PEARY
PEARY
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pee, Mass. He engaged in farming in Ogle
county, 111., 1857-60, and in the real estate busi-
ness in Chicago, 111., 1860-87. He was alderman
of the city of Chicago, 1873-76, and during the
financial crisis wlien certificates of indebtedness
were issued for the payment of city debts, he
was largely instrumental in the restoration of
the credit of the city. He retired from active
business in 1887, but retained the directorship in
the Cliicago City Railway Co., and in other
corporations. He gave sums of money aggregat-
ing $3,500,000 to various educational and other
institutions, including McCormick Tlieological
seminary ; Chicago Theological seminary ; Lake
Forest college : Beloit college ; Yukon college,
S.D. ; Mount Holyoke college ; Drury college ;
Colorado college, and Knox college.
PEARY, Robert Edwin, explorer, was born in Cresson, Pa., May 6, 1856; son of Charles and Mary (Willey) Peary. His ancestors were Maine lumbermen. His father died in 1858, and he removed with his mother to Portland, Maine, where he prepared for college. He was graduated from Bow- doin in 1877, second in a class of fifty-one ; was a land surveyor in Fryeburg, Maine, 1877-79, and was em- ployed in the U.S. coast and geodetic survey, Washington, D.C., 1879-81. In 1881 he passed the navy department ex- mination for the ad- mission of civil en- gineers, and in the same year planned and built a new pier at Key West, Fla., at nearly $30,000 less than the previous estimate, though the contractors had given it up as impossible at the estimated cost. He was in Nicaragua as sub-chief of the Inter-Oceanic canal survey, 1884-85, and after his return conceived the idea of making an arctic exploring expedition. In May, 1886, having obtained a six months' leave of absence from the navy depart, ment, he started for Greenland, penetrating farther into the interior than any white man had ever gone before. After his return he was engineer-in-chief of the surveys of the Nicaragua canal, 1886-88, and in 1888 was sent to superin- tend the building of the new dry dock at the League Island navy yard, Philadelphia. In the same year he was married to Josephine Diebitsch. Meanwhile he was devoting all his leisure to plans for future explorations, and in June, 1891, having obtained eighteen months' leave of absence
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from the navy he started to discover the northern
limits of Greenland and perhaps to reach the
pole. He was accompanied by Mrs. Peary and a
small party. In the spring of 1893 he started
north with a single companion. In forty days
they covered 600 miles, and on July 4 reached the
rocky northern shore of Greenland which no
man had ever seen before. Peary named the
hill on which the American flag was set up,
" Navy Cliff" ; the bay he called " Independence
Bay " in honor of the day, and the land visible
across the bay "Melville and Heilprin " lands.
Returning, he reached McCormick Bay in August
and thence the party sailed to New York. He was
received with enthusiasm, was awarded several
medals from learned societies, and the name Peary-
land was suggested by Pettermann's Mitteilungen
and adopted for North Greenland. He at once
planned another expedition, and securing a three
years' leave of absence, started on a lecturing tour
to secure funds. He spoke 168 times in 96 days, and
thus earned $18,000, meanwhile dictating matter
for his book. He also obtained contributions from
scientific societies, |2000 from a New York news-
paper for letters, and a considerable sum from a
book written by Mrs. Peary. After the Falcon had
been chartered and the equipment provided, the
funds were exhausted, and the deficiency was
supplied by exhibiting the ship at various large
cities. The expedition sailed in June, 1893, Mrs.
Peary accompanying her husband. A daughter,
Marie, was born in Greeland in tliis year, and
Mrs. Peary returned on the first relief ship,
together with all the party, save Lieutenant Peary
and two men. In April, 1895, they started to cross
the ice-cap and after fearful hardsliips reached a
latitude of 81° 47', ten miles farther north than
Peary had gone before, when they were forced to
turn back for lack of provisions. In 1896 and
1897 he made two voyages, discovering and
bringing back the Cape York meteorites, the
largest in the world, one of which weighed forty
tons. In 1898 he lectured before the London
Geographical society, and was the recipient of
numerous honors. A four years' leave of
absence from the navy was secured in 1897 ; the
Peary Arctic club was .formed, and in 1899 he
started well equipped on his fifth expedition,
which he stated would be his last. He arrived
at Brigus, Newfoundland, Sept. 10, 1899, and
spent the winter among the Eskimos at Etah,
Greenland, During the first winter out, while
on the march to Fort Conger, both his feet were
frost-bitten, necessitating tlie amputation of
seven toes. In 1900 he rounded the northern
limit of the Greenland archipelago, the most
northerl}'^ known land in the world ; attained the
higliest latitude reached in the western hemis-
phere, 80°' 50 N., and determined the origin of
