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Frederik CookPolar explorer.
Date of Birth: 21.04.1908
Country:  Germany |
Content:
Biography of Frederick Cook
Early Life and EducationFrederick Albert Cook was born on June 10, 1865, on a small farm near Callicoon, on the Delaware River. He was the son of German immigrants and his father arrived from Hanover in 1850. In order to attend medical school at Columbia University, Cook had to earn money by delivering milk.
Interest in Arctic Exploration
Cook's interest in exploring the Arctic developed by chance. After reading an advertisement by Robert Peary in the "Brooklyn Standard Union" about recruiting volunteers for a North Greenland expedition, Cook responded to the offer. He was also influenced by Elisha Kane's book on the Arctic, which had inspired Peary to explore Greenland. Peary's testimonies about Cook in the early years of their collaboration, as well as other authoritative sources, indicate that Cook was an exemplary Arctic explorer.
Arctic Expeditions
After the Greenland expedition, Frederick Cook returned to medical practice in Brooklyn. At the insistence of friends, he decided to write an article about his ethnographic research, but he had to seek permission from Peary, as he was bound by certain obligations to him. Peary declined the request, and Cook immediately left the expedition. Their paths diverged.
Cook participated in two short excursions to the shores of Greenland. Then, from 1897 to 1899, he took part in the Belgian Antarctic Expedition. The expedition also included a young Norwegian navigator, Roald Amundsen, who would later become a renowned polar explorer. Cook and Dr. Amundsen were the only ones who maintained their strength and will to live. They hunted penguins and seals and ate fresh meat. Unfortunately, the expedition's leader not only refused to eat unfamiliar food himself but also forbade the rest of the team from doing so, resulting in scurvy affecting everyone. The expedition's leadership passed to Amundsen and Dr. Cook, who forced the healthier members to eat fresh meat every day. Within the first week, people began to noticeably recover. At the end of the expedition, Cook, the only non-Belgian member, was awarded the Belgian Order of Leopold.
North Pole Expedition
Despite the hardships during previous expeditions, Cook's interest in polar regions did not diminish. In 1906, he became the first person to climb Mount McKinley, the highest peak in North America, located in the center of Alaska. Inspired by Robert Peary, Cook set out to conquer the North Pole. In August 1907, he arrived by sea at a small settlement on the Greenland coast of the Smith Sound. Cook's polar expedition was organized quietly. A wealthy sportsman named John R. Bradley simply wanted to go hunting in the North. He provided the funds, and Cook organized the hunting expedition without revealing his further intentions. Cook intended to reach the pole together with two Inuit companions, using two sledges and 26 dogs.
Cook's expedition was organized no worse than Peary's, perhaps even more thoughtfully. Cook's polar plan was based on the full mobilization of human resources. There were no luxuries, only enough food to survive.
In late winter 1908, Cook led a team of 11 people on sledges pulled by dogs, heading west through Ellesmere Island and Axel Heiberg Island, establishing intermediate supply depots. On March 16, 1908, with two Inuit companions on two sledges pulled by dogs, he set off to the north. By the end of March, when Cook was approximately at 85° N latitude, he noticed signs of land to the west. However, he could not determine whether this land, which he named "Bradley Land," consisted of separate islands or was one large mass. It was a mythical land that was never discovered by anyone. However, it is possible that it belonged to the same family of Arctic "lands" that generations of polar explorers had been hunting for in vain, as most of these "lands" turned out to be mere mirages.
On April 21, 1908, Cook claimed to have reached the North Pole. However, like Peary, he used primitive instruments to determine his position and calculate the distance traveled. After a brief rest, the group turned south.
On the return journey, the temperature increased significantly, and the ice started to melt, making travel difficult and preventing the team from determining their position. Only in mid-June did Cook realize that the drifting ice had carried the group 185 kilometers west of Axel Heiberg Island, where the supply depots were located. The westward drift, which Cook discovered for the first time, contradicted the prevailing beliefs about ice movement in the Polar Basin and seemed like a blatant lie. Later studies confirmed the accuracy of Cook's observations.
After a long journey on the sea ice, the team finally reached solid ground - Amund Ringnes Island. At the end of summer, they reached Devon Island and had to spend part of the winter on the northern coast of the island at Cape Sparbo. It was only in April 1909 that they were able to return to the Inuit settlement of Etah and be among people again. Cook then walked another 700 miles across Greenland, from Etah to Upernavik. From there, in late June, he sailed on a Danish ship to Europe.
A few days later, news arrived about Robert Peary's claim to have reached the North Pole. Thus, the news of Cook and Peary's achievements reached the civilized world almost simultaneously.
In the heated debate over the priority of reaching the pole, Peary and Cook's chances were far from equal from the beginning.
Cook was a lone explorer. The only person who supported him was John R. Bradley, the owner of a club and casino in Florida.
Cook's claim to have reached the pole was immediately met with skepticism.
Cook chose to avoid further fighting for his claim and stayed away from America for a long time. He did not even attend the congress hearing where his case was discussed. This ultimately turned public opinion and the press against him. Later, Cook was accused of speculation with "inflated" stocks (he organized an oil company in Texas) and sentenced to 14 years of hard labor. Ironically, the oil fields of the company eventually earned its new owners millions of dollars in profit, proving that Cook's stocks were not inflated. Cook served five years in prison from April 6, 1925, to May 1930. Shortly before his death on August 4, 1940, Cook was completely exonerated.
Cook's two books, "My Attainment of the Pole" and "Return from the Pole," were published in 1911 and 1951, respectively, in English.
Analyzing Frederick Cook's records, many researchers come to a clear conclusion that in April 1908, he was either at the pole itself or in close proximity to it.
In 1965, Cook's portrait was once again hung in the American Explorers Club, of which he had been an honorary president. However, to this day, Robert Peary is still traditionally considered the discoverer of the North Pole.
When Roald Amundsen arrived in America, he visited Dr. Cook in prison, stating, "I could not do otherwise - it would have been a mean ingratitude on my part." In an interview with an American newspaper, Amundsen said, "Regardless of whether he (Cook) is guilty in this matter or not, he deserves the respect of Americans for the courage he displayed on his expeditions. Dr. Cook, like Captain Peary, possibly did not discover the North Pole, but both of them have equal grounds for trust."
