Expedition & Foundation

The ancient Greeks – the origins of Antarctica

It was the ancient Greeks who, in 350 BC first came up with the idea of Antarctica. They knew about the Arctic - named Arktos - The Bear, from the constellation of the same name and decided that in order to balance the world, there should be a similar southern landmass that was the same but the opposite "Ant - Arktos" - opposite The Bear. They never actually went there, it was just a lucky guess!

The eighteenth century – land ahoy!

In January 1773, James Cook crossed the Antarctic circle and circumnavigated Antarctica and though he didn't sight land, deposits of rock seen in icebergs showed that a southern continent existed. He commented that "I make bold to declare that the world will derive no benefit from it". Although Russian naval officer, Bellinghausen circumnavigated Antarctica in 1819 also - reaching 69° 21'S, 2° 14'W on January 27th 1820, exactly who and when first set eyes on Antarctica became disputed as British naval officers, William Smith and Edward Bransfield also saw Antarctica on Jan 30th the same year.

The nineteenth century – feet on the ground

In the winter of 1821, an officer and ten men from a British sealing ship the Lord Melville had to spend the winter on King George Island - part of the South Shetlands group, north of the Antarctic Peninsula after the ship had been driven offshore and did not return to pick them up again. They were rescued the following summer and were the first people to winter inside the Antarctic circle. Some 19 years later, in 1840, British naval officer and scientist James Clark Ross took two ships, the Erebus and the Terror, to within 80 miles of the coast until stopped by a massive ice barrier - now called the Ross Ice Shelf (and where the Beardmore Glacier starts, if looking uphill!). He discovered also an active volcano which he names after his ship Erebus, and identified 145 new species of fish. Little happens for the rest of the century, but in 1899, Captain Carsten Borchgrevink lead a British expedition which landed men to build huts at Cape Adare. This was the first time that anyone had wintered on the Antarctic landmass itself and is believed by some historians to be the first confirmed landing on continental Antarctica.

Twentieth century – the golden age of Antarctica exploration,

In 1902, Commander Robert Falcon Scott RN led his first Antarctic expedition in an effort to reach the South Pole. Along with Ernest Shackleton and Edward Wilson he is forced to turn back two months later having reached 82^o South, suffering from snow blindness and scurvy – but the golden age of Antarctic exploration had definitely begun. 7 years later, Shackleton returned to Antarctica leading his own expedition to within 97 miles of the South Pole. Forced to turn back after supplies are exhausted he still achieved the 'furthest South' and discovered and opened the Beardmore Glacier access to the polar plateau – so named for his benefactor. However, it was in December 1911 – against the run of play – that Norwegian Roald Amundsen lead a five man expedition that reached the South Pole for the first time, only 4 weeks before Robert Falcon Scott reached it via the Beardmore Glacier. All of the five man team (Scott, Bowers, Evans, Oates and Wilson), perish on their return journey only 11 miles from supply depot during the onset of the worst Antarctic winter until the mid 1970's.

Shackleton returns to Antarctica in 1915, but does not achieve his goal of crossing the continent and after the First World War the baton of exploration passes to the United States. In 1926, American Richard E. Byrd and three others become the first to fly over the South Pole. The Americans were also the first to return to the Pole in 1912 when a US aircraft landed there in 1956.

Two years later in 1958, the British return when, lead by British geologist Vivian Fuchs and with New Zealander Edmund Hillary leading the back-up party, a Common-wealth team completed the first successful land crossing via the South Pole albeit using motorised vehicles.

In 1997, Norwegian Boerge Ousland became the first person to cross Antarctica unsupported. Taking 64 days from Berkner Island to Scott base towing a 180kg (400lb) sled and using skis and a sail.

The twenty-first century – a new chapter

In early 2009, the first race to the South Pole was won by the Norwegian army team.

In 2011, the Best of British South Pole Expedition sets out to reclaim the record for Great Britain.