North Pole attempt

Robert Peary · 1908 CE – 1909 CE · Earth

Be first to the North Pole.

Historical context

Robert Peary, a civil engineer of the United States Navy, had worked toward the North Pole for twenty-three years when he sailed in 1908, backed by the Peary Arctic Club of New York. His farthest north of 1906, 87 degrees 6 minutes by his own account, had passed the records of Nansen and of the Duke of the Abruzzi’s expedition. His system relied on a ship driven as far north as possible, on Inughuit drivers and their dogs, and on support parties sent back in turn. His claim to have reached the pole in 1909, like Frederick Cook’s claim for 1908, has never been settled.

The voyage, step by step

1. The last winter quarters

   5 September 1908

   On 5 September 1908, at fifty-two and on his eighth Arctic expedition, Peary brings the Roosevelt into winter quarters at Cape Sheridan.

2. The last departure

   1 March 1909

   On 1 March 1909 the last of Peary’s divisions leave Cape Columbia for the pole, four hundred and thirteen nautical miles away.

3. The Peary system

   26 March 1909

   On 26 March Ross Marvin starts back for land from 86 degrees 38 minutes north; he never reaches it.

4. Bartlett turns back

   1 April 1909

   At 87°47′ north the captain who broke most of the trail turns back on 1 April, and no one goes on who could check Peary’s sights.

5. The final dash

   5 April 1909

   From 2 April Peary leads five forced marches north with Henson and four Inughuit; on 5 April his sight puts the camp at 89 degrees 25 minutes.

6. The claim

   6 April 1909

   On 6 April 1909 Peary halts at Camp Morris K. Jesup and, after thirty hours of sights, reports that he has reached the pole; the claim is still disputed.

Outcome

Reported reaching the pole on 6 April 1909 and regained Cape Columbia on 23 April; Ross Marvin died on the way back to land. Frederick Cook claimed to have reached the pole a year earlier, and Peary’s own claim has been disputed ever since.

Robert Peary

American naval officer who claimed to be the first person to reach the North Pole, in 1909.

Read on Wikipedia

Sources

• The North Pole: Its Discovery in 1909 under the Auspices of the Peary Arctic ClubRobert E. Peary · Frederick A. Stokes · 1910
• A Negro Explorer at the North PoleMatthew A. Henson · Frederick A. Stokes; Project Gutenberg text · 1912
• The Log of Bob Bartlett: The True Story of Forty Years of Seafaring and ExplorationRobert A. Bartlett · G. P. Putnam’s Sons · 1928
• Ross Gilmore Marvin — Wikipedia
• Frederick Cook — Wikipedia
• SS Roosevelt (1905) — Wikipedia
• Hvad man har hørt om de to første NordpolsfarereInuutersuaq Ulloriaq · Tidsskriftet Grønland 1984/3, pp. 61–88; Danish translation by Tukummeq Qaavigaq, edited by Rolf Gilberg · 1984
• Doubts Cast on Peary’s Claim to PoleJohn Noble Wilford · The New York Times, 22 August 1988 · 1988
• Who Was First at the North Pole?John Tierney · The New York Times, TierneyLab, 7 September 2009 · 2009
• Robert Peary — Wikipedia

Continue exploring

• North Pole expeditionMatthew Henson · 1908 CE – 1909 CE
• South Pole expeditionRoald Amundsen · 1910 CE – 1912 CE
• Terra Nova expeditionRobert Falcon Scott · 1910 CE – 1913 CE
• Northwest PassageRoald Amundsen · 1903 CE – 1906 CE