Who was the first explorer to reach the North Pole?

griffinj

Robert E. Peary led the first expedition to reach to North Pole. It arrived on April 6, 1909. http://www.explorenorth.com/library/weekly/aa081498.htm Nov 19 03, 12:30 AM

mk2norwich

I've a feeling there'll be controversy about that answer, griff, as there was when I used it in one of my pub quizzes! Nov 19 03, 12:36 AM

griffinj

Apparently the controversy is nothing new. Perhaps this site will help: http://www.robertepeary.com/index2.htm Pretty exhaustive, but for some all the research in the world won't change a thing. Nov 19 03, 12:56 AM

Gnomon

Peary is credited with the discovery but many people believe that Amundsen was in fact the first to reach the North Pole. Nov 19 03, 2:03 AM

griffinj

"(In) September 1909 when the news (of Peary reacing the North ploe) reached Amundsen... The original plan of the FRAM'S third voyage--the exploration of the North Polar basin--was quickly called off. In order to save the expedition, Amundsen immediately turned his attention to the South." http://www.northpole1909.com/davies.html http://www.south-pole.com/p0000101.htm Nov 19 03, 2:42 AM

Siskin

Peary was recently found to have been 30 miles short - so here are some new contenders: In 1948 Pavel Kononovich Sen'ko, Mikhail Michailovich Somov, Pavel Afanasyevich Geordiyenko and Mikhail Yemel' Yanovich Ostrekin were the undisputed first people to reach the North Pole over land according to the 1997 World Guinness Book of Records. http://the-north-pole.com/answers/a9.html Nov 19 03, 7:12 AM

gmackematix

Back in 1909 how did Peary and co or anyone else attempt to prove that they had hit the spot? If they left an object there it would have floated elsewhere by the time somebody returned. All we can say is that many explorers went near it but the probable truth is that we shall never really know. Nov 19 03, 8:11 PM