Frederick Cook in arctic gear

Frederick Cook on South Michigan Avenue in Chicago

A photo from Cook's 1909 arctic expedition, which he alleged was taken at or near the North Pole

Frederick Albert Cook (June 10, 1865 - August 5, 1940) was an American explorer and physician. Frederick Cook, taken from [1] and uploaded for use in that article by me. ... Frederick Cook, taken from [1] and uploaded for use in that article by me. ... Frederick Cook, taken from [1] (a Library of Congress page) and uploaded for use in that article by me. ... Frederick Cook, taken from [1] (a Library of Congress page) and uploaded for use in that article by me. ... Chicago (officially named the City of Chicago) is the third largest city in the United States (after New York City and Los Angeles), with an official population of 2,896,016, as of the 2000 census. ... A photo of Frederick Cooks 1909 arctic expedition. ... A photo of Frederick Cooks 1909 arctic expedition. ... June 10 is the 161st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (162nd in leap years), with 204 days remaining. ... 1865 is a common year starting on Sunday. ... August 5 is the 217th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (218th in leap years), with 148 days remaining. ... 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... See also explorations, sea explorers, astronaut, conquistador, travelogue, the History of Science and Technology and Biography. ... Physician examining a child A physician is a person who practices medicine. ...

Cook was born at Hortonville, New York, on June 10, 1865. His parents were Dr. Theodore A. Koch and Magdalena Koch, nee Long, recent German immigrants to the USA. Official language(s) None, English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 27th 141,205 km² 455 km 530 km 13. ...

He attended Columbia University and subsequently New York University, from which he received his M.D. in 1890. In 1889 he married Libby Forbes, who died in 1890 of childbirth. On his thirty-seventh birthday he married Marie Fidele Hunt; they had one daughter, Helen. In 1923 they were divorced. Columbia University is a private university in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City and a member of the Ivy League. ... New York University (NYU) is a major research university in New York City. ... The Medicinæ Doctor or Doctor of Medicine (M.D. or D.M.) is a doctorate level degree held by medical doctors. ... 1890 (MDCCCXC) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar). ...

Cook was the surgeon on Robert Peary's 1891-92 Arctic expedition, and on the Belgian Antarctic Expedition of 1897-99 led by Adrien de Gerlache. He contributed greatly to saving the lives of the crew when their ship was ice-bound during the winter. He also met Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, with whom he established a friendship and life-long relationship of mutual respect. A typical modern surgical operation For other uses, see Surgery (disambiguation). ... Robert Edwin Peary (May 6, 1856 – February 20, 1920) was an American explorer who is usually credited as the first person, on April 6, 1909, to reach the geographic North Pole. ... The red line indicates the 10°C isotherm in July, commonly used to define the Arctic region border The Arctic is the u area around the Earths North Pole. ... The Belgian Antarctic Expedition of 1897 to 1899, named after its expedition vessel Belgica, was the first expedition to winter in the Antarctic region. ... Adrien Victor Joseph de Gerlache de Gomery (2 August 1866-4 December 1934) was an officer in the Belgian Royal Navy, who led the Belgian Antarctic Expedition of 1897-1899. ... Roald Amundsen Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (July 16, 1872–June 18?, 1928) was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. ...

In 1903 Cook led an expedition to Mount McKinley, and claimed to have made the first ascent in 1906 on his second attempt. After the Mount McKinley expedition, Cook returned to the Arctic in 1907 for what he said was intended to be only a hunting expedition. But then Cook decided to make an attempt to reach the North Pole in the spring of 1908, taking with him only two Inuit men, Ahwelah and Etukishook. Cook claimed to have reached the pole on April 21, 1908 after travelling north from Axel Heiberg Island. Living off local game, his party pushed south to winter on Devon Island; from there they traveled north, crossing the Nares Strait to the village of Anoatok on the Greenland side in the spring of 1909, almost dying of starvation during the journey. Denali redirects here. ... The red line indicates the 10°C isotherm in July, commonly used to define the Arctic region border The Arctic is the u area around the Earths North Pole. ... 1907 (MCMVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... The North Pole is the northernmost point on the Earth. ... 1908 (MCMVIII) is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... April 21 is the 111th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (112th in leap years). ... 1908 (MCMVIII) is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Axel Heiberg Island within Nunavut Axel Heiberg Island is one of the Queen Elizabeth Islands in Nunavut Territory,Canada. ... Devon Island, Nunavut. ... The Nares strait is a waterway between Canadas Ellesmere Island and Greenland which connects Baffin Bay to the Arctic Ocean. ... 1909 (MCMIX) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

