Today in History: Robert E. Peary
Today in History–May 6–the Library of Congress features explorer Robert E. Peary, born on this date in 1856. Trained as a civil engineer, Peary first traveled to Nicaragua in 1884 to survey a route for a canal. In 1886, Peary ventured north and began his polar expeditions in Greenland, where he and his assistant Matt Henson learned arctic survival skills from the Inuit. Shortly before Peary announced his success in reaching the North Pole in 1909, Dr. Frederick A. Cook (a companion from an 1891 journey) claimed that he had reached the pole a year earlier. Find out more about Peary and this controversy by visiting the Today in History section, then click the links below to access all types of primary sources related to Peary, Henson, Cook, and the North Pole.
Arctic Explorer Robert E. Peary Was Born May 6, 1856 America’s Library
Departure of Peary [and the] “Roosevelt” from New York (film)
Matt Henson recollections on the day he retired
Robert E. Peary & the North Pole front-page newspaper coverage
More newspaper articles about Robert E. Peary & the North Pole
Topics in Chronicling America – The Race to the North Pole
Related resources
- Primary Source Spotlight: Frederick A. Cook
- Guided Primary Source Analysis: A coldness between them
- Who Discovered the North Pole? Smithsonian Magazine April 2009
- World Spotlight: Arctic Circle & the North Pole primary sources and more