Robert Peary
Robert Peary, dressed for the cold.
Robert Edwin Peary Sr. was born on May 6, 1856 in Cresson, Pennsylvania. Shortly after his birth and following the death of his father, Peary and his mother moved to Portland, Maine. Peary is primarily remembered for his work as an American explorer and officer in the United States Navy who made numerous expeditions to the Arctic in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Peary began his service in the Navy in 1881 and continued his military career until his retirement with leaves of absence granted to embark on Arctic exploration. He made his first trip to the Arctic in 1886, an unsuccessful attempt to cross Greenland. He successfully crossed Greenland in 1891-1892, gaining notoriety and proving that Greenland was an island. In 1894, he became the first western explorer to reach the Cape York meteorite, and he proceeded to take shards of it away from the native people who relied upon it for tools. Additionally, he deceived six Inuit people into returning to America with him - foreshadowing a long career of inequitable and exploitative relationships with people native to the arctic.
Though he is credited as one of the first people to study Indigenous survival strategies in the far north, Peary was known to control his Eskimo helpers with a style described as: “the iron hand ungloved.” Additionally, he hungered for acclaim. In an 1887 letter to his mother, Peary wrote: “My last trip brought my name to the world; my next will give me standing in the world. Remember, mother, I must have fame.”
During his 1898-1902 expedition, Peary set a new “furthest north” record. At this point, he had risen to notable fame among the scientific community. He proceeded to partake in two further expeditions, one in 1905-1906 and the latter one being the 1908-1909 North Pole expedition. Peary received several learned society awards towards the end of his life, and in 1911 he received the Thanks of Congress. He served as President of the Explorers Club for two terms before retiring in 1911.
Peary is remembered as a controversial figure. He has received significant criticism for his treatment of Inuit people throughout his expeditions to the Arctic, and his claims of reaching the North Pole have come under question. Still, regardless of the ethicality of his actions, Peary is certainly one of the prominent figures in Arctic exploration in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.