Record Group 56.17
Processed by: Laura J. Kissel and Julie K. Klema
Edited by: Marjorie J. Haberman, 1997, Revised April 1998
The Ohio State University Archives
2700 Kenny Road
Columbus, Ohio 43210
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Organizational Sketch and History of the
Society Dr. Frederick A. Cook (1865-1940) is the most controversial figure in the history of polar
exploration. His supporters maintain that Dr. Cook was the hero of the Belgian Antarctic Expedition, the
first to climb Mount McKinley, the first to stand at the North Pole, and the victim of merciless and
unrelenting persecution by Robert Peary and those who supported Peary's claim to have reached the pole
first. Others believe that Dr. Cook faked his claims to both Mount McKinley and the North Pole and
continued a career of deceit by using the mail to defraud investors in oil lands in Texas, for which Dr. Cook
spent five years in federal prison (Cook eventually received a presidential pardon for this conviction). In 1891 Dr. Frederick Albert Cook began his career as an explorer as a member of Peary's first
expedition to North Greenland, where he served Peary's surgeon and as ethnologist. In 1897, Cook
volunteered for the Belgian Antarctic Expedition, and achieved international recognition in his role of
surgeon and photographer. He made important scientific discoveries on this expedition, including the effect
of eating raw meat in order to cure the ship's crew of scurvy. Cook also served a critical role on this
expedition in his efforts to release the frozen Belgica by sawing a canal in the ice. In 1901, Cook joined
the Erik, in a relief expedition for Peary, sponsored by the Peary Arctic Club. In 1903 and 1906 successively, Cook embarked on his first and second expeditions to Mount
McKinley, and in 1906 claimed to have reached the summit. In 1907, Cook made his quest to the North
Pole, and claimed to have reached the Pole on April 21, 1908. However, drifting ice prohibited his
southward return, and he was forced to spend the Polar night in a shelter with his two Eskimo companions.
It wasn't until September 1, 1909 that Cook announced his discovery of the North Pole. A week later,
Peary denounced Cook as a fraud and claimed that he, Peary, had in fact reached the North Pole first. In
October of 1909, Cook's Mount McKinley climbing partner, Ed Barrill published an affidavit in which he
stated that Cook's Mount McKinley diary was false and that his picture of the summit was a fake. It should
be noted here that Barrill reportedly received $5000 for his statement (the exact amount of the payment to
Barrill is unknown). Cook was unable to discredit the charges of Peary and Barrill. Although Cook
continued to defend his claims, a downward spiral in Cook's career and reputation had commenced. In 1917 Dr. Cook was hired by New York Oil to prospect for oil based on his knowledge of
geology, and he eventually became president of Texas Eagle Oil Company in Fort Worth. However, in
1920, a slump in the oil business forced the company out of business. It was then that Cook formed the
Petroleum Producers Association, which became one of the largest employers in Fort Worth. This success
was not to last; in 1923 Cook was accused and indicted of mail fraud in relation to his oil business. He
was sent to federal prison in Leavenworth, Kansas in 1925, where he served five years. During his time in
Leavenworth, Cook served as physician in the hospital, as well as editor of the prison newspaper, New Era.
