Ernest Shackleton (15February 1874 5January 1922) was an explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic during the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. He and three companions established a new record Farthest South latitude, 112miles (180km) from the South Pole, as part of the Nimrod Expedition of 19071909; Shackleton was knighted on his return home. He planned the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 19141917 but his ship, Endurance, became trapped in pack ice and then sank on 21November 1915. The crew escaped and used the lifeboats to reach Elephant Island and ultimately the island of South Georgia in a stormy ocean voyage of more than 700 nautical miles (800mi; 1,300km), Shackleton's most famous exploit. He returned to the Antarctic in 1921 with the ShackletonRowett Expedition but died of a heart attack on South Georgia, where he was buried at his wife's request. This photograph of Shackleton was taken by George Charles Beresford before 1909.Photograph credit: George Charles Beresford; restored by Adam CuerdenRecently featured: PomegranateJadeite CabbageCharles DarwinArchiveMore featured pictures