The Peary Expedition of 1908–1909 was Robert Peary's sixth Arctic expedition and his third attempt to reach the North Pole, completed on April 6, 1909. According to Peary, it concluded his 23-year struggle to conquer the North Pole. The expedition set exclusively sporting objectives, and its contribution to science was therefore modest. After the return, Peary's achievement was questioned by Frederick Cook, who claimed to have reached the North Pole earlier: on April 21, 1908. The dispute has not been settled to this day, and in the second half of the twentieth century theories spread that Peary had not reached the North Pole at all.

Background Attempts to reach the North Pole before Peary The first attempts to reach the North Pole across the drift ice date to the early nineteenth century. An attempt using man-hauled sledges was made by the English officer William Edward Parry, who departed from Svalbard and reached 82° 45′ N in July 1827. From the mid-century, the American expeditions of Kane and Hayes were the first to attempt to push into the high latitudes of the Arctic from the direction of Greenland and the Canadian Arctic archipelago. The Americans sought to reach the Pole via Nares Strait – a route known in the historical literature as the "American route" (though first described by the Russian officer F. P. Wrangel). In 1871, the American Charles Francis Hall reached 82° 11′ N aboard the Polaris, but Parry's record was not broken. The British Arctic Expedition followed the same route aboard the ships Alert and Discovery, but in the 1875 navigation season managed to reach only 82° 24′ N. In May 1876, the polar party of Albert Markham surpassed Parry's record by 35′, or 65 km. The expedition concluded with its commander firmly convinced that the North Pole was unattainable. On that way, Markham employed for the first time the system of auxiliary support groups.

The British scepticism did not trouble the publisher of the New York Herald, J. Bennett, who in 1879 became the principal sponsor of an expedition led by naval officer George W. De Long aboard the yacht Jeannette. Its aim was to reach the Pole from the Bering Strait, but in September 1879 Jeannette became trapped in the ice of the Chukchi Sea. The drift ran in a north-westerly direction, and in June 1881 Jeannette was crushed by ice pressure at 77° 15′ N – north of the New Siberian Islands and 800 km from inhabited land. The expedition members set out for the mainland in three whaleboats; one of them vanished with all hands, while De Long's group, led by the commander (11 men), perished to a man in the delta of the Lena from starvation. Of the 33 expedition members, only 13 survived. These losses were the greatest in the history of polar expeditions.

In 1884, objects from the Jeannette expedition were discovered on the south-eastern coast of Greenland. Norwegian meteorologist Henrik Mohn proposed the existence of a transpolar current and drift of ice from the Bering Strait across the North Pole to Greenland. This meant that had De Long possessed a more robust vessel, his enterprise might have succeeded. A major new breakthrough was Nansen's Fram expedition, organised on an entirely different principle: the specially built ice ship Fram was frozen into the drift ice west of the New Siberian Islands, which carried the expedition north-westward, though the current did not pass through the circumpolar region. During the expedition, its leader Fridtjof Nansen reached 86° 13′ 36″ N by sled drawn by 28 sled dogs on April 8, 1895. Headwinds and currents prevented the Norwegians from covering the 400 km separating them from the Pole.

Nansen's results were surpassed on April 25, 1900 by Captain Umberto Cagni of the expedition of the Duke of the Abruzzi. Operating from Franz Josef Land, the Italians reached 86° 34′ N, exceeding Nansen's mark by approximately 21′ (about 22 nautical miles or 41 km). This was achieved at great cost: three expedition members died. The record was set by inexperienced polar explorers using an excessive number of sled dogs – more than 100 – and the system of auxiliary support groups.

The next attempts to reach the North Pole in the early 20th century (for example, the Ziegler Expedition) were mainly conducted from Svalbard or Franz Josef Land, since the "American route" had been monopolised by Robert Peary, who tolerated no rivals.

In the view of glaciologist and historian of polar exploration , the results of attempts to reach the North Pole before the 20th century were as follows:

The polar problem arose in connection with attempts to find a direct route from Europe to the Pacific basin. Historically, the first base for reaching the Pole was the Svalbard archipelago, explored by European sailors since the 17th century; other routes to the Pole were reconnoitred later. In the mid-19th century, the "American route" was established through the system of straits separating Ellesmere Island from Greenland; the use of other routes – from the Bering Strait, Franz Josef Land, or Greenland – appears by comparison rather coincidental. The "American route" held a decisive advantage – the possibility of drawing on the labour and polar experience of the Eskimos of northern Greenland, who above all supplied sled dogs, built trail shelters (igloos), and so on. From the mid-19th century, researchers from the United States led in the exploration of the high Arctic latitudes; the role of other nations, including the British and Norwegians, does not appear numerically significant. The attainment of the North Pole fell in a historical period when the discovery of new lands and archipelagos – the elimination of "blank spots" on the world map – had virtually been completed, but when the study of natural, global processes was only just beginning. Polar expeditions revealed the limits of human physical capacity, demonstrated the exhaustion of traditional research methods, and introduced new technical means, primarily of transport.