Upon his parole, in 1930, Cook went to work on his memoirs and led a relatively quiet life, until his death
from a cerebral hemorrhage in 1940. Cook received a pardon from President Franklin D. Roosevelt for his
mail fraud conviction shortly before his death. The Cook Arctic Club was formed shortly before Cook's death, by his friend and Mount McKinley
expedition mate, Ralph Shainwald von Ahlefeldt, with the stated purpose of promoting the recognition of
Dr. Cook's discovery of the North Pole. This first attempt at an organization devoted to Dr. Cook and his
discoveries proved short lived. In 1956, Dr. Cook's daughter, Helene Cook Vetter and others formed the
Dr. Frederick A. Cook Society and in 1975, the group was again reorganized as the Frederick A. Cook
Society, with the stated purpose "to gain official recognition for the scientific and geographic
accomplishments of Dr. Frederick A. Cook." (Note: Please see Appendix 1 for a detailed chronology of
Dr. Cook and the Frederick A. Cook Society. Additionally, please see Appendix 2 for a more detailed
history of the Frederick A.Cook Society. The Frederick A. Cook Society Collection occupies thirty-seven and one-half cubic feet and spans
the years 1891 to 1996. The collection presents a comprehensive picture of the work conducted by Helene
Cook Vetter and others, some under the auspices of the Cook Society, "to gain official recognition for the
scientific and geographic accomplishments of Dr. Frederick A. Cook." General subjects documented by
the collection include Cook's Mount McKinley expeditions (1903, 1906), his North Pole expedition (1908-
1909), and his 1923 mail fraud conviction. Records in the Frederick A. Cook Society Collection include
the following series: The Frederick A. Cook Society Records are comprised of four subseries: Russell W. Gibbons
Papers; Patricia Burns Papers; William G. Smith Papers; and Mary Allison Farley Papers. While none of
the four subseries should be considered complete, taken together they provide a fairly comprehensive record
of the workings of the Society. The series of Frederick A. Cook's Papers is but a small portion of Dr. Cook's original materials.
The majority of his papers are housed in the Library of Congress as a bequest from Cook's granddaughter,
Janet Cook Vetter, who died in 1989. Please see Appendix 3 for the inventory of the Frederick Albert
Cook Papers housed in the Library of Congress. Additional Cook papers are held in the Stefansson
Collection at the Dartmouth College Library in New Hampshire. Please see Appendix 4 for this inventory.
Researchers are encouraged to investigate all relevant collections to insure access to the most complete
information. The Helene Cook Vetter Papers comprise the largest series in the collection. In about 1950 Vetter
began an extensive (and life-long) campaign to vindicate her father. Subject files collected by Vetter
document the major controversies surrounding Dr. Cook and his explorations; the files are arranged
essentially in the order Vetter established. It should be noted that Vetter's filing methods resulted in an
intermingling of her own files with those of others; for example, she obtained records originated by others,
specifically Andrew Freeman, culled out topical information from those files, and merged it with her own
files to create specific subject files. She also took letters, specifically those from Hugo Levin, cut them
apart based upon subject, and placed these excerpts with her own subject files. The provenance of the early clippings files is uncertain, but handwritten notes by Vetter on the file
folders and on actual materials within the folders indicates her use of these materials in her research. Since
Vetter obtained her father's papers upon his death, it is possible that many of these early clippings actually
were collected by Dr. Cook himself. Handwritten notes found on many of the items also lead to that
conclusion. Additionally, while there is a separate subseries for Andrew Freeman's papers, many of his
folders are interfiled with Vetter's according to date and/or subject, resulting in an intermingling of
Freeman's files with Vetter's. Upon Helene Cook Vetter's death in 1977, Janet Cook Vetter moved into the family home and
assumed maintenance of her mother's research files. Janet Cook Vetter's Papers chronicle her involvement
with the production of the 1983 television movie, "Cook and Peary: the Race to the Pole," and her service
as a board member of the Cook Society until her death at the age of 51. The Photographic and Audiovisual Materials contain many unique photographic images that span
the life of Dr. Cook and document his expeditions. Particularly well documented are the Mount McKinley
expeditions of 1903 and 1906, many of the photographs taken by Dr. Cook himself. The extant video and
audio cassettes include Cook's statement regarding his North Pole expedition and publicity generated by
the CBS movie "Cook and Peary: The Race To The Pole." Note: Archives staff photocopied brittle and deteriorating newspaper and other records onto acid
free paper for preservation purposes. Both the fragile condition and the tape and glue applied to the
papers, damaged the material and compromised the quality of some of the photocopies. Researchers are
urged to locate better preserved copies (perhaps on microfilm) in other libraries if articles are incomplete
and/or illegible. The "Cook Arctic Club, Inc." was established in 1940 by Ralph Shainwald-von Ahlefeldt,
Cook's friend and 1903 Mount McKinley expedition mate, with the stated purpose of promoting
the recognition of Dr. Frederick Cook's discovery of the North Pole. Dr. Cook was listed as the
honorary president and General David L. Brainard, a survivor of the Greely Expedition, as
honorary vice-president on the letterhead which von Ahlefeldt had printed. Von Ahlefeldt
designated himself as president, with four vice presidents including Anthony Fiala, commander of
the second Ziegler Expedition, and life-long friend and supporter of Dr. Cook. (Brainard later
asked to have his name removed from the stationary, stating that, "...I never approved of Dr.
