the men were sheltering in and walked to his death. His last words, immortalized by Scott in his diary were, "I am just going outside and may be some time."
The initial reaction in Britain to the fate of the Terra Nova Expedition and Scott's death was an overwhelming display of public grief. Scott himself was lauded for his courage and patriotism. His widow, Lady Kathleen Scott, was given the knighthood that would have been conferred on her husband had he lived, and she later sculpted the statue of her late husband that stands in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Sources: (Royal Museums Greenwich) (Antarctic Heritage Trust) (BBC) (Historic UK)
See also: Mapping Antarctica: The journey to charting the frozen continent
It was always going to be a challenge fraught with danger, but the race to the South Pole was too good to pass on for Robert Falcon Scott. The British polar explorer was hoping to be the first to plant a flag on the southernmost point of Earth. But his endeavor is instead remembered for an expedition that turned to tragedy. Nonetheless, in attempting the near impossible, Scott became a national hero for his courage and patriotism. So, what led to the events in the icy wilderness of Antarctica a little over 120 years ago, and who else was involved?
Click through the following gallery and revisit one of the most daring feats of exploration of the 20th century.
What happened to the polar explorer Captain Scott?
The life and death of the man known as "Scott of the Antarctic"
LIFESTYLE History
It was always going to be a challenge fraught with danger, but the race to the South Pole was too good to pass on for Robert Falcon Scott. The British polar explorer was hoping to be the first to plant a flag on the southernmost point of Earth. But his endeavor is instead remembered for an expedition that turned to tragedy. Nonetheless, in attempting the near impossible, Scott became a national hero for his courage and patriotism. So, what led to the events in the icy wilderness of Antarctica a little over 120 years ago, and who else was involved?
Click through the following gallery and revisit one of the most daring feats of exploration of the 20th century.