The Southern Party, 1909 aboard Nimrod - Frank Wild, Ernest Shackleton, Eric Marshall, Jameson B. Adams Summing up their attempt to reach the South Pole on Shackleton's 1908 - 1909 Nimrod expedition, Frank Wild wrote in the 1930s, "All through this journey, Shackleton strained every muscle and nerve to the limit as he always did in the twenty years I knew him when strenuous action was called for." #LeadingByExample

“He was a tower of strength and endurance, and he never panicked in any emergency. And he was the most generous man I ever came across.” Walter How, sailmaker, Endurance

Living on the Ice “Any and every duty is undertaken cheerfully and willingly and no complaint or whining is ever heard no matter what hardships or inconvenience may be encountered. The principal credit of this is due to the tact and leadership of the Head of the Expedition and the cheery happiness and bonhomie of Wild. They both command respect, confidence and affection.” Frank Worsley, Captain, Endurance

First published January 4, 2001 by Viking. It was a massive amount of hard work. Delighted the lessons from Shackleton's story of leading a team successfully through a grueling ordeal have been an asset to so many people around the world.

Endurance trapped This is one of Dr. Macklin's wonderful and insightful comments that point to Shackleton's leadership strategies of leading by example and maintaining a positive attitude. In the years following the Endurance expedition, some crew members refused to talk about their experience. In some cases, they couldn't share what they had been through because they saw it as sacred. In one case, the crew member thought it would be bragging to talk about it. In the 1950s,

1860 Aerial View of Boston I came across this 1860 image when I was working on the Sam Adams project. In the lower left corner, you can pick out Old South Meeting House with the steeple and follow the path of the Tea Party patriots along Milk Street, which runs along side the Meeting House, to what was once Griffins wharf where they jumped into rowboats to get out to the three ships, anchored at sea, that were loaded with crates of tea.

On December 17, 1775 - From Fort George, New York, north of Saratoga, Henry Knox wrote to General Washington, " I have made forty two exceeding strong sleds & have provided eighty yoke of Oxen to drag them as far as Springfield where I shall get fresh Cattle to carry them to Camp. The rout will be from here to Kinderhook, from thence into Great Barrington, Massachusetts Bay & down to Springfield—There will Scarcely be any possibility of conveying them from here to Albany or

On this day in 1773, patriots in Boston, led by Sam Adams, were organizing the Boston Tea Party. An estimated crowd of 7,000 pressed into Old South Meeting House (the pews are a later addition) and jammed the surrounding streets. The heart of the issue was "no taxation without representation." The provocation was the arrival of the Dartmouth on November 28, the first of three British ships to arrive loaded with crates of tea that would be subject to tax. Custom officials had

Jane Austen's Writing Desk For Jane Austen's 19th birthday, her father gave her this beautiful writing desk that is now in the Treasures Room of the British Library. More images of Jane Austen's writing desk here . I'm grateful to Jane Austen for sparking these photo-essays. Jane Austen 's was the first I did. The story of how beer-baron, Jacob Ruppert, transformed the New York Yankees was the second. Their stories provided me with a way to use my art history degree to bring

Dump Camp, shortly after abandoning ship “No one could know Shackleton and work under him without feeling that his great strength lay in the honesty of his selflessness. Men trusted him. He loved to think that men trusted him, and with their trust went affection.” Leonard Hussey, meteorologist, Endurance #LeadingByExample

If you want to understand the challenges and hardships involved in the early days of the American Revolution, I highly recommend the photo-essays on The Origins of American Independence, Sam Adams - Mastermind of the Revolution and Henry Knox - Washington's Favorite General. You can find them here . Thomas Jefferson said of Sam Adams, "I always considered him more than any other member, the fountain of our more important measures." #AmericanRevolution Three figures on left, R

On a peaceful Sunday in December 1941, a stealth attack was unleashed on the U.S. naval station at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.  Coming in waves, 353 planes systematically bombed the base and ships docked in the harbor.  2459 Americans were killed, almost 1300 were wounded.  The Japanese strategy of “deceptive diplomacy” had worked.  America was shocked. Reagan's Journey - Lessons from a Remarkable Career USS Arizona destroyed at Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941 - "a day that will liv

Author of The Battle Hymn of the Republic, Julia Ward Howe and her husband, Samuel Howe, were very active in the Abolition Movement. In November 1861, as they neared Washington, DC. Julia Ward Howe noticed the Union Army camps, "lying like a steel girdle about Washington to protect it." A few days later she wrote, "I have seen Him in the watch-fires of a hundred circling camps..." Learn more about this inspiring story here.

Washington's farewell to his officers at Fraunces Tavern in lower Manhattan On December 4, 1783, about a week after the British troops evacuated New York, Washington arranged to say farewell to his officers at Fraunces Tavern on Pearl St. in lower Manhattan. The always dignified commander-in-chief was overwhelmed with emotion. He filled a glass with wine and toasted his officers saying, "With a heart full of love and gratitude, I now take leave of you. I most devoutly wish th

The Bull's Head Tavern on the Bowery owned by Henry Astor. When the British finally evacuated New York City on November 25, 1783, General Washington set up temporary headquarters at the Bull's Head Tavern on the Bowery. In 1813, as the city migrated north, Astor moved the tavern to 3rd Avenue at 23rd Street.

This verse bubbled up in my memory while I was working on The Bible project - wisdom from the Old Testament. I remember Tim Keller mentioning this verse - "RUN to it!" in a sermon at Redeemer Presbyterian in my NYC days. It's great to be able to use GROK now to bring these verses to life. They're not perfect but we're getting there.

Came across this wonderful image while working on the Founding of Washington, DC .

"Give unto the LORD, O ye mighty, give unto the LORD glory and strength". Psalm 29 This verse is considered by experts to be one of the oldest passages in the Bible - dating from possibly the 12th century BC.

"It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man". Psalm 118:8 #Faith

"Let the best care be taken of all books and papers."  John Adams to Abigail, 7 October 1774 #America