Scott, Robert Falcon

Antarctic Exploration: Robert Falcon Scott (1868 - 1912)

Robert Falcon Scott was a British Antarctic explorer. He led two expeditions to the South Pole, and died on the second trip, along with his crew. His expedition was the second to reach the South Pole, shortly after Roald Amundsen's expedition.

Scott's first Antarctic expedition was in 1901-1904 on the ship HMS Discovery. They sailed along northern Ross Island to Mt Terror, and Scott named this new area King Edward VI Land. He went up in a hot air balloon on February 4, 1902, making the first balloon flight on Antarctica. They spent the winter on Ross Island. Scott and two others tried to cross the Ross Ice shelf by dog sled (November 1902 - January 1903). They became ill with scurvy, which is caused by a lack of vitamin C, and returned. Most of the expedition returned to England in March, but Scott remained with some others to continue exploring the area until September 1904. On his return, Scott wrote a popular book about his expedition.

Scott set out for Antarctica again on 1 June 1910, on the shipTerra Nova. He was racing Roald Amundsen to be the first man to reach the South Pole. His expedition reached Ross Island on 4 January 1911, and set off for the South Pole on dog sleds, ponies, and motorized vehicles on 1 November 1911. The motorised vehicles and ponies were abandoned in a few days, being found to be useless in the snow.

Scott and his team at the South Pole in 1912. Standing L-R: Oates, Scott, Evans Sitting L-R: Bowers, Wilson

Scott's team reached the South Pole on 18 January 1912, to find Amundsen's Norwegian flag already flying there. (Amundsen had reached the South Pole on 4 January 1912) The disappointed team, exhausted and suffering from scurvy, began their return trip. One by one, crew members died, and the remaining ones set up their last camp on 11 March. They were only a few kilometres from One Ton Depot, where there were supplies, but a raging blizzard prevented them from reaching it. The rest of the crew were found dead in their sleeping bags by a rescue party on 12 November 1912.

To read some of Scott's diary go here http://www.fortunecity.co.uk/amusement/golf/200/diary.html

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If you use any part of this, acknowledge it in your bibliography like this:
Sydenham & Thomas Antarctica [Online] www.kidcyber.com.au (2007)