SHACKLETON, Sir Ernest Henry (1874-1922)

Identity Statement

Reference code(s)	: GB 0402 EHS
Held at	: Royal Geographical Society   Click here to find out how to view this collection at http://www.rgs.org/OurWork/Collections/Collections.htm ›
Full title	: SHACKLETON, Sir Ernest Henry (1874-1922)
Date(s)	: 1900-1999
Level of description	: Collection (fonds)
Extent	: 2 boxes and 1 oversized file stored separately
Name of creator(s)	: Shackleton | Sir | Ernest Henry | 1874-1922 | Knight | explorer

Context

Administrative/Biographical history:

Born, 1874; educated Dulwich College, 1887; joined the mercantile marine, 1890, serving in the White Star Line, the Shire Line, and the Union Castle Line, and making several voyages round the world; fellow of the Royal Geographical Society of London, 1899-1922; junior officer on board the steam yacht Discovery, the newly built wooden barque which carried the members of the national Antarctic expedition of 1901-1904 to the Southern Ocean; took part in the first long-distance sledge journey into the interior Antarctica and was less than 500 miles from the south pole; secretary of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society in Edinburgh, 1904; as Liberal Unionist candidate for parliament at the general election of 1906; secretary of the Parkhead engineering works at Glasgow; British Antarctic expedition, 1907-1909; Awarded Special Gold Medal for Nimrod Expedition, 1909; imperial trans-Antarctic expedition, 1914-1917; propaganda mission on behalf of the Foreign Office in South America in late 1917 and early 1918; commission as major and put in charge of equipment for the winter campaign of the north Russian expeditionary force, based in Murmansk, 1918-1819; resigned his commission, Feb1919 and returned to business projects; died suddenly of a heart attack while on board the Quest at Grytviken, 1922.

Content

Scope and content/abstract:

Papers of Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton comprising correspondence, mementoes and ephemera relating mainly to Shackleton's Antarctic expeditions including the Nimrod Expedition 1908-1909, the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition (Endurance Expedition) 1914-1916 and the Quest Expedition 1921-1923; two photograph albums of Aurora; minute book of the Shackleton Memorial Committee and a photocopy of a diary of Thomas Orde Lees on Elephant Island, 1916.

Access & Use

Language/scripts of material:
English

System of arrangement:

12 files some with sub-files, items have been brought together from disparate sources over time and have not undergone any arrangement beyond the internal structure of the files.

Conditions governing access:

Open by appointment only, subject to completion of application form. Non-Fellows require a letter of reference. Some files are closed.

Conditions governing reproduction:

Photocopying at Archivist's discretion, and subject to completion of 'application for copies' form. No reproduction or publication without permission of the RGS-IBG Archivist.

Finding aids:

The RGS archives: a handlist / compiled by Christine Kelly. London: RGS, 1977.

Archival Information

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

Multiple sources (see file level descriptions for details)

Allied Materials

Related material:

RGS Archives - Correspondence Blocks 1911-20 & 1921-30: Shackleton, Sir Ernest. RGS Archives - Ninnis Collection. RGS Archives - National Antarctic Expedition 1901-04 (Special Collection)

National Register of Archives: Click here to view NRA record

Publication note:

Description Notes

Archivist's note:
Prepared by Huw Thomas, Archives Assistant using existing typed index. Revised by Sarah Drewery.
Sources: Obit.: Geog. Journal Vol. LIX, pp.228-230; DNB entry and The record of the RGS 1830-1930 / by H. R. Mill. London: RGS, 1930.

Rules or conventions:
ISAD(G) ed.2, name authority NRA.

Date(s) of descriptions:
8th June 2000; Jul 2008.