History News Network

exploration

Originally published 09/05/2013
Vikings didn’t find Faroes first (they were 500 years late)

The North Atlantic islands were populated five hundred years earlier than previously thought.

Originally published 08/13/2013
The women who 'inspired' polar-explorers Shackleton and Scott

The wives of Britain's best-known polar explorers inspired them to make their important voyages, a historian has claimed.Kari Herbert claims that Sir Ernest Shackleton only made his first expedition to impress his lover.Miss Herbert, the daughter of the Polar explorer Sir Wally Herbert, said Capt Robert Falcon Scott would "absolutely not" have reached the South Pole without the robust encouragement of his wife, Kathleen.Miss Herbert, who researched the women for her new book Heart of the Hero, said the stories of explorers' wives were "fantastically important" in expeditions to the Antarctic."In the case of Scott, absolutely he would not have gone down to the Antarctic again without Kathleen," she said....

Originally published 08/12/2013
Scientists resume search for lost Franklin expedition ships

The search for the wreckage of the ill-fated Franklin expedition in Canada’s Arctic will resume this weekend.The HMS Erebus and the HMS Terror were lost after an 1845 expedition led by Sir John Franklin disappeared while attempting to find the Northwest Passage through the Arctic Ocean.Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq says a group of scientists will spend six weeks conducting underwater searches using high-tech equipment, including military-grade sonar and remotely operated vehicles....

Originally published 10/25/2013
In the Shadow of the Progressive Era, for Better and for Worse

Today's news shows the continuing influence of the Progressive era.