Robert Falcon Scott Markham's first choice as leader but, having decided on him, the older man's support remained constant. There were committee battles over the scope of Scott's responsibilities, with the Royal Society pressing to put a scientist in charge of the expedition's programme while Scott merely commanded the ship. Eventually, however, Markham's view prevailed; Scott was given overall command, and was promoted to the rank of commander before "Discovery" sailed for the Antarctic on 6 August 1901. King Edward VII, who showed a keen interest in the expedition, visited the Discovery the day before the ship left British shores in August 1901,
Controversies surrounding Robert Falcon Scott Britain through the twentieth century." He concludes, however, that "raising Scott as an emblem of decline reveals more about current concerns than about past history." Jones further notes the "rediscovery" of Ernest Shackleton during the 1990s and that "Scott has been sacrificed on the altar of Shackleton worship", themes which are the main substance of Stephanie Barczewski's 2008 book "Antarctic Destinies". Barczewski also advances the view that late 20th century cultural shifts would inevitably have caused reassessment of the traditional forms of heroism represented by Scott. Controversies surrounding Robert Falcon Scott The British Antarctic explorer Robert Falcon Scott became the