Ernest Shackleton died in 1922, during his final Antarctic voyage aboard the Quest. He had been complaining of back pain and facial neuralgia, and the death certificate listed the cause as coronary thrombosis/heart failure.

What happened

Shackleton had returned to South Georgia on 4 January 1922 and died early the next morning while the ship was still at anchor. His body was first prepared for return to England, but his wife requested that he be buried in South Georgia instead.

Later developments

A more recent Shackleton story is about his last ship, the Quest : its wreck was discovered off Newfoundland in 2024, 62 years after it sank. That find was described as a new chapter in the explorer’s legacy.

If you meant the expedition

If you were asking about Shackleton’s famous Endurance expedition, the ship was trapped in Antarctic ice in 1915 and eventually sank, forcing Shackleton and his crew into an extraordinary survival journey.