120px|At the South Pole, December 1911
The first expedition to reach the geographic South Pole was led by the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen. His party arrived at the pole on 14 December 1911, five weeks ahead of a British team led by Robert Falcon Scott. Amundsen and his companions returned safely to their base, and later learned that Scott and his four companions had died on their return journey. Amundsen's initial plans had been to explore the Arctic, but he decided to go south on hearing that both Frederick Cook and Robert E. Peary were claiming to have reached the North Pole. However, he kept this revised objective secret until after his departure. The expedition arrived in Antarctica in January 1911 and after months of preparation the five-man polar party set out in October 1911. The route from their base at the Bay of Whales took them across the Great Ice Barrier and up the Axel Heiberg Glacier. The party's mastery of the use of skis and their expertise with sledge dogs ensured rapid and relatively trouble-free travel. Although the expedition's success was widely applauded, the story of Scott's heroic failure and tragic death overshadowed its achievements. For his decision to keep his true plans secret until the last moment, Amundsen was criticised for what some considered deception on his part. (more...) Recently featured: Cogan House Covered Bridge – Gillingham Football Club – Californication Archive – By email – More featured articles... Read the rest of this article: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amundsen%27s_South_Pole_expedition> _______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries: 557: A large earthquake severely damaged the city of Constantinople. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/557_Constantinople_earthquake> 1782: In Avignon, France, the Montgolfier brothers conducted their first test of their hot air balloon. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montgolfier_brothers> 1994: Construction on the Three Gorges Dam began on the Yangtze River in China. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Gorges_Dam> 1999: Torrential rains caused flash floods in Vargas, Venezuela, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths, the destruction of thousands of homes, and the complete collapse of the state's infrastructure. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vargas_tragedy> 2009: The Tino Rangatiratanga flag representing the Māori people was recognized officially by the government of New Zealand. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tino_rangatiratanga> _____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day: pine (v): <span class="qualifier-brac">(</span><span class="qualifier-content">intransitive</span><span class="qualifier-brac">)</span> To long, to yearn so much that it causes suffering <http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pine> ___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day: The project of organizing a democratic political movement entails the hope that one's ideas and beliefs are not merely idiosyncratic but speak to vital human needs, interests and desires, and therefore will be persuasive to many and ultimately most people. But this is a very different matter from deciding to put forward only those ideas presumed (accurately or not) to be compatible with what most people already believe. --Ellen Willis <http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ellen_Willis> _______________________________________________ Wikipedia Daily Article mailing list. To unsubscribe, visit: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/daily-article-l Questions or comments? Contact [email protected]
