Modern Era · North America · Exploration

1909

Peary claims the North Pole

April 6, 1909

After years of failed pushes across broken Arctic ice, Robert Peary, his partner Matthew Henson, and four Inuit guides stood at what Peary reckoned was ninety degrees north. His rival Frederick Cook said he had been there first. The feud ran for decades. The top of the world had been reached, or close enough.