IDENTITY STATEMENT
Reference code(s): GB 0402 EHS
Held at: Royal Geographical Society
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 AND 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.
Physical characteristics:
Some items are fragile.
Finding aids:
The RGS archives: a handlist / compiled by Christine Kelly. London: RGS, 1977.
ARCHIVAL INFORMATION
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information:
Accruals:
Archival history:
Immediate source of acquisition:
Multiple sources (see file level descriptions for details)
ALLIED MATERIALS
Existence and location of originals:
Existence and location of copies:
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)
Publication note:
DESCRIPTION NOTES
Note:
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.
Date(s) of descriptions: 8th June 2000; Jul 2008.