Robert Peary

Rear Admiral Robert Peary
Peary in naval uniform circa 1911
Born	Robert Edwin Peary (1856-05-06)May 6, 1856 Cresson, Pennsylvania
Died	February 20, 1920(1920-02-20) (aged 63) Washington, D.C.
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Bowdoin College
Known for	Geographic North Pole
Spouse(s)	Josephine Diebitsch Peary Aleqasina
Children	Marie Ahnighito Peary Robert Edwin Peary, Jr. Kali Peary (by Aleqasina)
Awards	Cullum Geographical Medal (1896) Charles P. Daly Medal (1902) Hubbard Medal (1906)

Robert Edwin Peary, Sr. (May 6, 1856 – February 20, 1920) was an American explorer who claimed to have reached the geographic North Pole with his expedition on April 6, 1909. Peary's claim was widely credited for most of the 20th century, rather than the competing claim by Frederick Cook, who said he got there a year earlier. Both claims were widely debated in newspapers until 1913.

Based on an evaluation of Peary's records, British polar explorer Wally Herbert concluded in a 1989 book that Peary did not reach the pole, although he may have been as close as 60 miles (97 km). His conclusions have been widely accepted but are in turn disputed by other authorities. Altogether Peary made eight Arctic trips, his last two expeditions were solely for the purpose of trying to reach the North Pole.

Robert Edwin Peary was born on May 6, 1856, in Cresson, Pennsylvania, to Charles N. and Mary P. Peary. After his father Charles Peary died in 1859, Peary's mother took the boy with her and settled in Portland, Maine. After growing up in Portland, Peary attended Bowdoin College, some 36 miles (58 km) to the north. He was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon and Phi Beta Kappa fraternities while at college. He graduated in 1877 with a civil engineering degree.

After college, Peary worked as a draftsman making technical drawings in Washington, DC, at the US Coast and Geodetic Survey office. He joined the United States Navy and on October 26, 1881, was commissioned as a civil engineer, with the relative rank of lieutenant. From 1884 to 1885 he was assistant engineer on the surveys for the Nicaragua Canal, and later became the engineer in charge. As reflected in a diary entry he made in 1885, during his time in the Navy, he resolved to be the first man to reach the North Pole.

In April 1886 he wrote a paper for the National Academy of Sciences proposing two methods for crossing Greenland's ice cap. One was to start from the west coast and trek about 400 miles (640 km) to the east coast. The second, more difficult path was to start from Whale Sound at the top of the known portion of Baffin Bay and travel north to determine whether Greenland was an island or if it extended all the way across the Arctic (1,300 miles). Peary was promoted to the rank of lieutenant commander on January 5, 1901, and to commander on April 6, 1902.