Reaching the North Pole
Llegada al polo norte
- Date
- 1909 (reclamado) / 1926 (verificado) · confidence low
- Place
- Geographic North Pole
- Credited to
- Robert Peary and Matthew Henson (1909 claim); Frederick Cook (1908 claim); Amundsen, Ellsworth and Nobile aboard the airship Norge (1926, first verified arrival)
- People
- 👤 Frederick Cook1865–1940👤 Lincoln Ellsworth1880–1951👤 Matthew Henson1866–1955👤 Roald Amundsen1872–1928👤 Robert Peary1856–1920
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What was discovered
Peary claimed to have reached the pole in 1909 with Henson and four Inuit, disputing Cook's earlier claim. Both are doubtful; the first undisputed arrival was the Norge's flyover in 1926; the first to stand on it were Soviets who arrived by plane (1948), the first confirmed surface arrival was Ralph Plaisted's by snowmobile (1968), and the first on foot was Wally Herbert's (1969).
Coordinates of the geographic pole. Priority hotly disputed: the National Geographic Society backed Peary, but later analyses (Rawlins, Herbert) cast doubt on whether he reached it. Henson and the Inuit Ootah, Egingwah, Seegloo and Ooqueah were recognised only belatedly.
What it led to
- The polar race and the nationalism of exploration
- Study of Arctic ice drift
- Debate over the verification of exploration claims
Built on
- Nansen's Fram expedition (1893-96)
- Inuit dog sledges
Made possible
- Polar aerial navigation
- Ice-drift stations