Peary

Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)

2026 Editor's Note: This page uses language about race that was commonplace when the book was published and is offensive by today's standards. The text has been left exactly as it was printed, rather than cut or softened, so that the historical record — including how ordinary such language once was — is preserved. (Ed: ET 2026-07-22) ROBERT EDWIN, an Arctic explorer and civil engineer in the United States navy; born in Cresson, Pa., May 6, 1856; was graduated at Bowdoin College, and in 1885 became a civil engineer engineer in the United States navy, with rank of lieutenant. In 1886 he made the a journey of reconnoisance to Greenland advancing for over 100 miles on the interior ice. In 1891 and 1893 he made other trips to the Polar regions, in which he was accompanied, as far as the winter quarters, by his wife, Josephine Diebitsch Peary, author of "My Arctic Journey." In these expeditions he made excursions on a sledge along the coast of Greenland, and traversed the inland ice from McCormick Bay to the N. E. angle ROBERT E. PEARY of Greenland (Independence Bay). He proved the convergence of the E. and W. coasts of northern Greenland, and almost with positiveness the insularity of the mainland. He discovered new lands (Melville Land and Heilprin Land), and named many glaciers. In May, 1896, Lieutenant Peary made a successful expedition to Greenland for the purpose of collecting specimens in natural history. He returned to Cape Breton, September 27. In 1897 he was given leave of absence by the government for the purpose of continuing his explorations, and to establish a station in the far N. of Greenland, which should be provisioned and supplied and made the basis of a series of annual expeditions into the Polar regions. He went N. in the summer of 1897 to take the necessary preliminary measures, such as securing the aid of the Eskimos, fixing the site of a station, etc. He returned in October of that year, bringing with him an immense mass of meteoric iron, or what is supposed to be such, from Cape York, Greenland, which was placed in the Museum of Natural History in New York City. On July 3, 1898, Lieutenant Peary again sailed in the "Hope" from St. John's, Newfoundland, to Sidney, Cape Breton, and from there to Cape York, Baffin's Bay. At that place the party and stores were transferred to the "Windward." In the party with Peary were Dr. T. F. Diedrich, Jr., of New Jersey, Mathew Henson, his colored servant, and Shakapsi, an Eskimo. They carried provisions for four years. In September, 1901 1901,, word was received from Peary that he had rounded the Greenland archipelago ( the extreme N. land THE "ROOSEVELT" known), and reached lat. 83° 50′ N. His final expedition in the ship "Roosevelt" left New York in July, 1908. He left his winter base at Cape Sheridan in February, and reached the Pole April 6, 1909, with one of his crew and four Eskimos. In 1911 Peary received the thanks of Congress and was promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral. Many of the principal scientific and geographical societies of Great Britain and the Continent awarded medals to Admiral Peary for his discoveries. He died in 1920.