Episode 22: The Top of the World, Part II

Matthew Henson, 1909 - after returning from the North Pole

Robert Peary and Matt Henson's chief rival Dr. Fredrick Cook emerged from the Artic in 1909, just a few weeks before Peary and his team returned, and claimed he had reached the North Pole in April 1908 - nearly a full year before Peary and Henson.

Cook's fame was short-lived. Once his evidence was examined, it was determined that he did not get anywhere near the North Pole. In fact, he never lost sight of solid land during his trip and was soon revealed to be a fraud.

Cook's alleged photo at the North Pole

Cook's other supposed arctic achievement, becoming the first person to summit Mt. McKinley (now Mt. Denali) in Alaska, was also proven to be a hoax. His famous summit photo was actually taken at a location still known as Fake Peak today. At just over 5,000 feet, Fake Peak is nearly 15,000 feet below the summit of Mt. Denali.

Promoted to Rear Admiral in recognition of his many years of service in the US Navy, Robert Peary was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Initially laid to rest in Section 3, he was moved to Section 8, Lot 15 two years after his death so a monument could be placed over his grave. Today, the large globe monument is just behind two simple markers over Robert and Josephine Peary's graves.

After being denied many of the same accolades as the white members of Peary's 1908-1909 Arctic Expedition, expedition member Donald MacMillan did much to make sure Henson got the recognition he was due before his death at age 88. In 1954, Henson was honored by President Dwight Eisenhower at the White House on the 45th anniversary of the North Pole expedition.

In 1988, about 30 years after his death, Henson and his wife Lucy's remains were moved from Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, where they will rest beside Bert and Jo Peary for all time, in recognition of Peary and Henson's equal partnership.

Marie Ahnighito Peary, the first child of Robert and Jo, born in the arctic to much fame back in America, is also buried at Arlington. She is near her parents in Section 8, Grave 5190-6. She happened to be eligible for burial there because her husband, William Stafford, served in the Coastal Artillery Corps during World War I. In 1932, she traveled to the arctic to dedicate a monument in Greenland to her father and his expeditions.

We may never know if Peary and Henson actually made it all the way to 90 degrees north latitude, but we think they at least got pretty close. I personally think that arctic adventurers are absolutely crazy, but I do admit that if I was given a chance to visit with the dangers of an overland over-ice trek, I would go in a heartbeat.

Copyright: Leifur Örn Svavarsson (not me!)

And one final picture, because I think it's a neat one. On March 17, 1955, the USS Skate became the first submarine to breach through the ice at the North Pole.