Cook's claims and never sustained him in any way in his contentions that he reached the North
Pole.") In 1940 the Club attempted to sponsor Sir Hubert Wilkins in an airplane expedition to the
Pole and to confirm Cook's discovery of Bradley Land. Von Ahlefeldt circulated a prospectus to
a number of wealthy financiers, but the expedition never got off the ground. This first attempt at
an organization devoted to Dr. Cook and his discoveries was short lived, although von Ahlefeldt
continued to be an advocate for Dr. Cook. In addition, some of those listed as officers with the
original club became part of what Cook's daughter Helene Cook Vetter called the "committee of
correspondence" of exploration mates, spouses, their children, writers and researchers. In late 1956 this group of correspondents formed the basis for a revival and reorganization
of a formal Cook society. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Charles W. Thompson assumed the
presidency of the "Dr. Frederick A. Cook Society." The board of governors included Walter
Gonnason, explorer and leader of the 1956 Mt. McKinley expedition; Andrew Freeman, author of
The Case for Dr. Cook and scholar who interviewed Dr. Cook; Hugo Levin, long time friend and
advocate of Dr. Cook; retired Navy Captain James P. Helm; former Explorers Club editor
Wendell Phillips Dodge; Italian geographer and Arctic explorer Silvio Zavatti; and Helene Cook
Vetter. Russell W. Gibbons was the first secretary. This new society was both low-budget and
low-profile, primarily distributing annual mailings and circulating materials concerning Dr. Cook.
In 1965, the New York Legislature granted the Society a resolution and a state historical marker
at Cook's Hortonville birth-site in recognition of the centennial of Dr. Cook's birth. Additionally,
they printed a commemorative booklet on Cook's life, which they distributed to historical,
geographic and community groups. The period from 1960 to 1975 saw a resurgence of writings about the North Pole
controversy, many giving favorable treatment to Dr. Cook. This prompted Mrs. Vetter, Russell
Gibbons, and other society members to develop a more active society, which eventually was
reorganized, structured and incorporated in New York State in 1975. In 1974 the inaugural meeting of this rejuvenated Society was held at the Sullivan County
Historical Society in Hurleyville, New York. The meeting coincided with the opening of the
Cook Room display on the second floor of the museum. Eskimo artifacts, framed photographs,
and one of Dr. Cook's antarctic sleds formed the basis of the display. Sheldon Cook-Dorough
(not related), an Atlanta attorney and Cook scholar, donated the reproductions for this display
and in 1975 commissioned a bronze statue of Cook for the museum. On October 7, 1976, the Society was incorporated as a charitable not-for-profit
educational corporation in New York State "to gain official recognition for the scientific and
geographic accomplishments of Dr. Frederick A. Cook". The first president of the reorganized
Society was Russell W. Gibbons; Admiral Thomas had died tragically in an automobile accident in
1972. The first of "occasional" annual newsletters was published for its small membership. In 1977, plans were made for a commemorative marker at the Forest Lawn Cemetery in
Buffalo, New York, where Dr. Cook's ashes resided in the family niche with his polar decorations
and medals. Mrs. Vetter died on July 31 prior to the dedication of the marker and the annual
meeting of the society. Janet Cook Vetter, daughter of Helene Cook Vetter, moved into the
family home in Tequesta, Florida, and assumed responsibility for the multitude of research
materials her mother had collected in her quest to defend her father, Dr. Frederick Cook. Sheldon Cook-Dorough succeeded to the presidency of the Society in 1979 and began an
intensive study of the North Pole controversy, Mount McKinley and the Texas oil mail fraud
