Scott Reaches South Pole: Amundsen's Victory Stings
Robert Falcon Scott and his four companions reached the South Pole on January 17, 1912, only to find Roald Amundsen's tent and a Norwegian flag already planted there. Amundsen had arrived 34 days earlier using dog sleds and Inuit survival techniques. Scott's team had relied on man-hauling and ponies, a strategy that proved fatally slow. The psychological blow of arriving second was compounded by brutal weather on the return journey. Edgar Evans collapsed first. Lawrence Oates, his feet destroyed by frostbite, famously walked into a blizzard saying 'I am just going outside and may be some time.' Scott, Edward Wilson, and Henry Bowers died in their tent just eleven miles from a supply depot. Scott's diary, recovered eight months later, turned a military failure into an enduring British narrative of noble sacrifice. Amundsen's superior planning received far less celebration.
January 18, 1912
114 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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