Apsley Cherry-Garrard
A young scholar on Scott's doomed Antarctic expedition who survived to write one of exploration's most harrowing and honest memoirs.
1886–1959 (age 73)·English polar explorer & Author·Birthday: January 2·The Lost Generation
Biography
Apsley Cherry-Garrard was an unlikely explorer, bespectacled and academically inclined, who financed his own place on Robert Falcon Scott's 1910 Terra Nova expedition to the South Pole. His defining trial came not on the polar plateau, but during the Antarctic winter, when he and two companions embarked on a suicidal five-week journey to collect emperor penguin eggs in total darkness and temperatures nearing -60°F. They barely survived. He later helped search for Scott's party, finding their frozen tent. The psychological weight of these events haunted him, but he channeled it into 'The Worst Journey in the World,' a 1922 masterpiece that is less a tale of heroism than a stark, literary meditation on suffering, camaraderie, and the limits of human endurance. The book secured his lasting reputation, transforming a supporting player into the expedition's most eloquent voice.
The Lost Generation
1883–1900
Came of age during World War I. Disillusioned by the carnage, they rejected the certainties of the Victorian era and built modernism from the wreckage — in art, literature, and politics.
Apsley was born in 1886, placing them squarely in The Lost Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Apsley Was Born
The biggest hits of 1886
Apsley's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1886Born
Statue of Liberty dedicated in New York Harbor
President: Grover Cleveland
1891Started school
President: Benjamin Harrison
1899Became a teenager
President: William McKinley
1902Could drive
The eruption of Mount Pelee kills 30,000 in Martinique
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1904Could vote
New York City opens its first subway line
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1907Turned 21
Financial panic grips Wall Street
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1916Turned 30
The Battle of the Somme claims over a million casualties
President: Woodrow Wilson
1926Turned 40
Robert Goddard launches the first liquid-fueled rocket
President: Calvin Coolidge"Baby Face" — Jan Garber
1936Turned 50
Jesse Owens wins four golds at the Berlin Olympics
Gas: $0.19/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"The Way You Look Tonight" — Fred AstaireBest Picture: The Great Ziegfeld
1946Turned 60
United Nations holds its first General Assembly
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $5,150Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Prisoner of Love" — Perry ComoBest Picture: The Best Years of Our Lives
1956Turned 70
Elvis Presley appears on The Ed Sullivan Show
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $10,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Heartbreak Hotel" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: Around the World in 80 Days
1959Died at 73
Fidel Castro takes power in Cuba
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $12,400Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"The Battle of New Orleans" — Johnny HortonBest Picture: Ben-Hur
Key Achievements
- Authored 'The Worst Journey in the World,' considered a classic of polar literature and travel writing.
- Participated in the grueling 'Winter Journey' of 1911 to collect emperor penguin eggs for scientific study.
- Was a member of the search party that discovered the tent containing the bodies of Scott and his companions.
- Received the Polar Medal for his contributions to Antarctic exploration.
Did You Know?
He inherited the family estate, Lamer Park, and the double-barreled surname 'Cherry-Garrard' after an aunt's bequest.
His eyesight was so poor that he was nearly rejected for the Terra Nova expedition.
The title of his book was suggested by his friend and editor, the writer George Bernard Shaw.
He suffered from severe depression and post-traumatic stress for much of his life after returning from Antarctica.
“"Polar exploration is at once the cleanest and most isolated way of having a bad time which has been devised."”
