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Fake Mountain Climbing
He claimed to have climbed 20,300 ft Mt. McKinley - in fact he never went above 10,000 feet. Fred twice went camping in Alaska to take photos of Mt. McKinley; but he wanted more money and the kind of respect paid to those he hung around with in the New York adventure clubs. Eventually his desire to be famous led him to perpetrate a series of frauds that netted him millions of dollars. First he sold books, magazine stories, newspaper articles, photos, and performed lectures - all claiming that he was the first person to reach the 20,300 ft summit of McKinley. In 1903 he only went 1/2 way up. But after raising more money went back and never even attempted to climb it. He merely shot photos, made up a faked route, bribed his guide, etc.

Fueled by the fame this brought him he took off to go walrus shooting with a millionaire named Bradley who owned gambling parlors. Cook had named some obscure rock peak for Bradley during his last McKinley fraud to butter him up for more funds. After a virtual massacre of the walrus herds and polar bears he cheated the natives out of valuable ivory, later boasting about doing so in his book. Cook was dropped off at an Eskimo village with tons of supplies paid for by Bradley. The following year Fred faked the North Pole trip and discovered land named after Bradley which does not even exist. This infamous 1909 North Pole hoax created an international disgrace for America, while making Fred an instant millionaire. But the press was almost immediately on to his fakery - both McKinley and the Pole. This was during the years of "yellow journalism" in which newspapers printed almost anything to sell papers. Thus the newspapers enjoyed the charges against Cook about his McKinley fraud. Fred had never paid the men who provided pack horses and guide services. Fred tried to buy off the guide, Barrill, who knew Fred faked the climb. He gave him $200 and told him not to talk to any newspaper people.  But Fred owed him more money than that and the others were still owed $750 or so each. That was a lot of money back then. Soon the McKinley scandal blew up on him as the details were exposed in the newspapers. What a cheap guy. Cook was flush with cash from his North Pole hoax yet still never paid the McKinley guides! No wonder they ratted on him. But Cook remained calm and told everyone that he could prove he did everything and would show it at the right time. The newspapers began hounding him for this "proof".
Dr. Lepore's keynote speech

Cook Supporters
Fred's friends such as Edwin Balch were just as vicious and deceitful as Cook was. After all, who likes to find out they have been duped by a con man? Rather than admit they were idiots for trusting Fred they became "die-hard" supporters. They counter-charged accusations against the unpaid 1906 Alaskan team without ever producing any real evidence to support Cook's McKinley story. These early Cookites made up all kinds of explanations to defend Fred. Soon they settled on a convenient myth of a conspiracy against Fred by "Peary's wealthy backers". Thus was born one of Fred's favorite tools in what would become his lifelong propaganda war. To this day Cookites rattle the saber of that same tired old "Peary conspiracy" to explain away anything negative about dear Frederick. More truthfully, Cook supporters constituted more of a conspiracy against Peary than the other way around. But by December 21, 1909 it was all over for Fred when his "proofs" were declared a "huge fraud".

Fred attacks!
In desperation Fred tried a come-back book. He lashed out at Robert E. Peary, the man he envied and pathetically imitated after serving as a volunteer for in Greenland one winter. Cook's absurd 1911 book repulsed readers who were shocked by his obvious delusions of grandeur, chronic paranoia, and vicious slurs towards Peary. Cook spends much of the book arguing against his "critics" while recounting their various insults against him. My Attainment of The Pole finished his career as a travel writer. Fred made the mistake of revealing the depths of his moral corruption and hatred towards others.

Dr. Cook goes vaudeville
He hit the lecture circuit where he could stir things up like a vaudeville showman. Fred had experience from working a sideshow and a New York "Dime Museum". He knew how to play to a crowd, so he took his case to the common people whom he could con with his quiet demeanor.

Fred drew the attention of Congress with his attempts to "pervert American History". Read this amazing 1915 speech by S. D. Fess who was outraged at Cook.

The Chautauqua Association was outraged at Dr. Cook for lowering the standards of their lecture series with his vaudeville show. The "unthinking public", as Congressman Fess noted,  purchased Fred's absurd books as he kept up the "Peary conspiracy" angle. Soon he was trying yet another scam; one to raise money to climb Mt. Everest (!!!). Then he raised funds for a "moving picture" about Fred and the Poles pasted together from other people's stock footage. But nothing brought in the kind of cash Fred liked until he began selling bogus oil stocks. 

One hustle too many
A few years later he went big time with the stock scam. His promotional "talents" turned to creating newspaper advertisements encouraging rural people to mail him cash he promised to invest in his "get rich quick" oil company that was, in fact, the first documented Ponzi Scheme. Finally a mail fraud conviction from put him behind bars.

After 400+ days in jail he was sentenced to over 14 years in Federal prison. After he finished serving his parole in 1935 he went after his critics with lawsuits. But the judges tossed Fred out of court as he had no evidence to prove any of the things he was suing over. (In other words, he could not sue book publishers who stated the fact that Fred did not reach the North Pole.) Finally Cook ran out of scams; Frederick A. Cook died of alcoholism in 1940 as Hitler's Nazis stormed Europe.

Cook's ill legacy
Today Fred's phony "explorer" books are sought after by collectors. However, there was nothing funny about his deeds - Fred's frauds created bitter public controversy and thousands of low income people were taken in by his stock swindles.

Le Societe' des Cookies
What is truly amazing is that Cookite supporters are still, to this day, trying to convince the media that Fred was a great explorer. Janet Vetters (see photo at right with R. Chamberlain) left a trust fund to fuel the relentless "Frederick A. Cook Society". Washburn admits, in his book, that they have an effective media campaign to carry on the Fred feud. Die-hard supports are somewhat akin to the Flat Earth Society, but some believe they are creating an unpleasant legacy by manipulating the media to change history. This writer views their efforts to smear Peary & Henson as a campaign of hate, and their publications "hate literature". Read this sample and see what you think. Or this one. Even Fred's ill literature is republished by the "Society"; as if someone was going to believe he climbed McKinley, or walked to the North Pole?

A Public Service
This website was started after seeing how the media, including both the Discovery Channel and The Learning Channel have fallen under the spell of this long deceased hoaxer. Fred's absurd books are offered at Amazon.com with rave reviews from Cookites. Fueled by their trust fund, the Cook Society maintains a pro-Cook public relations campaign promoting Fred as a famous explorer. But responsible people such as Washburn have worked to restore Fred to his true place in history. The place he earned 90 years ago when he was known as "The Prince of Liars".

Washburn has performed an important service by ending forever the ridiculous McKinley claim. His book does indeed "nail shut the coffin" of the ill Doctor, even though Cook was cremated. No such equivalent book is required with Fred's phony North Pole claim because even the "die-hards" know that you can't get very far promoting the discovery of land that doesn't exist!

Cookites do like to claim that some oil was found on land Fred used in his stock swindles, but neglect to mention that is was many years later and the investors Cook swindled never profited or had died by then. Oh, they are also proud of his presidential pardon granted on his death bed. This act of compassion to a dying man is not unusual when one considers the pardons Bill Clinton granted on his way out of the Whitehouse! In any event Cookites will always explain away even the most blatant criminal acts Cook committed as being set up by, that's right - you guessed it - "Peary's wealthy backers"!

So next time someone tries to tell you Dr. Cook climbed McKinley, walked to the North Pole, or that all his troubles were because of "Peary's wealthy backers" - do what they did in 1909 - just say "Hello Doctor!"