In the view of polar historians such as Pierre Berton (Berton, 1988), Cook's story of his trek around the Arctic islands is probably legitimate, but it is doubtful that he actually reached the pole. Cook's claim was initially widely believed because reporters were convinced of his honesty and sincerity. But it was disputed by Cook's rival polar explorer Robert Peary, who claimed to have reached the North Pole himself in April, 1909. Cook initially congratulated Peary for his achievement, but Peary and his supporters launched a campaign to discredit Cook. Pierre Berton Pierre Francis Berton, CC , O.Ont , BA , D.Litt (July 12, 1920 – November 30, 2004) was a noted Canadian author of non-fiction, especially Canadiana and Canadian history, and was a well-known television personality and journalist. ... Robert Edwin Peary (May 6, 1856 – February 20, 1920) was an American explorer who is usually credited as the first person, on April 6, 1909, to reach the geographic North Pole. ... Template:AprillCalendar Look up Aprill in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... 1909 (MCMIX) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

Cook could never produce instruments or detailed original records to substantiate his claim to have reached the North Pole. He had left these behind in Greenland with American hunter Harry Whitney, rather than risk transporting them further by sledge. When Whitney tried to bring them with him on his return to the USA on Peary's ship, Peary refused to allow them on board. Whitney abandoned them in Greenland and they were never recovered. Cook's Inuit companions also gave conflicting stories about where they had gone with him. For more detail see Bryce, 1997 and Henderson, 2005. The conflicting, and possibly dual fraudulent claims, of Cook and Peary prompted Roald Amundsen to take particularly extensive precautions in navigation during his South Pole expedition to leave no room for doubt concerning attainment of the pole. See Polheim. Roald Amundsen Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (July 16, 1872–June 18?, 1928) was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. ... Polheim, Home of the Pole, was Roald Amundsens name for his camp (the first ever) at the South Pole. ...

It was in this atmosphere that it was first alleged that Cook's ascent of Mt McKinley was fraudulent. Ed Barrill, his companion on the ascent, signed an affadavit denying that they had reached the top, but there is some evidence that he was paid by Peary supporters to do so (Henderson, 2005). A photograph purporting to show the summit was found to have been taken on a smaller mountain 19 miles away. One expedition by the Mazama Club in 1910 reported that Cook's map departed abruptly from reality while the summit was still 10 miles distant, but another 1910 expedition verified much of Cook's account (Henderson, 2005).

Cook's reputation never recovered, and Peary's claim was widely accepted. Cook spent much of the rest of his life continuing to write defenses of his trip to the pole and attempting to sue writers who claimed that he had faked the trip. In 1923 he was convicted of stock fraud, and was imprisoned until 1930. He was pardoned by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1940, shortly before his death on August 5. 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1930 (MCMXXX) is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945), 32nd President of the United States, the longest-serving holder of the office and the only person to be elected President more than twice, was one of the central figures of 20th century history. ... 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Cook is a major character in a fiction book, The Navigator of New York, by Wayne Johnston, published in 2003. In recent years Peary's account has encountered renewed criticism and skepticism (Henderson, 2005). Which man, if either, was first to reach the North Pole continues to be a matter of considerable controversy. At the end of his 1911 book, Cook wrote: I have stated my case, presented my proofs. As to the relative merits of my claim, and Mr Peary's, place the two records side by side. Compare them. I shall be satsified with your decision. Wayne Johnston (born 1958 in in Goulds, Newfoundland) is a Canadian novelist. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

References

• Pierre Berton, The Arctic Grail, McClelland and Stewart, 1988.
• Robert M. Bryce, Cook & Peary : the polar controversy, resolved (Stackpole Books, 1997)
• Robert M. Bryce (1997). The Fake Peak revisited. DIO 7 (3), 41-76. http://www.dioi.org/vols/w73.pdf
• Bruce Henderson, True North, W. W. Norton and Company, 2005.

Pierre Berton Pierre Francis Berton, CC , O.Ont , BA , D.Litt (July 12, 1920 – November 30, 2004) was a noted Canadian author of non-fiction, especially Canadiana and Canadian history, and was a well-known television personality and journalist. ...

External links

• Frederick A. Cook Society
• Frederick A. Cook: from Hero to Humbug