No one is exactly sure when Captain Robert Falcon Scott and his four of his fellow explorers died on their failed Antarctic expedition. Today is observed as the centenary of the deaths because March 19, 1912 was the last entry in Scott’s journal. Since his death, Scott has been both lionized and roundly condemned. Depending on who one listens to, Scott was a heroic explorer or a tragic bungler. A commemorative service at St Paul’s Cathedral today is expected to draw 2,000 Scott admirers from all over the world, while Norwegian Roald Amundsen, who beat Scott to the South Pole by a month and returned without losing a man, is largely forgotten outside of Norway. Scott is also far better remembered than his colleague and rival Ernest Shackleton. See our recent post, Recreating Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Epic Lifeboat Voyage.
Captain Scott centenary: Storm rages around polar explorer’s reputation
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