SHACKLETON

In 1920, tired of public speaking, Shackleton began to consider the possibility of a last expedition. He thought seriously of going to the Beaufort Sea area of the Arctic, a largely unexplored region, and raised some interest in this idea from the Canadian government. With funds supplied by former schoolfriend John Quiller Rowett, Shackleton acquired a 125-ton Norwegian sealer, named Foca I, which he renamed Quest.The plan changed; the destination became the Antarctic, and the project was defined by Shackleton as an oceanographic and sub-antarctic-expedition. Rowett agreed to finance the entire expedition, which became known as the Shackleton–Rowett Expedition. On 16th September 1921, Shackleton recorded a farewell address on a sound-on-film system created by Harry Grindell Matthews, who claimed it was the first talking picture ever made. The expedition left England on 24th September 1921. When the party arrived in Rio de Janeiro, Shackleton suffered a suspected heart attack. He refused to have a proper medical examination, and Quest continued south, arriving at South Georgia on 4th January 1922. In the early hours of the next morning, Shackleton suffered a fatal heart attack.