ADMIRAL ROBERT E. PEARY - RECEIPT SIGNED 10/15/1903 - HFSID 281017

ADMIRAL ROBERT E. PEARY
Robert Peary, the first man to reach the North Pole, signed this U. S. Navy paycheck receipt in 1903, while still a Navy civil engineer. His son Robert Peary, Jr. was born the year he signed this receipt.
Receipt signed "R.L. Peary". Black ink notations in unknown hand and blue ink date stamp. 8x2¾. Oct. 15, 1903. Paycheck receipt for $145.73 by U. S. Navy Paymaster S. L. Heap. Peary's position is listed as "Civil Engr.". Peary's son Robert Peary, Jr. (1903-1994) was born the year he signed this check. 1903 saw at least two attempts to reach the North Pole, neither of them by Peary: one by the Russian ship Zarya (1900-1903) and the Ziegler Polar Expedition, funded by William Ziegler and led by Anthony Fiala. However, Peary had wrapped up his scouting of routes to the North Pole from Etah in Inglefield Land, Greenland the year before. Peary (1856-1920) became a Civil Engineer in the U. S. Navy in 1881, and in that capacity explored Greenland in 1886 on the first of his seven polar expeditions. On July 17, 1908, after three unsuccessful attempts to reach the North Pole, he set out on another polar expedition. On April 6, 1909, he and a small party, including his assistant, Matthew Henson, and four Inuit, became the first to reach the North Pole. Although another American, Frederick A. Cook, had claimed to have reached the Pole five days later, Cook's claim was later refuted. In 1911, the year he retired from the Navy with the rank of Rear Admiral, Congress officially recognized Peary's achievement. Lightly toned, soiled and creased. Signature has bled lightly but is legible. Folded once and unfolded. Otherwise in fine condition.