North Pole Research Paper

To this day all of America celebrates Columbus Day in honor of him discovering North America. But what if a mistake was made in acknowledging Columbus as the founder? What if somebody else found it first? Years later we’ve traced back 500 years before Columbus was even born and found that he was not the first person to discover America..a Viking named Leif Eriksson was. (Erikssons story was sadly duped with some made up story so no one knows for sure which story to believe.)

The opening up of the north polar sea between 1815 and 1817 had prompted Barrow to propose a plan to send two expedition voyages, one in search of the Northwest Passage and the other to proceed from the sea of Spitzbergen towards the North Pole. Accordingly he sent the plan to the President and Council of the Royal Society which duly returned with their approval and the orders were issued by the Board of the Admiralty. Examining such interplay between scientific institutions, such as the Royal Society and the British Admiralty, one can see a well defined division of labour, in the collaboration between gentleman scientists at home and their field workers in the navy ship on voyages of exploration, in which the navy sent the ship to collect

In Henry Hudson's day, it was trusted that there would be a sans ice entry around the North Pole in the late spring months. He was utilized by the Muscovy Company to find that course to the Orient. On May 1, 1607, Hudson, his child, and 11 other team individuals set sail and, following a month and a half, saw the east shoreline of Greenland. Toward the finish of June, they achieved West Spitsbergen Island, spotting many seals, walruses, and whales en route.

"We were the only pulsating creatures in a dead world of ice." This is a quote from famous North Pole explorer Frederick Albert Cook. He, along with explorer Robert Edwin Peary, are well known as the founders of the North Pole. However, nobody knows who the actual founder is. The controversy on who was the first to make it there is an ongoing one, with both explorers claiming to have made it there first. Cook claimed that he had made it a year earlier than Peary, but the argument can go both ways. With evidence supporting both sides, the conflict can go on and on. While both have well detailed journals, some believe that the necessary information is absent, which makes finding a solution difficult. Although resolving a founder for an area should be an easy task, the founder of the North Pole is a mystery we may never fully resolve.

In April of 1909 the North Pole was claimed, Peary made it! Yet, Robert Peary was not alone. Although, Peary would have liked to have claimed the Pole on his own, and as he said it “go it alone” (qtd. in Robinson 1), his plans changed the day he met Matthew Henson, who was by his side throughout every expedition. Many other men attempted to claim the North Pole, but Peary and Henson, two extraordinary men, managed to be the first to reach the “top of the world.” If Robert Peary went to the Pole without Henson he may have been just another man who only attempted.

Arctic and Polar explorer Robert Edwin Peary was born May 6, 1856 in Cresson, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Charles Nutter Peary and Mary Webster Wiley Peary. It was Robert’s life long dream to be the first to reach the top of the North Pole. Robert Peary faced many problems while on his trip to the North Pole. His need for privacy created his interest in exploring. Robert Peary wanted to explore the North Pole because he knew that nobody had never made it all of the way.

Amundsen was “...a man of towering ambition, prey to the same dangerous dreams and impulses that drive all explorers to risk their lives in wild places” (Alexander). The explorer had the burning passion for adventure, and was ambitious enough to risk his own life for it—a common trait heroes possess. Without ambitious, heroes would be left cowardly, unsure, and unable to complete their task—to reach their goal—as they do not have the driving force of determination and ambition to pull them through. Thus, with Amundsen’s naturally born interest and fiery ambition for exploring, he was willing to put his life on the line in order in order to reach his end goal of being the first to have traveled to the South Pole. Not only did the Norwegian display ambition, he also was strategic and skillful throughout his exploration to the Arctic. Børge Ousland, another Norwegian explorer, emphasized about how Amundsen “...always tried to learn from others. He identified the problem, then looked to solve the problem” (Alexander). Skill and strategy is a vital trait for heroes as confronting a problem without a proper plan would end in tragedy—making one seem foolish and incapable. Therefore, with Amundsen being able to solve his conflicts through careful thinking and by applying his knowledge, he proved to possess skill and a strong understanding of strategic planning. Lastly, Amundsen seized compassion. He became infatuated with exploration ever “since reading about it as a boy, [and] has been fascinated by Englishmen John Franklin’s disastrous search for the Northwest Passage” (Alexander), illustrating Amundsen’s early interest in his hobby. This early interest quickly grew, and soon drove him to begin his adventure towards the South Pole. His compassion drew him on, and soon after fulfilling his lifelong dream, “Amundsen wrote in his diary…‘My boyhood

