Ernest Shackleton

The Anglo-Irish polar explorer led three expeditions to Antarctica and became the defining figure of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. His 1914-1917 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, though it failed in its goal to cross Antarctica, produced one of the greatest survival stories in history: after his ship Endurance was crushed by pack ice, Shackleton kept all 27 of his men alive for nearly two years through a combination of open-boat sailing, glacier crossings, and extraordinary leadership. His 800-mile journey in a small boat to South Georgia island to organise rescue is considered one of the greatest feats of navigation ever achieved.