conviction. His research in these areas resulted in extensive research articles in the Society's
newletters and the annual journal, later renamed Polar Priorities. A primary function of the
Society was to circulate these materials to writers, researchers, and publications such as
encyclopedias. Membership continued to grow and passed 100 members in the late 1980s. In
1985 Warren B. Cook, a New Jersey insurance executive and grandnephew of the explorer, was
elected president of the Society. In 1983, CBS broadcast a made-for-television movie titled, "Cook and Peary: Race for the
Pole," with Richard Chamberlain as Dr. Cook and Rod Steiger as Admiral Peary. The Society
served as a reference source in the production of the movie. The program stirred public interest
in the "polar enigma" and groups such as the Society for the History of Discoveries, the Arctic
Circle Club of Canada and others chose Dr. Cook and the polar controversy as conference
themes. In 1989, Dr. Cook's granddaughter Janet Cook Vetter died. She had continued the
tradition of her mother in maintaining the family papers and those of Dr. Cook, and was a valued
Society board member. Upon her death, Cook-Dorough coordinated the cataloging, inventory,
and transfer of much of the estate's Frederick Cook Papers to the Library of Congress. This was
done in accordance with the will and the Trust Fund which Janet Vetter bequeathed for the work
of the Society. The remaining papers, books, and artifacts were sent to the Sullivan County
Museum, and remained there until 1996, when the papers were transferred to the Byrd Polar
Research Center at The Ohio State University in Columbus. The Museum still maintains the
books and artifacts in the Cook Room in Hurleyville, NY. With support from the Vetter Trust, the Society appointed Mary Allison Farley as full-
time executive director in 1990. Ms. Farley was formerly an archivist at the Robert Wagner
Archives at New York University. William G. Smith, former Sullivan County Historian,
succeeded Farley, and in late 1993, Russell W. Gibbons assumed the post. The occasional
newsletter became an annual journal, Polar Priorities, and a quarterly membership newsletter was
established. The Society continues to be active in its efforts to bring Dr. Cook's work to public view.
Activities of the group since 1993 include: two international symposiums; sponsorship of an
expedition which followed Dr. Cook's route up Mount McKinley; and an updated reprint of his
second book, To the Top of the Continent. In 1996 lifetime memberships in the Society exceeded
more than twenty-five of the 140 members. Sources: Gibbons, Russell W. "The Cook Society: the First Half Century," Polar Priorities, vol. 16,
September, 1996, pp.24-28 The Ohio State University Archives, Frederick A. Cook Society Collection (RG 56.17), box #23,
file folder #9, "Frederick A. Cook Society, early organizational"Biographical Statement
Scope and Content
Series I. Frederick A. Cook Society Records, 1956-1996; eight cubic feet
Series II. Frederick Albert Cook Papers, 1907-1940; five cubic feet
Series III. Helene Cook Vetter Papers, 1892-1977, seventeen cubic feet
Series IV. Janet Cook Vetter Papers, 1914-1989, two and one-half cubic feet
Series V. Photographs and Audiovisual Materials, 1893-1994, five cubic feet
Chronology of Frederick A. Cook and the Frederick A. Cook Society, 1865-1996
1865 June 10 Frederick Albert Cook born, Hortonville, NY; fifth of six children of Theodor
Albrecht Koch (later changed to Cook) and Magdalena Long
1887 Cook enters College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University and
later transfers to NY University; supports himself with milk business
1889 Cook marries Libby Forbes
1890 June Wife and child die due to complications in childbirth; Cook graduates from
New York University and passes his medical exams; sells milk business to
