On Tue, 17 Sep 1996, Slawomir K. Grzechnik wrote: > At 12:23 PM 9/17/96 GMT, you wrote: > >This is a very lucid reply from Slawomir, but I think it contains one > >error. Although Peary is credited with reaching the north pole, if memory > >serves me correct (and I admit it frequently does not these days!), > >recent research on Peary's diary shows that he did NOT reach the pole. > >Worse still, he KNEW he had not made it, but fudged the readings, and was > >(and still is) feted as a national hero. I have a newspaper cutting from > >a fairly recent edition (1996) of the English paper "The Daily Telegraph" > >which details it; if anyone wants the reference I will try to remember to > >sort it out tonight (but as I've said, my memory......). > > > >Peter Tandy > > On Tue, 17 Sep > >1996 00:46:08 -070, Slawomir K. Grzechnik writes: > > Thanks Peter. I know that there was some doubt about reaching the North Pole > by Peary in his own time. Fortunately such doubt never existed in case of > the South Pole. All three great explorers, that is Shackleton (he nearly > made it few years before Norwegians), Amundsen and Scott had reputations > beyond all doubt. > > I would be interested if you sent me the reference to "The Daily Telegraph" > dealing with the matter of the North Pole. > > By the way, Amundsen after reaching the South Pole remarked that no human > was ever farther away (geographically) from his dreams than he himself. > Because his dream was always the North Pole. > > Imagine that only about 80 years ago there was still such a chalenge as > reaching the Poles. > > - Slawek Grzechnik >
There is also an article about Peary in the London Times for 15 Nov 1988. I believe there was also something about the results of the investigation of Peary's claims in the National Geographic shortly after this--but I would have to check back issues. Apparently Peary's actual notes showed that he was about 90 miles away from the pole. Suspicions are also aroused by the way Peary later stuck an extra page in his notebook, saying "The Pole at last!!!". Why not write it in the notebook itself? I often use this incident as an example to my students to show why they must keep a detailed, contemporary, *honest* notebook for their investigations in the laboratory. Mike Dworetsky, Department of Physics | Haiku: Nine men ogle gnats & Astronomy, University College London | all lit Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT UK | till last angel gone. email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | Men in Ukiah.
