Cook and Peary : the polar controversy, resolved

Frederick A. Cook and Robert E. Peary, rival explorers, both claimed in 1909 to have been the first to reach the North Pole. Peary, claiming he had reached the Pole in April 1909, disputed Cook's claim to have reached the Pole in April 1908. The controversy was played out in the press at the time and Cook's claim generally came to be regarded as a hoax and doubt was then also cast on his 1906 ascent of Mount McKinley. Subsequent commissions, congressional hearings and investigations have been inconclusive and neither claim has been effectively verified since. Doubt remains about both claims with the lack of reliable and independently verifiable sources. This work draws on diaries, private letters, newspaper reports, trial records and other primary sources to examine the careers of the two rival explorers, their polar journeys and subsequent controversy in an attempt to identify which explorer had been the first to reach the North Pole. The text is supported by detailed source notes and a bibliography.