brother and uses profits to open medical office
1891 Volunteers for Peary's Greenland Expedition; serves as ethnologist and
photographer
1893 Cook arranges Zeta expedition to Greenland
1894 Cook arranges and leads Miranda tour to Greenland
1894 Arctic Club formed "to link all members of Dr. Cook's Arctic Expedition and
keep them from losing track of each other"
1897 Physician resigns from Belgian Antarctic Expedition and Cook volunteers; acts
as physician and photographer; Belgica's international crew includes Adrien
de Gerlache as commandant and Roald Amundsen as first-mate
1898 March 3 Belgica is frozen in the ice; Cook studies psychological difficulties, explores
area, and devise inventions including a tent; Captain near death allows Cook to
require crew to eat raw meat to defeat scurvy
1899 March 14 Belgica is freed after Cook leads effort to saw a canal through the ice
1899 April Cook receives Yahgan dictionary from Thomas Bridges
1899 July 2 New York Herald publishes Cook's account; made a chevalier of the Order of
Leopold I
1899 Fall Cook made a chevalier of the Order of Leopold I
1900 Through the First Antarctic Night published; book tour with Pond agency
1901 January Cook to Belgium to receive award
1901 July Cook joins Erik, Peary/North Pole relief expedition sponsored by the Peary
Arctic Club
1902 Cook gives lecture tour
1902 June Cook marries Mrs. Marie Fidell Hunt and becomes stepfather to her daughter
Ruth (b.1898)
1903 June First expedition to Mt. McKinley; financed by Mrs. Cook, an advance from
Harper's Magazine, and some equipment from the Peary Arctic
1904 Cook actively lecturing; in September attends 8th International Geographic
Congress representing Arctic Club; Peary presides; Cook presents two papers
1905 May 30 Helen Cook born; later changes name to Helene
1905 July Peary begins expedition to North Pole on the Roosevelt
1906 May Second expedition to Mt. McKinley; causes financial difficulty for Cook
1906 Sept. 16 Cook claims attainment of the summit of Mount McKinley with Ed Barrill
1906 Dec. 7 Cook elected president of Explorer's Club
1907 Spring John R. Bradley arranges for a hunting expedition North with Cook; Bradley
hires Rudolph Franke as his traveling companion
1907 August 20 Cook reaches Annoatok and decides to make quest to North Pole; he and
Bradley part; Cook persuades Franke to join him
1908 January Depots established for North Pole; Cook develops amber goggles from his
knowledge of photography
1908 February Expedition begins for Cook; Franke remains at Annoatok to guard property
1908 April 21 Cook claims to have reached North Pole; seasonal change and drifting ice
prohibit southward return; spends Polar Night in shelter with Eskimo
companions
1908 May Peary complains to NY Times about Cook exploiting Peary's methods and the
Eskimos Peary trained; accepts presidency of Explorers Club in Cook's
absence, provided that the Explorers Club demands proof from Cook
1908 August 17 Franke signs away Cook's property to Peary for passage on Erik; Harry
Whitney, a hunter and passenger, takes over Cook's house at Annoatok
1908 Discovery of dead Greenland explorers exposes Peary's errors in mapping
coast of Northern Greenland in 1892
1909 February 18 Cook's expedition leaves shelter and starts again for Annoatok
1909 April 15 Expedition reaches Greenland; Whitney and Cook meet at Annoatok; Whitney
persuades Cook to leave instruments, North Pole flag, and damaged sled with
Whitney for transportation on a later vessel
1909 May 21 Cook reaches Upernavik; announces publicly he reached pole on April 21,
1908
1909 August 9 Cook sails for Denmark
1909 Sept. 1 Cook cables Belgium about his discovery; requests $3,000 from New York
Herald for his story
1909 Sept. 6 At dinner reception in Copenhagen, Cook receives news of Peary's claim to
have reached North Pole on April 6, 1909
1909 Sept. 7 Cook receives gold medal of Royal Geographical Society of Denmark
.
