Rear Adm. Robert E. Peary Papers. 1798 - 1976. Papers Relating to Arctic Expeditions. 1886 - 1909. Age, Weight, and Measurements of the Northern Sledge Party

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Rear Adm. Robert E. Peary Papers. 1798 - 1976. Papers Relating to Arctic Expeditions. 1886 - 1909. Age, Weight, and Measurements of the Northern Sledge Party

1909

https://catalog.archives.gov/id/304962

Explorer Robert E. Peary was obsessed with becoming the first person to reach the North Pole. Peary claimed that he and his party reached the North Pole on April 6, 1909. Doubt was cast on this claim almost immediately. Some experts maintain that Peary may have missed the Pole by as much as 50 miles, while others disagree. Individuals seeking to verify Peary's claim are drawn to his own records of the polar expeditions. During his earlier polar expeditions, Peary devised a relay system of crossing great distances over the ice: trailblazing parties would carry provisions, forge a trail, build igloos, then turn back at varying intervals, enabling the main party to travel faster and lighter. This document describes the main party crossing the last 270 miles of ice to the North Pole.

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SNAC Resource ID: 6444029

National Archives at College Park

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Peary, Robert Edwin, 1856-1920

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w66z00zw (person)

Robert Edwin Peary Sr. (born May 6, 1856, Cresson, Pennsylvania – died February 20, 1920, Washington, D.C.) was an American explorer and United States Navy officer who made several expeditions to the Arctic in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He is best known for claiming to have reached the geographic North Pole with his expedition on April 6, 1909. Though born in Pennsylvania, Peary grew up in in Portland, Maine. He went to a prominent boarding school called Loomis Chaffe. He attende...