When was Ernest Shackleton born?

Ernest Shackleton was born on 15 February 1874 in Kilkea Castle.

Where did Ernest Shackleton study?

Ernest Shackleton was educated at Dulwich College, Brighton Grammar School.

George Charles Beresford / Adam Cuerden · Public domain

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Ernest Shackleton

Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer (1874–1922)

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Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (15 February 1874 – 5 January 1922) was an Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic. He was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.

Quick facts

Born: 15 February 1874 wd
Place of birth: Kilkea Castle wd
Died: 5 January 1922 wd
Place of death: Grytviken wd
Citizenship: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland wd
Occupation: explorer, military officer, traveler, polar explorer, scientific collector wd
Education: Dulwich College, Brighton Grammar School wd
Spouse: Emily Shackleton wd

Awards wd

Officer of the Order of the British Empire (1919)
Officer of the Legion of Honour (1909)
Knight of the Order of the Polar Star (1909)
Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog (1909)
Knight of the Order of St. Olav‎ (1909)
Order of the Iron Crown (Kingdom of Italy)
Order of Saint Anna
3rd Class Order of the Crown
Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (1909)
Polar Medal
Vega Medal (1910)
Grande Médaille d'Or des Explorations (1910)
Cullum Geographical Medal (1909)
Constantin Medal
Hubbard Medal (1910)

About

Born in Kilkea, County Kildare, Ireland, Shackleton and his Anglo-Irish family moved to Sydenham in suburban south London when he was ten. Shackleton's first experience of the polar regions was as third officer on Captain Robert Falcon Scott's Discovery expedition of 1901‍–‍1904, from which he was sent home early on health grounds, after he and his companions Scott and Edward Adrian Wilson set a new southern record by marching to latitude 82° S. During the Nimrod Expedition of 1907‍–‍1909, he and three companions established a new record Farthest South latitude of 88°23′ S, only 97 geographical miles (112 statute miles or 180 kilometres) from the South Pole, the largest advance to the pole in exploration history. Also, members of his team climbed Mount Erebus, the most active Antarctic volcano. On returning home, Shackleton was knighted for his achievements by King Edward VII.

After the race to the South Pole ended in December 1911, with Roald Amundsen's conquest, Shackleton turned his attention to the crossing of Antarctica from sea to sea, via the pole. To this end, he made preparations for what became the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914‍–‍1917. The expedition was struck by disaster when its ship, Endurance, became trapped in pack ice and finally sank in the Weddell Sea off Antarctica on 21 November 1915. The crew escaped by camping on the sea ice until it disintegrated, then by launching the lifeboats to reach Elephant Island and ultimately the South Atlantic island of South Georgia, enduring a stormy ocean voyage of 720 nautical miles (1,330 km; 830 mi) in Shackleton's most famous exploit. He…

Questions

When was Ernest Shackleton born?: Ernest Shackleton was born on 15 February 1874 in Kilkea Castle.
Where did Ernest Shackleton study?: Ernest Shackleton was educated at Dulwich College, Brighton Grammar School.

Sources

Last updated 31 October 2026 · facts checked 3 November 2026

Cite this page

"Ernest Shackleton". DigiNepal. Last updated 31 October 2026. https://diginpl.com/people/ernest-shackleton. Retrieved 3 November 2026.

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Text from the Wikipedia article Ernest Shackleton, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page's text is shared under the same licence. Facts from Wikidata (CC0). Image: Ernest Shackleton before 1909.jpg — George Charles Beresford / Adam Cuerden, Public domain.

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