1909 Sept. 8 Peary denounces Cook as a fraud
1909 Sept. 9 Cook receives honorary degree from University of Copenhagen; promises to
present conclusive evidence
1909 Sept. 21 Cook returns to the U.S. and is honored with a massive parade of more than
100,000 in New York City
1909 Sept. 22 Cook has press conference and shows his 173 page journal
1909 Sept. 26 Cook receives telegram from Harry Whitney that Peary will not allow him to
transport any of Cook's instruments or evidence
1909 Sept. 27 Cook lectures at Carnegie Hall
1909 Oct. 13 While Cook on lecture tour, Peary releases to newspapers account of
interviews with Cook's Eskimos, who claim never to have left land
1909 Oct. 14 Affidavit of Ed Barrill published; claims that Cook ordered him to falsify Mt.
McKinley diary entries; also that peak photo taken by Cook is a fake; Barrill
receives financial compensation for his statement
1909 Oct. 15 Cook receives Freedom of City of New York; previously awarded to only
Lafayette, Charles Dickens, and the Crown Prince of Prussia
1909 Oct. 16 Cook announces that he is organizing an expedition to Mt. McKinley to
retrieve evidence he left there
1909 Oct. 17 Cook appears before subcommittee of Explorers Club which is investigating
his Mt. McKinley claim
1909 Oct. 21 New York Times publishes letter from Knud Rasmussen that Cook's Eskimos
verify Cook's story
1909 October National Geographic Society investigates Peary's claim of attainment of the
North Pole but Peary tries to pack the reviewing panel
1909 November Cook goes into hiding; fears for his life; at one point, at least six detectives
shadow Cook
1909 Dec. 9 New York Times reports that observations submitted to Danish experts are
fraudulent
1909 Dec. 21 Danish Commission concludes that evidence it received (typewritten copies
and reports of observations but no original calculations) is not sufficient to
prove that Cook reached North Pole; this greatly undermines Cook in U.S.
1910 January Peary begins lecture tour; receives $40,000 for a series of ghost-written articles
to appear in Hampton's Magazine
1910 March U.S. House of Representatives holds hearings on petition to promote Peary to
Rear Admiral; Peary refuses to submit original evidence for review
1910 June 28 Expedition to Mt. McKinley sponsored by Explorers Club claims to have found
Cook's fake peak but unable to reach summit
1910 December Articles written by Cook for Hampton's Magazine are altered by the editor and
appear as a "confession"
1911 January Controversial hearings in U.S. House of Representatives result in Peary's
promotion and retirement
1911 Cook establishes Polar Publishing Company to publish My Attainment of the
Pole; tours to promote book and present case
1911 Oct. - Nov. Tour of Europe
1912 Cook on Chautauqua tour and another lecture tour of Europe
1913 Cook on vaudeville stage
1913 June 7 Rev. Hudson Stuck reaches top of McKinley; disputes Cook's version of
summit
1913 December Cook on Lusitania to London for lecture tour; returns January 1914
1915 January Another U.S. House resolution to investigate Peary's claim proposed; Lilian
Kiel, stenographer for Hampton's Magazine "confession" article, testifies
before House Education Committee
1917 Cook hired by New York Oil Company to look for oil in Wyoming; forms
Cook Oil as a subsidiary of NY Oil
1919 Cook in Texas looking for oil; becomes president of Texas Eagle Oil
Production and Refining Company at Ft. Worth, Texas
1919 Vilhjalmur Steffanson announces discovery of Meighen Island in the Arctic
Archipelago, which he claims Cook should have seen if his North Pole claims
are true
1920 Feb. 20 Peary dies
1920 Slump in oil business
1921 Dec. 5 Texas Eagle Oil and Refining Company goes out of business
1922 Cook organizes Petroleum Producers Association (PPA) and hires "pen"
Seymore Cox to write promotions; PPA becomes one of the largest employers
in Ft. Worth
1923 Herbert Houston, a member of the now defunct Peary Arctic Club and head of
a consumer group combating fraudulent practices in oil stock sales, attacks
