HE was a famous, courageous explorer, best known for his Antarctic expeditions – and he once worked here in Glasgow.
Ernest Shackleton died 100 years ago today, on January 5, 1922, and a trawl through our archives revealed he has an interesting – and possibly scandalous - connection to the city.
Shackleton, who is best known for his ill-fated Endurance expedition in 1914, during which his ship became stuck in ice, worked for William Beardmore as Secretary of the technical committee of Beardmore’s engineering works at the Parkhead Forge in Glasgow.
Beardmore became a huge supporter of Shackleton, it is said, at the insistence of his wife. There were rumours in Glasgow that Shackleton, who was married to Emily and had three children, was having an affair with Elspeth Beardmore.
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He gave Shackleton £7000 to assist with his Nimrod expedition in 1907 and Shackleton named the Beardmore Glacier after him as a thank you.
Shackleton died of a heart attack during another Antarctic quest, and he is buried in South Georgia.
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