Robert Falcon Scott

CAPTAIN ROBERT FALCON SCOTT CVO d1912. British Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions. The Discovery expedition of 1901–04 and the Terra Nova expedition of 1910–13. On the first expedition, he set a new southern record by marching to latitude 82°S and discovered the Antarctic Plateau on which the South Pole is located. On the second venture, he led a party of five (which reached the South Pole on 17th January 1912) less than five weeks after Amundsen's South Pole expedition. A planned meeting with supporting dog teams from the base camp failed (despite his written instructions) and at a distance of 162 miles from their base camp at Hut Point and approximately 12.5 miles from the next depot, Scott and his companions died. Following the news of his death at the age of 43, Scott became a celebrated hero, a status reflected by memorials erected across the UK