Robert Falcon Scott Scott, Robert Falcon, 1868–1912, British
naval officer and antarctic explorer. He commanded two noted
expeditions to Antarctica. The first expedition (1901–4), in the
Discovery, organized jointly by the Royal Geographical Society
and the Royal Society and well equipped for scientific research,
was concerned with exploration of the region around the Ross
Sea. Scott's achievements included sounding the sea, discovering
King Edward VII Land (now known as Edward VII Peninsula),
surveying the coast of Victoria Land, and making a long,
important exploring trip on the antarctic continent itself; he
reached a new "farthest south" of 82°17−. On his return to
England, Scott was promoted to captain in the navy and wrote an
account of his expedition, The Voyage of the "Discovery" (1905).
In 1910 he again set forth for Antarctica, this time in search
of the South Pole. His Terra Nova reached its base on the Ross
Sea in 1911, and in November he started southward on foot toward
the pole. Scott and his fo