The
British Antarctic Expedition 1907–09, otherwise known as the
Nimrod Expedition, was the first of three expeditions to the
Antarctic led by
Ernest Shackleton. Its main target, among a range of geographical and scientific objectives, was to be first to the
South Pole. This was not attained, but the expedition's southern march reached a
Farthest South latitude of 88° 23' S, just from the pole. This was by far the longest southern polar journey to that date and a record convergence on either Pole. A separate group led by
Welsh Australian geology professor
Edgeworth David reached the estimated location of the
South Magnetic Pole, and the expedition also achieved the first ascent of
Mount Erebus, Antarctica's second highest volcano.