Robert Edwin Peary, American Explorer
Peary, on deck of the steamship, Roosevelt, in fur parka, with binoculars. Robert Edwin Peary, Sr. (1856 - 1920), American explorer who claimed to have led the first expedition, on April 6, 1909, to reach the geographic North Pole. Peary's claim was widely credited for most of the 20th century, though it was criticized even in its own day. Unlike most previous explorers, Peary studied Inuit survival techniques, built igloos, and dressed in practical furs in the native fashion both for heat preservation and to dispense with the extra weight of tents and sleeping bags when on the march. 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. During the course of his explorations, he had eight toes amputated. In his diary for April 7, Peary wrote: The Pole at last!!! The prize of three centuries, my dream and ambition for twenty-three years. Mine at last. Peary was unable to enjoy the fruits of his labors to the full extent when, upon returning to civilization, he learned that Dr. Frederick A. Cook, who had been a surgeon on an 1891-1892 Peary expedition, claimed to have reached the pole the year before. Peary's lobbying early headed off an intention among some congressmen to have his claim to the pole evaluated by explorers. As eventual congressionally recognized attainer of the pole. He was given a Rear Admiral's pension and the Thanks of Congress by a special act in 1911. He died in 1920 at the age of 63, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery
