Robert Falcon Scott was born on June 6th, 1868 and died March 29th, 1912. He was a British Royal Naval officer who by special request was released from the Royal Navy service specifically to become an Antartic Explorer. Although he eventually accomplished his goal of reaching the South Pole, he was denied the accomplishment of being the first by Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and his party. Scott and his party died on the Ross Ice Shelf while trying to return to the safety of their base. Scott has become the most famous hero of the "heroic age" of Antarctic exploration.