Arctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton was born on this day in 1874 in Co. Kildare. Shackleton was the son of a privileged Anglo-Irish family originally from Yorkshire. At age 16, he left school to go to sea as an apprentice and was a certified Master Mariner by 1898. After befriending the son of the main financial backer for the National Antarctic Expedition, Shackleton was … [Read more...] about February 15, 1874