In the fourth letter that Robert Walton wrote to his sister, Mrs. Saville, Robert explains his voyage to the North Pole when they were breached in between sheets of ice overnight. When they were first breached on the ice, Robert and his crew saw an unusual sighting where there was a gigantic figure on a sled in the distance. The figure gave them hope as they concluded that there must be land close. Then the next morning, another unusual sighting occurred and Robert made a very judgmental comment when he said, “Only one dog remained alive; but there was a human being within it, whom the sailors were persuading to enter the vessel” (Shelley 20). Although Robert judged the book by its cover, we later discovered that he has fulfilled his desire to find a friend, that he bitterly judged

On the 27 of December 1831 Charles Darwin set out on a voyage “round the world” aboard the H.M.S. Beagle with 73 men. The H.M.S. Beagle left Plymouth Harbor in the 27th but was actually ready to go on the 26th, even the weather was good, the only problem was that the crew members had been out drinking because the night before was Christmas. After they had set sail in the morning Darwin had gotten seasick and was already starting second guessing the voyage.

Sir Ernest Shackleton was a courageous and bold man; here are a few things about him. He knew all about the weather in Antarctica. Also, he was the first one ever to come into a 100-mile radius of Antarctica. He was as famous as famous could be, and was a hero to thousands who read his book “Furthest South” expedition. He was also the leader of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, and before he set out on the Endurance he had already been to the Antarctic twice. There was a race to the South Pole and Shackleton just had to win it. But, Shackleton’s attempt abruptly came to a stop because he was thrown back by terrible weather conditions, weather conditions 20 times worse than Michigan’s winter. The prize went to Amundsen on December 14,

I choose to write my critical essay on renowned Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton and his book, South: The story of Shackleton’s Last Expedition. The story of Shackleton’s leadership and perseverance against impossible odds in leading his men to safety after becoming stranded in the Antarctic pack ice has always held great interest for me. Shackleton’s example of leadership is so extraordinary that today, over 100 years later, it is still pointed to as one of the finest examples of great leadership ever recorded. For me personally the story stirs memories of the stories I read as a young boy. Tales of adventure, exploration, conquering one’s own fears, innovation, and survival all held great interest for me. Living in Alaska, known as “The Last Frontier”, only made these stories more personal and fascinating to me.

Both the passage and speaker discussed that have had Peary reached to North Pole. While the passage states that he has reached pole, the speaker argues that there not evidence can prove he has been there.

In the reading, the author claims that the Robert E.Peary reached to the North pole in 1909 by pointing out of the three reasons of support. However, finding all ideas questionable and implausible, the lecturer repudiates the claim and presents some evidence to the contrary.

After spending the winter in Vinland, Leif sailed back to Greenland, and never returned to North American shores.Erikson was an Icelandic explorer and probably the first European visitor to North America, 500 years before Christopher Columbus.Leif Erikson (also spelled Ericsson, or Eiriksson) was the second of three sons of Erik the Red, who established a settlement in Greenland after he was exiled from Iceland. Leif Erikson's story was recorded in several different sagas, but the accounts they give are so different it is impossible to be certain of the details of his life.

As of right now it is strongly believed that the Norse did not discover Maine. There is actually no hard evidence or specific geographic reference points that prove that they had ever visited Maine at all. There was at one point a Norse penny that was found in Maine but it is believed to have come from Northern Indians who brought it with them when they traveled south to Maine.