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'Robert Edwin Peary' (May 6, 1856 – February 20, 1920) was an American explorer who claimed to have been the first person, on April 6, 1909, to reach the geographic North Pole -- a claim that has subsequently attracted much criticism.

Contents

Peary's life

Early years

First Arctic expeditions

North Pole expeditions

Honors and legacy

Inuit descendants

Controversy

Recent evidence and claims

References

External links

Peary's life

Early years

Peary was born in the town of Cresson, 80 miles east of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1856. He moved to Maine, attended Portland High School, was a graduate of Bowdoin College, where he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. He was commissioned a Civil Engineer Corps Officer in the United States Navy October 26, 1881. With his wife, Josephine Diebitsch Peary, he had two children: Marie Peary and Robert Edwin Peary, Jr.

First Arctic expeditions

Peary made several expeditions to the Arctic, exploring Greenland by dog sled in 1886 and 1891 and returning to the island three times in the 1890s. Unlike many previous explorers, Peary studied Inuit survival techniques, built igloos, and dressed in practical furs in the native fashion. Peary also relied on the Inuit as hunters and dog-drivers on his expeditions, and pioneered the use of the system (which he called the "Peary system") of using support teams and supply caches for Arctic travel. His wife, Josephine, accompanied him on several of his expeditions. He also had 8 toes amputated but kept walking.

North Pole expeditions

Peary made several attempts to reach the North Pole between 1898 and 1905. For his final assault on the pole, he and 23 men set off from New York City aboard the ''Roosevelt'' under the command of Captain Robert Bartlett on July 6, 1908. They wintered near Cape Sheridan on Ellesmere Island and from there departed for the pole on March 1, 1909. The last support party turned back on April 1, 1909 in latitude 87°47' north. On the final stage of the journey to the North Pole only five of his men, Matthew Henson, Ootah, Egigingwah, Seegloo and Ooqueah, remained. On April 6, he established Camp Jesup near the pole. In his diary for April 7 (but actually written up much later when preparing his journals for publication), Peary wrote "The Pole at last!!! The prize of 3 centuries, my dream and ambition for 23 years. ''Mine'' at last..."

Honors and legacy

Peary was given a Rear Admiral's pension and the thanks of Congress by a special act of March 30, 1911. In the same year, he retired to Eagle Island, Maine, located on the coast of Maine, in Freeport. (His home there is now a Maine State Historic Site.) Civil Engineer Peary received honors from numerous scientific societies of Europe and America for his Arctic explorations and discoveries. He died in Washington, D.C., February 20, 1920 and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Matthew Henson was reinterred nearby on April 6, 1988.
The Liberty ship SS Robert E. Peary, the destroyer USS ''Peary'' (DD-226) the cargo ship USNS ''Robert E. Peary'' (T-AKE-5), and Knox-class frigate USS Robert E. Peary (FF 1073) were named for him. The Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum at Bowdoin College is named for Peary and fellow Arctic explorer Donald B. MacMillan.
Peary was the author of several books, the most famous being ''Northward over the Great Ice'' (1898) and ''Nearest the Pole'' (1907). The movie ''Glory & Honor'' by Kevin Hooks (2000) chronicles his journey to the pole.
In his book ''Ninety Degrees North'', polar historian and author Fergus Fleming describes Peary as "undoubtedly the most driven, possibly the most successful and probably the most unpleasant man in the annals of polar exploration."

Inuit descendants

Some modern critics of Peary focus on his treatment of the Inuit, including a boy named Minik Wallace. With Inuit women, Peary and Henson both fathered children outside of marriage. This fact was brought up in controversies during Peary's lifetime, and would have damaged his reputation if it had been accepted, but it was essentially unprovable at the time because the Arctic was so remote. It was widely acknowledged by the 1960s, however. Peary’s son Kali was eventually brought to the attention of the broader American public by S. Allen Counter, who met him on a Greenland expedition. The "discovery" of these children and their meeting with their American relatives were documented in a book and documentary titled ''North Pole Legacy: Black, White and Eskimo''.

Controversy

Peary's claim to have reached the North Pole has been subject to doubt for a number of reasons. He had no sooner returned from the Arctic before he learned that Frederick Cook was also claiming to have reached the pole the previous year. Cook's claims were quickly dismissed after he submitted logs that were obvious frauds to the scientific community. Cook also was met with skepticism since his claim of being the first to climb Mt. McKinley was found to be a hoax. As for Peary's North Pole claim, it was initially certified by the National Geographic Society after Cook's was proved false. Even with that some doubt comes up as the party that accompanied Peary on the final stage of the journey included no one who was trained in navigation and could independently confirm his own navigational work, which some have controversially claimed to be particularly sloppy as he approached the pole. The distances and speeds Peary claimed to have achieved once the last support party turned back border on the incredible, almost three times that which he had accomplished up to that point. Peary's account of a beeline journey to the pole and back — the only thing that might have allowed him to travel at such a speed — is contradicted by Henson's account of tortured detours to avoid pressure ridges and open leads. The conflicting claims of Cook and Peary prompted Roald Amundsen to take extensive precautions in navigation during his South Pole expedition so as to leave no room for doubt concerning attainment of the pole. See Polheim.
Some polar historians believe that Peary honestly thought he had reached the pole. Others have suggested that he was guilty of deliberately exaggerating his accomplishments. Still others have suggested that any hint that Peary did ''not'' reach the pole must be the work of pro-Cook conspirators who are simply out to discredit Peary.

Recent evidence and claims

In 1989, the National Geographic Society (a major sponsor of Peary's expeditions) concluded, based on the shadows in photographs and ocean depth measures taken by Peary, that he was no more than five miles away from the pole. But since Peary's original camera (a 1908 #4 Folding Pocket Kodak) has not survived, and the camera was made with at least six different lenses from various manufacturers, the focal length of the lens -- and hence the shadow analysis which is based upon it -- must be considered uncertain at best. The National Geographic Society has never released Peary's photos for independent analysis.
Support for Peary came in 2005 when the British explorer Tom Avery and four companions recreated the outward portion of Peary's journey with replica wooden sleds and Canadian Eskimo Dog teams, reaching the North Pole in 36 days, 22 hours – nearly five hours faster than Peary. Avery writes on his web site that "The admiration and respect which I hold for Robert Peary, Matthew Henson and the four Inuit men who ventured North in 1909, has grown enormously since we set out from Cape Columbia. Having now seen for myself how he travelled across the pack ice, I am more convinced than ever that Peary did indeed discover the North Pole."^[1] But Avery and his team were airlifted off the pole instead of returning by dogsled, a circumstance which allowed his team to carry much less weight in food and supplies than would otherwise have been needed, and much less than Peary took.
It has been claimed by supporters of Peary and Henson that the depth soundings Peary made on the outward journey match recent surveys and so confirm that they reached the pole.^[2] However, only the first few soundings taken by Peary's party, taken nearest the shore, actually touched bottom; thus their usefulness is extremely limited.

References

1. Tom Avery website, retrieved May 2007
2. "Proof Henson & Peary reached Pole." ''Mathew A Henson website''. Retrieved 11 August 2007.


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★ The Coldest Crucible: Arctic Exploration and American Culture, , Michael, Robinson, University of Chicago Press, 2006, ISBN 978-0226721842

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External links

★ NY Times, April 6, 1909, ''Peary Discovers the North Pole After Eight Trials in 23 Years''

★ Works by Robert E. Peary at Project Gutenberg

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