The Arctic and the Antarctic were two of the world ’s last frontiers . Some thoughtBiblical giantsstalked the North Pole . Other belief were even more terrific : An 1885 account book write by the Chief Executive of Boston College claimed that the Arctic was the " cradle of the human race " because right smart back in ancient time , mankind was supposedly created up there .
To learn the verity about the pole , jaunt were organized by global superpower and financial titans . It was a severe stage business . catastrophe often befell those brave souls who ventured into the frozen unknown region , fighting the maddened elements in pursuit of scientific knowledge , national glory or lucrativetrade routes . From block diarists to vanish ships , here are five chilling tarradiddle of disaster and discord in pivotal exploration .
1. The Lost Franklin Expedition (1845-?)
In the Age of Sail , there was noPanama Canal . Desperate to find a shortcut to China and India , European trade interests set their eyes on the Arctic . Hundreds of explorers tried to locate theNorthwest Passage , the polar ocean route that links the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific . Many try ended badly .
One of those start on May 19 , 1845 , whenSir John Franklinof the British Royal Navy set out to find and cross the passage . That Clarence Shepard Day Jr. , he left Greenhithe , England , with two ships under his statement : The HMS Erebus and the HMS Terror . Altogether there were129 officers and sailorsdivided between these vessels . None of them made it out of the Arctic alive .
Salvageddocumentsfrom their doomed voyage tell us Franklin died in June 1847 , two yr after he leave England . We also know the ships became frozen in place near the McClintock Channel for a considerable time period of time — andmalnutritionand scurvy were probably rearing among the crew . Despite all this , some of the men werestill alivein April 1848 .
Three crewmen were buried at Beechey Island in far north Canada . Other bodies and artifacts from the jaunt — including castanets that show evidence ofcannibalism — have been found elsewhere in the region . The vessels themselves stayed hidden for more than 160 year . Archaeologists finally located the wreck of Erebus and Terror at the bottom of theQueen Maud Gulfin 2014 and 2016 , respectively .
2. The Jeannette Expedition (1879-1881)
For21 square months , the USS Jeannette was trapped . She ’d left San Francisco on July 8 , 1879 , with her 33 - human beings crew . finance by newspaper tycoon Gordon Bennett Jr. and overseen by the U.S. Navy , the adventurers hoped to become the first the great unwashed in immortalise history to visit theNorth Pole .
But that September , the Jeannette was caught in a block of freewheel ocean ice . She continue stuck until June 12 , 1881 , when — having been slowly shell by the frozen water — the vessel pass .
strand about 497 miles ( 800 kilometers ) north of the Siberian mainland , the crew began their long journeying home . Twenty members of their partydieden road , include George Washington De Long , the Jeannette ’s sea captain . The survivors were able to chance rescue after some of them made it to the Russian closure ofNorth Bulun . Though they ’d failed to reach theNorth Pole , the Jeannette explorer did discover some new Arctic islands , one of which they name after Bennett .
Learn more about the Jeannette expedition in " Rough atmospheric condition All daylight : An Account of the Jeannette Search Expedition " by David Hirzel . HowStuffWorks plunk related titles found on Word of God we call up you ’ll care . Should you opt to corrupt one , we ’ll receive a portion of the sale .
3. The Fiala-Ziegler Expedition (1903-1905)
Fiala and 38 subordinates reachedRudolf Islandup in the Barents Sea — only to see pack ice destroy their ship . Stranded above the Arctic Circle , the team spenttwo yearswaiting to be rescued . To live on , the men ate polar bears , walruses and host of other game fauna while burningcoalthey’d found on the island . The Terra Nova whaling ship ship finally came and rescued the crowd in 1905 . Despite everything they ’d suffered through , only one of Fiala ’s crewmembers had died by the time the Terra Nova find them .
4. The Terra Nova Expedition (1910-1913)
There ’s someuncertaintyabout who reached the North Pole first . But theNeil Armstrongof South Pole exploration was undoubtedlyRoald Amundsen . A veteran Norse adventurer , Amundsen became the first man to set foot on the South Pole when he arrived there on Dec. 14 , 1912 , with his sled hound - propelled team .
Amundsen and his squad won a99 - mean solar day race . While the Norwegians slogged across Antarctica , they were act on by the British Navy maitre d’hotel Robert Falcon Scott . OnNov . 1 , 1911 , Scott and an initial party of 14 hands left their coastal root word camp on Ross Island . From there , they maneuver inland .
( by the way , the ship that took Scott to Antarctica in the first plaza was none other than the Terra Nova , Anthony FIala ’s rescue vessel . )
Most of Scott ’s companion broke by and get going back to Ross Island ; onlyfour menwere still with him when he finally come at the South Pole on Jan. 17 , 1912 . Amundsen had beaten the Brits by more than a month . And the worst was yet to come . One by one , Scott and his four colleagues perished on their return trip . The captain’srecovered diaryis a depressed testament to their destiny .
determine more about the Terra Nova military expedition in " With Scott to the Pole : The Terra Nova Expedition 1910 - 1913 " by Herbert G. Ponting . HowStuffWorks picks related titles based on books we think you ’ll wish . Should you choose to purchase one , we ’ll receive a dower of the sales agreement .
5. The Australasian Antarctic Expedition (1911-1914)
Scientifically , this trip was a winner . military expedition leader Douglas Mawson and his companionsmappedout little - known terrain , discovered young specie and launch the first Antarctic meteorite .
But one fate of the outing was spoil by suffering and decease . need tosurveyan especially remote part of Antarctica , Mawson left the base camp at Commonwealth Bay on Nov. 10 , 1912 , with two colleagues and 16 huskies . Then on Dec. 14 , when they were all 310 miles ( 500 kilometer ) by from camp , one of the menfell into a crevasseand died . His sledge went down with him , as did most of the team ’s food for thought provision .
To survive , Mawson and his other colleague had to eat their own dogs . Alas , the other man presently died as well . Traveling alone , Mawson walked for 32 days and more than 100 miles ( 160 kilometers ) of south-polar barren . En route , thesoles of his feetfell off . Mawson arrived back to the radix ingroup field just in sentence to watch anAustralia - ricochet shipsailing aside . He was forced to stay in Antarctica for another winter with a contingent of expedition members who were waiting for him .
find out more about the Australasian Antarctic Expedition in " Aurora - Douglas Mawson & The Australasian Antarctic Expedition 1911 - 14 " by Beau Riffenburgh . HowStuffWorks picks related rubric based on books we call back you ’ll like . Should you take to buy one , we ’ll receive a helping of the sale .
