The myth that Peary may have missed the North Pole by up to 30-60 miles West is a recent one (Wally Herbert's book, 1988) that may be approaching "urban legend status". In the last 15 years a certain segment of the public have begun to believe it is true without any substantial proof. There is abundant evidence supporting Peary's achievement, and no legitimate evidence refuting it. Every fact agrees that Peary did reach the North Pole, exactly as he had stated, within the limits of accuracy of his sextant.

Peary's 1909 achievement was neither doubted by the press nor the public despite Frederick Cook's claim to have reached the Pole before Peary. While Cook was quickly exposed as a fraud, Peary's success was constantly accepted.

The roots of this contemporary controversy can be directly traced to Cook's vindictive book, My Attainment of the Pole, written with encouragement from his supporters in 1911. Cook joined the Chautauqua lecture circuit for many years (1912–1918) to promote this book while publishing additional editions totaling 60,000 copies. These were sold as he traveled from city to city. Many copies were simply given to the press.

By 1917 a Cook supporter, Thomas Hall, published a similar anti-Peary work Has the North Pole Been Discovered? Cook also had a congressman lobbying on his behalf. These events became the basis of all subsequent literature claiming Peary was a fraud. After Cook's death in 1940 his descendents perpetuated what became a family vendetta to discredit Peary. 

Cook's grand daughter, Janet Vetters, was a tireless troublemaker who hounded 80 year old members of Peary's expedition to make statements supportive of Cook. None would oblige her. Vetters' correspondence, now preserved in archives, shows that she encouraged numerous writers to publish books or magazine articles supporting Cook. She was able to inspire a TV movie starring Richard Chamberlain as an innocent Fred Cook cheated out of his North Pole achievement by Peary. This created a series of events leading to Wally Herbert's publication (1988) of the worst anti-Peary work ever written; Noose of Laurels.

From Vetter's will in 1989 was born the $1,000,000.00 tax-exempt, trust-funded Frederick A. Cook Society. This not for profit corporation pays for endless pro-Cook propaganda to writers, the media, and all major encyclopedias. They provided materials, for example, that assisted Robert Bryce to produce his 1100 page biography of Cook (1997) that claimed to prove Peary never reached the Pole. Instead it only proved Cook was a criminal fraud. Only 5 pages were devoted to Peary.

Referring to Peary critics in 1990 the National Geographic Society's (NGS) Gilbert Grosvenor had written "... beyond healthy controversy lies darker and more dubious ground." In an effort to fairly resolve this matter the Society commissioned the Navigation Foundation to examine all evidence of Peary's North Pole expedition.

Their report was published in a book and also as an article that appeared in the January, 1990 NGS Magazine titled New Evidence Places Peary at the Pole by Thomas D. Davies, Rear Admiral USN (Ret.) Admiral Davies' son Douglas assisted with research for this and for the book length Navigation Foundation Report.  After Admiral Davies death, his son Doug's involvement led to a permanent interest in this area. Doug now enjoys a collection of all the major books on this subject in addition to the celestial navigation instruments, including a mercury artificial horizon, and Waltham watches like Peary used. He has the same model Kodak camera Peary used in 1909. With this Davies has refined the accuracy of photogrammetric tests used to determine Peary's 1909 latitude.

Davies is the only writer on this subject who can explain with reliable authority how each Peary critic went wrong. An attorney by profession, he brings a highly educated and disciplined intellect to this subject; an expert understanding of the scientific and mathematical aspects of this subject coupled with extensive factual knowledge of Peary's expeditions. Doug's examinations of the classic Peary myths are not simply a matter of his opinion, but rather of demonstrable fact that will satisfy any intelligent person.

Davies forensic historical re-examination redeems our historical past while providing and enlightening journey that applies brilliance to a murky area that had virtually swallowed up a heroic team comprised of a Naval officer, his black assistant, 4 loyal Inuit guides, and their ship load of team mates; legendary men who had a worthy goal— to be the first to reach an axis of the earth and stand on top of the world. To their immense credit they did indeed accomplish it. Yet only after 90 years of ignorant criticism can we confirm it scientifically, with even greater certainty, if that is possible, than it was affirmed nearly 100 years ago.

So next time you here someone say Peary didn't reach the Pole, keep in mind that you are listening to propaganda generated by a 90 year old vendetta. It is a lie, but one that has a $1,000,000 trust fund dedicated to perpetuating it. You may also realize that the fact that Peary took a Negro has a lot to do with this. So why did Peary take Henson? Let Commander Donald B. MacMillan, a team member, tell you in his own words.

(From actual newspaper clipping; spelling is left as in original)

"The rest of us were tenderfeet compared with the Negro, Matt Henson...Henson is probably the best  dog driver in the world to-day. He could talk the Eskimo language like a native. He could get along better with the natives than any of us; the Eskimos all liked him. He was the only man in the party who could build a snow house. He made every sledge and every cookstove used on the route to the Pole. Henson was altogether the most efficient man with Peary. By Marvin and Bartlett's observations he was only 120 miles from the Pole when they left him and he was stocked with food enough to go fifty miles beyond it. Peary, Henson and the four Eskimos said they travelled five long marches after we left them, sufficient to reach the Pole and then go ten miles further."

END

Rusty Robinson, April, 2002