EUROPEAN TRIBUTES TO PEARY 



A LL the nations of Europe united to 

 l\ give Commander Peary a royal 

 I \ welcome on his visit to England 

 and the Continent in May and early June. 

 Emperors and kings, scientists, the public, 

 and the press were all equally cordial and 

 enthusiastic in their congratulations and 

 tribute to his perseverance and success. 



Commander Peary's trip was not a lec- 

 ture tour, but was made in response to 

 many invitations from geographical and 

 scientific societies abroad who desired to 

 hear his personal story of the discovery 

 of the North Pole. It was impossible in 

 the brief time to accept the invitations 

 of all the societies, but eleven capitals 

 were visited. Commander Peary gave 

 his first European address in London be- 

 fore the Royal Geographical Society, 

 which provided an enthusiastic audience 

 of 10,000 people. The illness of King 

 Edward prevented his attendance, and 

 his death a few days later also prevented 

 the presence of Emperor William at the 

 Berlin lecture. 



Every Society conferred its highest 

 honors upon Commander Peary, in Rome 

 the King Humbert Gold Medal of the 

 Royal Italian Geographical Society being 

 presented in person by the King of Italy. 

 In Edinburgh, besides receiving a special 

 trophy from the Royal Scottish Geo- 

 graphical Society, the degree of LL.D. 

 was conferred upon him by the old Uni- 

 versity of Edinburgh. 



We print below the addresses of the 

 Presidents of the Royal Geographical 

 Society of London and of the Geograph- 

 ical Society of Berlin, which are typical 

 of the unanimous respect and tribute paid 

 in Europe to our great American ex- 

 plorer. 



ADDRESS OF the; presideint of the; royai, 



GEOGRAPHICAI. SOCIETY OF EONDON ; DR 

 LEONARD DARWIN, IN PRESENTING THE 

 SPECIAL GOLD MEDAL OE THE SOCIETY. 



"Commander Peary was awarded our 

 gold medal twelve years ago, which is 

 sufficient proof that he is an Arctic trav- 

 eler of the highest reputation, and his 



efforts have been marked by such splen- 

 did persistency as to make success appear 

 to be the inevitable result. 



"An exceptionally capable committee 

 of his fellow-countrymen, appointed by 

 the National Geographic Society of 

 America, have examined his original rec- 

 ords, and have emphatically indorsed his 

 claim. This judicial task could not have 

 been more appropriately placed. 



"It is on these grounds that, armed 

 with the full authority of the Council of 

 the Royal Geographical Society, I wel- 

 come Commander Peary as the first and 

 only human being who has ever led a 

 party of his fellow-creatures to a pole of 

 the earth. 



"We are not alone concerned with that 

 aspect of Arctic exploration, for, in the 

 course of the many arduous journeys, 

 full of dangers and difficulties, which ex- 

 plorers have made when dragged north- 

 ward by the lodestone of the Pole, a large 

 amount of scientific work has been done 

 and geographical knowledge has been 

 greatly increased. Commander Peary's 

 expeditions form no exception to this 

 honorable record, and this should not be 

 forgotten, because it has been the policy 

 of the Society not to honor any mere race 

 for the pole." 



DR ALBRECHT PENCK, PRESIDENT OE THE: 

 GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY OE BERLIN, IN 

 PRESENTING THE NACHTIGAL G0LI> 

 MEDAL OE THE SOCIETY. 



"The members of this meeting have 

 just stated by their great applause what 

 living interest they take in the speaker's 

 report of his expedition of the North 

 Pole. This interest is based in the first 

 place on the sentiment which President 

 Roosevelt expressed when giving to our 

 speaker, three and a half years ago, the 

 Hubbard Medal of the National Geo- 

 graphic Society of America. He men- 

 tioned at that time that the firm basis of 

 successful national characters are the 

 fighting qualities of mankind, but that 

 these qualities could not only be demon- 

 strated in war, but also in peace, and that 



