Frederick Albert Cook was an American explorer, physician, and ethnographer who made a number of significant contributions to the fields of exploration, medicine, and anthropology. Cook was born in Callicoon, New York in 1865 and attended Columbia University, where he earned his medical degree in 1892. After graduating, Cook worked as a surgeon in the United States Navy and was sent to the Arctic in 1898 to serve as a medical officer on the USS Belgica. During this expedition, Cook and his crew became the first to winter in the Antarctic, and Cook was the first to reach the Antarctic Circle.
Cook's most famous accomplishment was his claim to have been the first to reach the North Pole in 1908. Although his claim was later disputed, Cook was widely celebrated for his achievement and was awarded the Peary Polar Expedition Medal by the National Geographic Society. Cook also made a number of other significant contributions to exploration, including his discovery of the Cook Inlet in Alaska and his exploration of the Arctic Ocean.
In addition to his explorations, Cook was also an accomplished ethnographer. He conducted extensive research on the Inuit people of Alaska and wrote several books on the subject, including The Eskimos of Bering Strait (1908) and My Attainment of the Pole (1911). Cook's work was highly influential in the development of modern anthropology and helped to shape the field's understanding of the Inuit people.
Cook's later years were marked by controversy and tragedy. In 1909, he was accused of fraud in connection with his North Pole claim and was later convicted of mail fraud. He was sentenced to prison, but was pardoned by President Taft in 1911. In 1912, Cook's wife and two of his children died in a house fire. Cook himself died in 1940, at the age of 75.
Despite the controversy surrounding his later years, Cook's legacy as an explorer and ethnographer remains intact. He was a pioneer in the fields of exploration and anthropology and his work helped to shape our understanding of the Arctic and its people. His accomplishments are still celebrated today, and his name is remembered as one of the great explorers of the 20th century.