Peary Expedition to Greenland, 1897

During the summer of 1897, Lt. Robert E. Peary, U.S. Navy, made his fifth voyage to Greenland with the objective of bringing home the last and largest of three meteorites discovered in Cape York. In July, Peary set sail aboard the S.S. Hope commanded by Captain John Bartlett, and traveled through the Gulf of St. Lawrence, reaching Whale Sound in Northern Greenland on August 12, 1987. Peary brought with him a number of men, including native Inuits and a group of Dartmouth students under the supervision of geology Professor Charles Henry Hitchcock. The students studied the ice sheet covering Greenland and the ancient dwellings of the Norse men. Russell Porter, an artist and astronomer who produced a series of sketches of Arctic landscapes and the indigenous population, was also part of the expedition team. The expedition successfully returned to New York on September 30, 1897 with the world’s largest known meteorite in tow.