Today In History: Robert Peary Claims Discovery of the North Pole

The last march northward ended at ten o'clock on tbe forenoon of April 6. I had now made the five marches planned at the point at which Bartlett turned back, and my reckoning showed that we were in the immediate neighborhood of the goal of all our striving. After the usual arrangements for going into camp, at approximate local noon, of the Columbia meridian, I made the first observation at our polar camp. It indicated our position as 89, 57'.

We were now at the end of the last long march of the upward journey. Yet with the Pole actually in sight I was too weary to take the last few steps. The accumulated wearniness of all those days and nights of forced marches and insufficient sleep, constant peril and anxiety, seemed to roll across me all at once. I was actually too exhausted to realize at the moment that my life's purpose had been achieved. As soon as our igloos had been completed and we had eaten our dinner and double-rationed the dogs, I turned in for a few hours of absolutely necessary sleep, Henson and the Eskimos having unloaded the sledges and got them in readiness for such repairs as were necessary. But, weary though I was I could not sleep long. It was, therefore, only a few hours later when I woke. The first thing I did after waking was to write these words in my diary: "The Pole at last. The prize of three centuries. My dream and goal for twenty years. Mine at last! I cannot bring myself to realize it. It seems all so simple and commonplace." 

-- Robert E. Peary, The North Pole (New York: Frederick A. Stokes, Co.,1910), pp. 287-288.

On April 6th, 1909 American explorer and officer in the United States Navy, Robert Edwin Peary (1856-1920) thought he reached the North Pole, after sledging with his team on a third attempt after prolonged adverse weather and ice conditions. Upon his return south, Commander Peary discovered that his former colleague Frederick A. Cooke, who similarly sledged 1,300 miles, claimed to have reached the essential joint in the Northern Hemisphere first, but  was later discredited. Complications in the discovery of the North Pole continued, for, in the 1980s, Peary's expedition diaries were found to contain both navigational and record keeping errors, casting doubt on his claim. While some believe that Peary honestly thought he reached the North Pole, others asserted he enhanced and misrepresented his accomplishments.

The following articles are drawn from Proquest Historical Newspapers, which informs and inspires classroom teaching and learning.

• Explorer's Son to Go to Arctic: Robert Peary Whose Father Discovered Pole, Will Join Party. (1926, Mar 26). Los Angeles Times (1923-1995) 
• A Great Explorer's Son: Robert Peary Following in His Father's Footsteps (1926, Apr 06). The Irish Times (1921-) 
• Explorers' Club Pays Tribute to Admiral Peary: Unveils Portrait in Memory of North Pole Discovery Capt. Jackson Honored. (1939, Apr 10). New York Herald Tribune (1926-1962) 
• Look Back: Peary Reaches North Pole. (1971, Sep 05). Boston Globe (1960-) 
• Anderson, J. (1983, Dec 11). On the Cover: 'Cook & Peary': A Chilly Saga of North Pole Race. Chicago Tribune (1963-1996) 
• Peary's Claim to Fame on Thin Ice: Study Casts Doubt that Explorer Was First to Reach North Pole. (1988, Aug 23). Boston Globe (1960-) 
• Wilford, J. (1988, Sep 01). Evidence Casts Doubt on North Pole Claim. Chicago Tribune (1963-1996) 
• Cooke, R. (1988, Dec 06). Following a Cold Trail: To Put on Ice the Questions About Robert E. Peary's 1909 Trek to the North Pole, the National Geographic Society Has Begun a New Quest for the Truth: An Explorer Adrift on History's Sea Ice. Newsday (1940-) 
• Brown, E. Staff  (1989, Mar 27). Polar Discovery Debate Heats Up: Scientists and sSholars Question Robert Peary's Claim to the North Pole. The Christian Science Monitor (1908-) 
• Dore, J. (2002, Nov 03). Snow Jobs: Some Famous Explorers Stretched the Truth in Regard to the North Pole. New York Times (1923-) 

Tips:

• Hall, Doug. North Pole Tenderfoot 18 Dogs, 62 Below, 200 Miles : a Rookie’s Adventures and Misadventures Traveling in Admiral Peary’s Footsteps to the North Pole. 1st ed. Cincinnati, Ohio: Clerisy Press, 2009. e-book
• Peary, Robert E.  The North Pole. England: Hodder and Stoughton, 1910. e-book
• Robinson, Michael F. (Michael Frederick). The Coldest Crucible Arctic Exploration and American Culture. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006.  e-book
• Roxburgh, Ellis. Robert Peary Vs. Frederick Cook : Race to the North Pole. New York, New York: Gareth Stevens Publishing, 2016. e-book

Images:

• A Correct Draught of the North Pole and Of All the Countries Hitherto Discovered Intercepted Between the Pole and the Parallel of 50 Degrees, Courtesy of Picryl
• North Pole, Arctic Ocean, sea ice, by Matti&Ketti, Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
• Poster Image: Commander Robert E. Peary - 10713770703, Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

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