It was discovered by Ernest Shackleton during his Nimrod Antarctic expedition of 1908, and named after Sir William Beardmore, an expedition sponsor.
The South Pole was first reached by Roald Amundsen and his team in December 1911 by a different route. They climbed the previously unknown Axel Heiberg glacier. The Pole was also reached a month later by Captain Scott and his team, via the Beardmore glacier. Scott and his men perished on their return journey.