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Sir Ernest Shackleton was a polar explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic, and one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Born in Kilkea, Athy, County Kildare, Ireland, Shackleton and his Anglo-Irish family moved to Sydenham in suburban south London when he was ten. His first experience of the polar regions was as third officer on Captain Robert Falcon Scott's Discovery Expedition 1901–1904.

After the race to the South Pole ended in December 1911 with Roald Amundsen's conquest, Shackleton turned his attention to the crossing of Antarctica from sea to sea, via the pole. To this end he made preparations for what became the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, 1914–17. Disaster struck this expedition when its ship, Endurance, became trapped in pack ice and was slowly crushed before the shore parties could be landed.

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MicroCon 2025 Trivia Night

• 27 - 28 Jun - Westarctica's delegation attends MicroCon 2025 in Montreal, Canada.
• 10 Jun - Boyd Glacier National Park is created by the Senate of Westarctica.
• 9 Jun - The Duke of Faulkender becomes the new Chancellor of Kolios.
• 9 Jun - The Count of Krigsvold is appointed Ellsworth King of Arms.
• 1 May - Sheherazade is awarded the Count of Krigsvold Fellowship for biodiversity conservation in Indonesia.
• 28 Apr - Baron Blake is appointed Chief Air Marshal of Westarctica.
• 20 Apr - A Royal Decree establishes protected areas under the Westarctican Parks Service.
• 18 Apr - The Count of Konter carries the Flag of Westarctica on a diplomatic tour of Monaco.

This month in history 2017 Royal Polo Match 01 July - A delegation from Westarctica attends MicroCon 2023 in Joliet, Illinois. (2023) 10 July - The Order of the Orca becomes Westarctica's highest order of chivalry. (2019) 15 July - The Grand Duke issues a strongly worded demarche to the President of Sudan through the Sudanese ambassador to the United States. (2004) 15 July - The fourth annual Royal Polo Match (pictured) is hosted by Westarctica and Shiloh. (2018) 17 July - A delegation from Westarctica meets with James, King of the Sconnish for a diplomatic visit in Sconnish North America. (2017) 18 July - The Order of the Polar Cross is created to celebrate Westarctican diplomacy. (2022) 20 July - A delegation from Westarctica attends MicroCon 2019. (2019) 21 July - The lowest temperature ever recorded in Antarctica, −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F) was captured at Vostok Station in East Antarctica. (1983) 22 July - Wikipedia's article on Westarctica is confirmed as permanently deleted after a protracted battle between wiki editors and admins. (2017) 23 July - Westarctica and the Kingdom of Shiloh host the 3rd Annual Royal Polo Match in Los Angeles, California. (2017) 31 July - Land surrounding Mount Isherwood is donated to the participants of GISH (2018).

Featured image The south polar skua is a large seabird in the skua family Stercorariidae. An older name for the bird is MacCormick’s skua, after explorer and naval surgeon Robert McCormick, who first collected the type specimen. This species and the other large Southern Hemisphere skuas, such as the great skua, are sometimes placed in a separate genus Catharacta. Photographer: Paride Legovini (More Images)

Featured Quote "In Antarctica you get to know people so well that in comparison you do not seem to know the people in civilization at all." - Apsley Cherry-Garrard

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