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It was first the ancient Greeks who came up with the idea of Antarctica. They knew about the Arctic, which they named Arktos after the constellation of the great bear and decided that in order to balance the world they thought there should be a southern icy world called Ant-Arkto- opposite the bear. They never actually went there; it was just a lucky guess.
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In january, Captain James Cook crossed the Antarctic circle and circumnavigates Antarctica. Even though, he didn't sight land, deposits of rock seen in icebergs showed that the southern continent exists. Captain James Cook's comment was-" I make bold to declare that the world will derive no benefit from it."
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Captain Thaddeus Bellingshausen was a russian naval in the Vostok and Mirny who circumnavigated the Antarctic, first to cross the Antarctic circle since Captain James Cook. He made the first sighting of Antarctica on the 27th of January 1820, describing an icefield with small hillocks.
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A British whaler named James Weddell discovers the sea named after him, the Weddell Sea and then reaches the most southerly point in his time, (74' 15'S). No one else is able to penetrate the Weddell sea again for 80 years.
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In March 1898, Adrien de Gerlache and his crew aboard the Belgica became trapped in an ice pack off the Antarctic Peninsula in the first scientific expedition to the continent. Involuntarily, they become the first to survive an Antarctic winter because their boat was stuck and drifting away amongst the ice.
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Captain Scott from the UK leads his first Antarctic expedition, attempting to reach the South Pole with Ernest Shackleton and Edward Wilson. However, they are forced to come back two months later having reached 82 degrees south, suffering from snow blindness and scurvy.
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Douglas Mawson was the first ever Australian to reach the South Magnetic Pole.
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On December the 14th, Norwegian Roald Amundsen leads a five man expedition and reaches the South Pole for the first time.
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On January 18th Robert Falcon Scott, Britain's captain, and his men (Bowers, Evans, Oates and Wilson) reaches the South Pole, only to be beaten by Amundsen. As they made their way home, they sadly perished, only 11 miles from the supply depot. Oates died heroically, as he sacrificed himself in a harsh blizzard because he knew that he was slowing his team down.
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In October, Ernest returns to Antarctica to complete the first crossing of the continent, however the mission is not complete but one of the greatest adventures of all time follows.
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Australian Sir Hubert Wilkins and American Carl Benjamin Eielson become the first to fly across Antarctica, flying over the penisula region.
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Caroline, Norway, is the first woman to set foot on Antarctica as she accompanies her husband, a whaling captain.
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U.S. sends the largest expedition to Antarctica; 4700 men, 13 ships and 23 aeroplanes. Most of the Antarctic coast is photoed and mapped
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The Antarctic Treaty comes into effect.
