National Antarctic Expedition, 1901-1904

1907-13

Expeditions (Special Collections) Q115 N26 1901

London: Printed by Order of the Trustees of the British Museum

National Antarctic Expedition, 1901-04. The Discovery expedition was led by naval commander Robert Falcon Scott (1868-1912) (later made Captain and knighted), under the auspices of the Royal Society and the Royal Geographical Society. The Discovery left the Isle of Wight, England on the 6th August, 1901 and reached New Zealand’s shores on the 29th November. Amongst the crew of the ship was one Ernest Shackleton (1874-1922), transferred from the Merchant Navy, who went on to lead his own expedition to the Antarctic aboard Nimrod in 1907-09. The Discovery left Lyttelton Harbour for Antarctica, on the 21st December, 1901, where the crew hoped to carry out their scientific research. During the expedition, the explorers discovered the snow-free Dry Valleys and the Emperor Penguin colony of Cape Crozier. Discovery returned to England on the 10th September, 1904.