Cook, which leads to more investigations by journalists
1923 Jan. 30 Cook arrested with a woman in a hotel room; reputed to have a bottle of gin;
charges are dropped but wife Marie divorces Cook
1923 April 20 U.S. grand jury indictment of Cook and ninety-one other officers of fourteen
oil companies on charges of using the U.S. mails to defraud
1923 October 15 Trial begins with Marie at Cook's side
1923 November Cook convicted and receives 14 year, 9 month prison sentence and $12,000
fine; all defendants who fail to plead guilty receive maximum sentences
1925 April Cook sent to federal prison in Leavenworth, Kansas; works with drug addicted
prisoners, serves as physician in the hospital, and superintendent of the prison
school
1926 Cook becomes editor of prison newspaper New Era; paper achieves national
circulation via exchanges
1928 Helene Cook marries Elliott J. Vetter, executive with the National Lumber
Company of Buffalo, NY
1929 August 8 Offer of $20,000 from American Magazine if Cook will recant his claim to
North Pole
1930 March 9 Cook paroled and moves to Chicago
1931 Cook completes memoirs and searches for publisher
1935 Cook files law suits for libel against anti-Cook Arctic Adventure by Peter
Freuchen and against Encyclopedia Britannica
1936 Dec. 9 Cook interviewed on CBS Radio "We the People"
1938 Ted Leitzell expedition to Mt. McKinley; casts doubt on Belmore Browne's
account of Cook's fraud
1938 Janet Cook Vetter born to Helene and Elliot Vetter
1939 November Cook meets Sir Hubert Wilkins who plans submarine trip along Cook's route
to Pole
1940 May 5 Cook suffers cerebral hemorrhage
1940 May 16 Cook receives pardon from President Franklin D. Roosevelt
1940 June Cook Arctic Club formed by Ralph Shainwald-von Ahlefeldt to find Bradley
Land and promote the recognition of Dr. Cook's discovery of the North Pole
1940 August 5 Dr. Frederick A. Cook dies; papers are willed to daughter, Helene, who takes
up her father's cause as her life's work
1951 Cook's memoir Return from the Pole is published
1955 Bradford Washburn, climber of Mt. McKinley and recipient of National
Geographic Society support, determines to take pictures of Ruth glacier as part
of Life magazine article about the 50th anniversary of Cook's climb
1956 Walt Gonnason retraces Cook's route and claims that Cook reached the
summit; confronts Washburn and his expedition; Washburn's photos published
in Life
1956 Vetter and other Cook supporters (Gonnason, Freeman, Levin, Zavatti,
Gibbons, etc.) form the Dr. Frederick A. Cook Society
1965 Historical marker erected to commemorate Cook's birthplace in Hortonville,
NY
1974 Rejuvenated Cook Society held its first meeting at the Sullivan County
Historical Society to coincide with the opening of the Cook Room display on
the second floor of the museum
1976 October 7 Frederick A. Cook Society incorporated in New York State as a charitable,
not-for-profit corporation "to gain official recognition for the scientific and
geographic accomplishments of Dr. Frederick A. Cook;" Russell W. Gibbons
named first president
1977 July 31 Helene Cook Vetter dies; estate passes to daughter Janet who moves into
family home in Tequesta, FL
1977 Society arranges for commemorative marker at Forest Lawn Cemetery,
Buffalo, NY
1979 Sheldon Cook-Dorough succeeds to the presidency of the Society
1983 Dec. 13 CBS broadcast of made-for-television movie "Cook and Peary: The Race to
the Pole"
1985 Warren B. Cook succeeds Sheldon Cook-Dorough as president of the Cook
Society
1989 August 10 Janet Vetter dies and gives Dr. Cook's papers to Library of Congress; research
records collected by the Vetter's are bequeathed to the Cook Society
1990 Mary Allison Farley hired as Cook Society executive director; succeeded by
William G. Smith
1993 Russell W. Gibbons named Cook Society executive director
1996 The Ohio State University in Columbus receives Cook Society records and
Vetter research files
Organizational Sketch and History of the Frederick A. Cook Society