Editing Frederick Cook (section)

{{short description|American explorer (1865–1940)}}
{{Other people|Frederick Cook}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2018}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2018}}
{{refimprove|date=November 2018}}
{{Infobox person
 |name          = Frederick Cook 
 |image         = Frederick Cook с. 1906.jpg
 |birth_name    = Fredrick Albert Cook
 |birth_date    = {{dob|1865|6|10}} 
 |birth_place   = [[Hortonville, New York]], U.S.
 |death_date    = {{dda|1940|8|5|1865|6|10}}
 |death_place   = [[New Rochelle, New York]], U.S.
 |resting_place = [[Forest Lawn Cemetery (Buffalo, New York)|Forest Lawn Cemetery]]
 |education     = [[Columbia University]]<br>[[New York University Grossman School of Medicine|New York University Medical School]]
 |spouse        = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Libby Forbes|1889|1890|end=d.}}
* {{marriage|Marie Fidele Hunt|1902|1923|end=div.}}
}}
}}

'''Frederick Albert Cook''' (June 10, 1865&nbsp;– August 5, 1940) was an American explorer, physician and [[ethnographer]], who is most known for allegedly being the first to reach the [[North Pole]] on April 21, 1908. A competing claim was made a year later by [[Robert Peary]], though both men's accounts have since been fiercely disputed;<ref>Henderson 2009, pp. 58–69.</ref> in December 1909, after reviewing Cook's limited records, a commission of the [[University of Copenhagen]] ruled his claim unproven.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.visitthecapitol.gov/artifact/dr-frederick-cooks-diary-1908#:~:text=Though%20he%20lost%20many%20papers,claim%20was%20%E2%80%9Cnot%20proven.%E2%80%9D|title=Dr Frederick Cook's Diary, 1908|date=25 January 2025|website=US Capitol|language=en|access-date=25 January 2025}}</ref> Nonetheless, in 1911, Cook published a memoir of the expedition in which he maintained the veracity of his assertions. In addition, he also claimed to have been the first person to reach the summit of [[Denali]] (also known as Mount McKinley), the highest mountain in North America, a claim which has since been similarly discredited.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://time.com/4017660/mount-mckinley-denali-ascent-hoax/|title=The Other Mount McKinley Controversy: Who Climbed Denali First|date=25 January 2025|website=Time Magazine|language=en|access-date=25 January 2025}}</ref> Though he may not have achieved either Denali or the North Pole, his was the first and only expedition where a United States national discovered an Arctic island, [[Meighen Island]].{{sfn|Mills|2003}}