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.