Sir Ernest Shackleton’s electrically heated crow’s nest from the ‘Good Ship Quest’ on which he died on 5 January 1922 while in harbour in South Georgia. This nest is now in the church - All Hallows by the Tower, London, England
The crow’s nest is the highest observation point on the masts. It was used for navigation or general observation, especially in the Middle Ages and in the 19th century on Whaler, to see the whales and observe the ice.
It is not known when exactly this term was first created, but there have been ships with a crow’s nest since very early times. Neither is the origin known. A legend says that the Vikings brought ravens on board to use them for navigation. As soon as the navigator thought they were near land, he opened the cage and let the ravens fly. As they flew directly to land, the crew know in which direction they had to go. Therefore the crow nest would have been named after it.
