The Big Chill

Happy Birthday to Robert Peary!

Explorer and cartographer Robert Peary was born on this day in 1856. Early in his career, Peary worked on several surveys sponsored by the U.S. government and explored the tropical regions of Nicaragua.

After reading about the uncharted Arctic, Peary put on his parka and headed north. He led eight expeditions to polar regions and greatly expanded knowledge of the geography and Eskimo cultures he encountered. Peary is particularly noted for his intrepid expedition to the North Pole, which he and a small party conquered on April 6, 1909.

In this painting by William H. Johnson, Peary (right) stands next to his associate Matthew Henson, who—along with four Eskimos—reached the North Pole with Peary.

John Dunmore and George Critcherson took the photograph below during their 1869 Arctic expedition. In 1873, the photographers published a volume of their images, which might have inspired Peary's famous explorations.

Pictured top: William H. Johnson, 1901–70, Commodore Peary and Henson at the North Pole, about 1945, oil on paperboard, 27 5/8 x 35 5/8 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation.

Pictured bottom: John L. Dunmore and George P. Critcherson, both active 1865–75, Arctic Regions: Page 34, No. 41, Enlarged View of No. 33, 1869, published 1873, albumen print on paper mounted on paperboard, 6 1/8 x 8 1/4 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, museum purchase from the Charles Isaacs Collection made possible in part by the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment.