He was not convinced that no sound existed, and in 1819–20, in HMS Hecla and Griper, he made a voyage through Lancaster Sound to Melville Island, where he wintered. Robert Edwin Peary (May 6, 1856 - Feb. 20, 1920) was an American explorer and Naval officer who led the first expedition to the North Pole. Parry was involved in four expeditions in search of the Northwest Passage: the first as lieutenant under Captain John Ross, followed by … Robert Peary, in full Robert Edwin Peary, (born May 6, 1856, Cresson, Pennsylvania, U.S.—died February 20, 1920, Washington, D.C.), U.S. Arctic explorer usually credited with leading the first expedition to reach the North Pole (1909).. Peary entered the U.S. Navy in 1881 and pursued a naval career until his retirement, with leaves of absence granted for Arctic exploration. This expedition followed the coast of Baffin Bay without making any new discoveries. Blocked by ice in M’Clure Strait, he next (1821–23) tried the… In Arctic: 19th-century attempts at the passage …in command to Ross was William (later Sir William) Parry. In 1818 he received command of the brig Alexander in the Arctic expedition under Captain John Ross. In 1909, Peary, Matthew A. Henson, and four Eskimos were the first people to reach the North Pole. Sir William Edward Parry, naval officer, Arctic explorer (born 19 December 1790 in Bath, England; died 8 or 9 July 1855 in Bad Ems, present-day Germany).