Antarctic Explorers Timeline

Antarctic Expeditions of the Early 1900s

Year	Leader	Outcomes	Remarks
1901/1903	Nordenskjöld	Mapped part of the Antarctic Peninsula. Discovered Crown Prince Gustaf canals, Scott Bay, Larsen Ice Shelf, fossils on Seymour. Overwintering in Hope Bay and on Paulet.	Sweden (Ship: Antarctic)
1901/1903	Drygalski	Discovered Kaiser Wihelm II Land. Explored Heard Island and Kerguelen station.	German (Ship: Gauß); Second vessel to overwinter intentionally in pack ice.
1901/1904	Scott	Discovered King Edward VII Land. Established a station at Hut Point. Extensive land exploration across the plateau. Overwintered 2 years.	England (Ship: Discovery);
1902/03	Colbeck	Relief expedition for Scott	England (Ship: Morning)
1902/1904	Bruce	Discovered Coats Land and Caird Coast. First oceanographical exploration of Weddell Sea. Established station on Laurie for meteorological study.	England (Ship: Scotia); Southernmost point = 22° W 74° 1' S
1903	Irizar	Rescue of Nordenskjold expedition	Argentina (Ship: Uruguay)
1903/04	Colbeck & Mackay	Relief expedition for Scott	England (Ships: Morning & Terra Nova)
1903/05	Charcot	Claimed the Palmer Archipeligo and the Loubet Coast. Established station on Wandel Island.	French (Ship: Français - this ship is actually the Belgica with a new name)
1904	Valette	Established a station on Laurie Island.	Argentina (Ship: Uruguay)
1904/05	Larsen	Established first whaling station called Grytviken on South Georgia.	Argentina-Norway (Ships: Fortune, Luisa, Rolf, & Guardia Nacional
1905/22	Galindez & Saborido	Routine relief supplies carried by Argentine Navy to whaling stations on Laurie and Grytviken. Research on Deception Island and in the Gerlache Canal.	Argentina (Ship Uruguay and after 1906 Austral - this is the renamed Français)
1905/06	Swinhoe	Exploration of South Georgia.	Chile - England (Ship: Consort)
1905/06	Lange	First whaling factory ship in South Shetlands	Norway (Ship: Admiralen)
1907/09	Shackelton	Discovered Queen Maud Mountains. First ascension of Mt. Erebus. Reached Magnetic South Pole. Sledged to within 97 miles of Territorial South Pole. Claimed west side of the McMurdo station & Cape Royds.	England (Ship: Nimrod)
1908	Larsen	Exploration of South Sandwich Islands	Norway (Ship: Undine)
1908	unknown	Whaling station, Port Jeanne d'Arc, established on Keguelen.	France-Norway
1908/09	du Baty	Claimed the east coast of Kerguelen	France (Ship: J.B. Charcot)
1908/10	Charcot	Claimed Fallieres Land and Marguerite Bay. Discovered Charcot Land. Mapped Alexander Island. Established station on Petermann Island.	France (Ship Pourquoi Pas?)
1909/11	Ring	Claimed the south and west coast of Kerguelen	France (Ship: Jeanne d'Arc)
1910	Owen	Explored Crozet Island	England (Ship: Sabine)
1910	Seymour	Explored Prince Edward, Crozet, Heard, McDonald and Kerguelen.	England (Ship: Wakefield)
1910/1911	Filchner	Discovered Luitpold coast, and charted south shore of Weddell Sea; Discovered Filchner Ice Shelf.	German (Ship: Deutschland)
1911	Evensten	Explored Heard Island	England-Norway (Ship Mangoro)
1910/12	Amundsen	Reached South Pole Dec. 14, 1911. Discovered Queen Maud Land. Survey of Edward VII Land. Established Station Framheim. Did oceanographic research	Norway (Ship: Fram)
1910/13	Scott	Reached South Pole Jan. 17, 1912; but died on return trip. Discovered King Edward VII Land.	England (Ship: Terra Nova)
1911/12	Shirase	Landed on King Edward VII Land. Sledge travel of 257 km over Ross Ice Barrier to the SE. Discovered Kainan and Okuma Bay.	Japan (Ship: Kainan Maru)
1911/12	Jörgensen	First whaling station in South Orkneys. Survey of South Sandwich Islands.	Norway (Ship: Thulla)
1911/14	Mawson	Discovered and explored George V Land. Discovered Queen Mary Land. Surveyed Schackelton Shelf ice. Sledged to Magnetic South Pole. Oceanography work.	Australia (Ship: Aurora)
1912		Norwegian station established on Deception Island.	Norway
1912/13	Sõrlle	Claims in the South Orkneys	Norway (Ship: Palmer)
1913/14	Borge	Claims in the South Orkneys	Norway (Ship: Polynesia)
1913/14	du Baty	Claimed Kerguelen	France (Ship Curieuse)
1913/15	Power & Tulloch	Established meteorological station on Macquarie Island	Australia
1914/1916	Shackelton	Discovered Caird Land. First attempted crossing of Anatarctica. Reopened station at Hut Point.	England (Ship: Endurance)
1915/1916	Peters	Oceanographic work. Exploration of South Georgia and Bouvet	USA (Ship: Carnegie)
1916	Shackelton	Relief expedition	England (Ship: Southern Sky)
1916	Shackelton	Relief expedition	Uruguay (Ship: Instituto de Pesca)
1916	Shackelton	Relief expedition	England (Ship: Emma)
1916	Villabón	Relief expedition	Chile (Ship: Yelcho)
1920	Hope	Claims in South Georgia and Shag Rocks	England (Ship: Dartmouth)
1920/22	Shackleton	Exploration of Weddell Sea	England (Ship: Quest)
1920/22	Cope	Overwintered in Andvord Bay and west coast of Graham Land (the leader returned to England, but two members overwintered).
1921		Norwegian whaling station established on Signy Island, South Orkneys
1922/23	Peau	Exploration of Kerguelen for biological research	France (Ship: Oural)
1923	Vago	Research in South Georgia	Argentina (Ship: Guardia Nacional)
1923/24	Larsen	First whaling expedition in Ross Sea. Landings on Ross Barrier and Macquarie Island	Norway (Ships: James Clarke Ross and 5 whaleboats)
1925	Mackintosh	Established marine laboratory in Grytviken Station. Continued until 1931.
1925/26		Norway has first fish research (pelagic) expedition around Palmer Archipeligo and South Shetlands
1925/27	Kemp	Oceanographic study by South Georgia and South Shetlands. Explored of Bouvet Island and South Orkneys.	England (Ship: Discovery)
1925/27	Spiess	Oceanographic study by South Georgia and South Shetlands. Explored Bouvet.	Germany (Ship: Meteor)
1926/27	Dumaresq	Measurements of Kerguelen.	France (Ship: Hamlet)
1926/27	Tofte	Exploration of Peter I Island	Norway (Ship: Odd I)
1926/27	Mercer	Oceanographic and biological research by South Georgia	England (Ship: William Enderby)
1927		South Orkneys claimed by Argentina due to routine supply routes for stations.	Argentina (Ship: Guardia Nacional)
1927/28	Horntvedt	Landed on Bouvet. Explored South Shetlands and Palmer Archipeligo. Oceanographic research.	Norway (Ship; Norvegia)
1927/30	John	Oceanographic research in Scotia Sea. Mapping.	England (Ship: William Scoresby)
1928/29	Olstad	Landed on Bouvet and Peter I Islands.	Norway (Ship: Norvegia)
1928/29		Exploration of Bouvet	Norway (Ship: Thorshammer)
1928/29	Kohl-Larsen	Explored South Georgia. Claimed Gletschern. Geological Collection.	Germany
1928/29	Wilkins	Discovered the East coast of Graham Land. First airplane expedition in Antarctica.	England (Ship: Hektoria);Southernmost point = 71° 20' S
1928/29	de la Rue	Geological research on Kerguelen. Explored Heard Island.	France (Ship: Austral)
1928/30	Bryd	Extensive exploration by air. Discovered Marie Bryd Land, Sulzberger Bay, Rockefeller Mountains, Edsel-Ford Mountain. Nineteen hour flight over South Pole on Nov. 29, 1929. Established Little America Base on Ross Ice Shelf.	USA (Ship: City of New York); First flight over Terrestrial South Pole.
1929	Melling	Exploration of Crozet, Prince Edward and Kerguelen	England (Ship: Deucallion)
1929/30	N. Larsen	Built huts on Bouvet. Aerial survey.Explored Enderby Land. Discovered Crown Prince Olaf and Crown Princess Martha Lands	Norway (Ship: Norvegia)
1929/30	Shannon	Landed in Graham Land by Leroux Bay. Flew over Charcot Island.	England (Ship: William Scoresby)
1929/31	Mawson	Discovered MacRobertson Land, Banzare Coast, Princess Elizabeth Land. Explored Enderby Coast. Oceanographic work. Exploration of Kerguelen, Heard, Crozet.	England-Australia (Ship: Discovery)
1929/31	Kemp & Carey	Oceanographic work in the Falkland dependencies. Exploration of Bouvet.	England (Ship: Discovery II.)

