Captain Robert F. Scott died like a man. A British Navy officer, Scott was one of three key figures in the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, a period from about 1895 to 1922 (the other two figures were Ernest Shackleton and Roald Amundsen).

Robert Scott (in uniform, left) led forth the Heroic Age when he set out for Antarctica in 1901 in the ship Discovery, accompanied by none other than Ernest Shackleton, the explorer whose legendary reputation would later eclipse Scott's. (The possibly icy relationship between Scott and Shackleton is a matter of debate among modern biographers.) Although the Discovery expedition's efforts were largly scientific, the team's primary goal was to attain the glory of reaching the South Pole. They did not, despite a harrowing dash to 82^o south, where Scott conceded defeat and turned back just under 750 miles short of his goal.

In 1911, Scott set out on the ice again, racing the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, who was headed to the pole himself. This expedition, known as the Terra Nova expedition, spanned 1910 to 1913 and involved several teams, some of which were to study emperor penguins and plant supply depots for the South Pole team. This time Scott reached his goal--but too late. Arriving at the pole on January 17, 1912, Scott found a tent left by Amundsen, who had beat him by a month.

Scott and his four companions began the 700-mile trek back, only to be resisted by blizzard conditions. Pressing onward only slowly, the team weakened from frostbite and lack of adequate food. Team member Edgar Evans took a fall on the ice and died not long after. The failing Lawrence Oates, in an unforgettable act of sacrifice, walked out into the snowstorm in order to leave the remaining rations for his comrades. Exiting the tent, he said, "I am just going outside and I may be some time."