Peary's 1886–1906 expeditions Although Robert Peary came to the Arctic almost by chance, he regarded reaching the North Pole as the great work of his life. Of his 63 years, 23 were devoted to expeditions, spending a total of 18 years in the Far North (with five spent on preparation for the journeys). Like Nansen, Peary had been drawn in by the report of Nordenskiöld, who in 1883 had penetrated quite deep into the Greenland ice sheet. However, the Navy declined to fund the venture, for which Peary's mother lent him $500.

Peary conducted the following expeditions:

Greenland, 1886. Peary arrived at Qeqertarsuaq on a small yacht, Eagle. There he purchased two sleds, hired eight Eskimos, and on June 23 set out into the interior of the glacier. He was also accompanied by the assistant to the Danish governor, Christian Maigaard. Having covered 100 miles (160 km) over 26 travel days and reaching an altitude of 2,294 m, Peary was forced to turn back: provisions remained for only six days. After the expedition, Peary was obliged to spend five years seeking funds for the next journey, during which time Greenland was crossed in 1888 by Nansen and Sverdrup without dogs and by a completely different route. Peary was greatly aggrieved at Nansen, believing that he had appropriated his idea. Greenland, 1891–1892. The expedition included the Norwegian Eivind Astrup, the physician Frederick Cook, Matthew Henson – Peary's constant servant and assistant since 1887 – and Peary's wife, Josephine Diebitsch. Departing on May 3, 1892 from Whale Sound with 20 dogs, Peary and Astrup covered 1,250 miles (2.010 km) before arriving back at their winter quarters on 6 August, becoming the first to reach the northern coast of Greenland. This expedition established Peary's reputation as a major polar explorer and greatly eased the raising of funds for subsequent journeys. Greenland, 1893–1895. This explored the north-western coast of Greenland and again included Eivind Astrup and Josephine Peary. With Eskimo guides, Peary discovered about 40 miles (65 km) east of Cape York the site of three giant iron meteorite fragments, uncovering one of them. (Eventually he managed to transport all three and sell them to the American Museum of Natural History in New York.) In spring 1895, he again reached the northern coast of Greenland, discovering Peary Land. He concluded that this area was the only possible base for reaching the North Pole. During the winter quarters, Robert and Josephine Peary's daughter, Marie Ahnighito, was born. Greenland and Ellesmere Island, 1898–1902. This was Peary's first expedition to have the explicit goal of reaching the North Pole. It was financed by the Peary Arctic Club, founded by a number of members of the American elite. The expedition vessel was the yacht Windward, which had previously served Jackson. The intended base was Fort Conger on the coast of Ellesmere Island, but severe ice conditions stopped the ship 150 miles short of its goal. The base had to be supplied during the polar night, with temperatures dropping to −67 °C, as a result of which Peary suffered frostbite to eight toes, which had to be amputated. Nevertheless, by spring 1899 Peary again set out for the northern coast of Greenland. Simultaneously, Sverdrup's Fram expedition was operating on Ellesmere Island – a rival Peary regarded as a competitor in the race for the Pole. Because of this, no meeting between the two famous polar explorers ever took place. Peary reached Cape Washington (82° 23′ N), which he considered the northernmost point of land and the best departure base for the polar march. In 1899, the Arctic Club sent a supply ship, allowing the expedition to extend its stay in the Arctic. In 1900, Peary reached what he thereupon named Cape Morris Jesup, the actual northernmost point of Greenland. The expedition's greatest achievement was charting the northern coastline of Greenland and Grant Land (the northern part of Ellesmere Island). In spring 1902, Peary set out from Cape Hecla accompanied by Henson and four Eskimos toward the North Pole, reaching 84° 17′ N. Central Arctic, 1905–1906. A specially designed vessel, the Roosevelt, was constructed for the expedition, named after the President of the United States. Favourable weather allowed passage as far as Cape Sheridan, to which 67 Eskimos and about two hundred dogs were also transported. For the first time, Peary employed the system of intermediate depots and support groups. The march toward the North Pole began on March 6, 1906; Peary was accompanied by Henson and six Eskimos. Extensive leads, young ice, and severe blizzards prevented progress to the Pole, not least because the ice fields were drifting eastward. Peary resolved at least to break the record set by Umberto Cagni, and on April 21 reached, by Peary's account (which has been questioned), 87° 6′ N – 320 km short of the Pole. Owing to the ice drift, the party emerged onto the northern coast of Greenland with provisions almost exhausted. The return was possible only after the chance discovery of muskoxen. On his return, Peary received awards from the US government and resolved to make one final attempt to reach the North Pole.

Preparations Plan Peary published his plans for the polar march in several periodicals in early May 1908. The Roosevelt was to proceed through Belle Isle Strait, Davis Strait, and Baffin Bay to Whale Sound, where, after taking on dogs and Eskimos, it would continue to Cape Sheridan to winter. The sledge journey would begin from Cape Columbia in February. The course would have a north-westerly offset to compensate for the eastward drift of the ice. According to Peary, the plan was borne out in every detail.

Equipment and finances

The outfitting of the polar march was complicated by the aftermath of the 1907 financial crisis. Peary wrote: