The North Pole

Robert E. Peary, the American who discovered the North Pole, first became interested in Arctic exploration after a trip into the interior of Greenland in 1886. Later trips there funded by the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences proved that Greenland is an island and resulted in his account Northward over the Great Ice Northward over the Great Ice (1898).

Nearest the Pole (1907) tells of his Arctic trip when the "farthest north" record was set about 200 miles from the North Pole. On April 6, 1909, Peary finally reached the North Pole after a voyage in the specially built ship Roosevelt and a long trek over ice via dog sled. He was accompanied by an African American and four Inuits. The North Pole, published in 1910, is his account of that final trip. He retired from the U.S. Navy in 1911 with the rank of rear admiral but again served his country during World War I.

Dr. Frederick A. Cook, who had been ship's surgeon on one of Peary's earlier expeditions, claimed that he had discovered the North Pole earlier than Peary. However, Cook's claim was later proved false, and Congress, in 1911, formally recognized Peary as the discoverer of the North Pole. Peary's wife accompanied him on several trips, and his daughter was born in the Arctic - she is believed to be the first white child born north of the Arctic circle.

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