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Go To: Explorations Timeline: 1930s

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Information from:

70 South (2003). Antarctic Explorers. Online: http://www.70south.com/resources/history/explorers/

Antarctic Sun (1999). Like grandfathers, like grandson. Online: http://www.polar.org/antsun/oldissues99-2000/99_1031/ridley.html

Antarctica Online (1998). Antarctic history. Online: http://www.antarcticaonline.com/antarctica/history/history.htm

AWI (2002). History of Polar Research. Online: http://www.awi-bremerhaven.de/AWI/drygalski-e.html

Cameron, I. (1974). Antarctica: The last continent. London: Cassell & Company. pp. 243-247.

Carrol, P. (2003). The South Atlantic and subantarctic islands. Online: http://www.btinternet.com/%7Esa_sa/

Factmonster (2000). Antarctica: History of Exploration. Online: http://www.factmonster.com/ce6/world/A0856635.html

Kosack, H.P., (1955). Geographische Handbücher die Antarktis, Keysersche Heidelberg: Verlagbuchhandlung. pp.261-285

PBS Nova Online (2002). Shackleton's Voyage of Endurance. Online: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/shackleton/

Seattle P-I.com (1999). History of Antarctica. Online:http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/antarctica/about/history.shtml

South Pole.com (2003). Antarctic Explorers. Online. http://www.south-pole.com

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