| Naval officer and polar explorer Robert Falcon Scott was born on his family's small estate near Plymouth on 6 June 1868. His father was a brewery owner but there were naval connections on both sides of the family, and 'Con', as his parents called him, made the navy his career, becoming a midshipman at 14 and a lieutenant at 21.
Capable officer
Considered shy, lethargic and backward as a boy, Scott excelled as a naval student. In 1886, the captain of HMS Rover rated him 'an intelligent and capable young officer of temperate habits'. He did tours of duty in the Caribbean, the Pacific and the Mediterranean. However, by the time he reached 30, his family had fallen on hard times and most of his salary went to support his widowed mother.
Voyage of Discovery
Scott's abilities at sea were noticed by the upper echelons of the navy and he was offered command of the National Antarctic Expedition on Discovery (1901-4), exploring the Ross Sea and claiming King Edward VII Land for the United Kingdom. Among the members of this expedition was Ernest Shackleton. Although there were run-ins with his superiors over the duration of the trip, Scott was fêted back in Britain, where he lectured and wrote Voyage of the Discovery about his exploits. He then returned to the navy as a captain and, in 1908, married sculptor Kathleen Bruce.
Peril at the Pole
It is because of the Terra Nova expedition of 1910-13 that Captain Scott has passed into legend. In January 1912, he achieved his ambition of reaching the South Pole, only to discover that he and his team of four were not the first - they had been beaten to it by the Norwegian Roald Amundsen. Scott wrote in his diary: 'Great God! This is an awful place.'
Before dying in his tent on the return journey, 11 miles short of safety, he wrote moving letters to loved ones and benefactors, saying: 'We shall die like gentlemen. I think this will show that the spirit of pluck and power to endure has not passed out of our race.' He was knighted posthumously.
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