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Josephine Cecilia Diebitsch Peary (May 22, 1863 – December 19, 1955) was an American author and arctic explorer.^[1][2]

Early life

She was born Josephine Cecilia Diebitsch in Washington, D.C., on May 22, 1863. Her mother, Magdalena Augusta Schmid Diebitsch, was from Saxony. Her father, Hermann Henry Diebitsch, was a military officer from Prussia. During the Civil War, the Diebitsch family farm was destroyed which led to a relocation to Washington, D.C. ^[3] Hermann later became a clerk in the Exchange Department at theSmithsonian Institution. ^[4] She had a brother, Emil Diebitsch, who later became the mayor of Nutley, New Jersey.^[5]

Josephine later attended Spencerian Business College and graduated, the class valedictorian in 1880. She found herself qualified and on track for a copyist, clerk, and tallyist position at the Smithsonian and the U.S. Department of the Interior. ^[3]

Married Life

Robert Edwin Peary was born in Pennsylvania in 1856. He later attended Bowdoin College, in Brunswick, Maine.^[6]Josephine first met Robert in 1885 while she was attending dancing school. She later married him on August 11, 1888. She often accompanied him on his northern travels. While they were married, Robert Peary successfully lead an expedition to the North Pole. Thus earning him the title of the first white man to explore the Arctic.^[4] At this time Josephine stayed home on Casco Bay's Eagle Island in Maine, which Robert had bought in 1877. Josephine recorded her experiences in a series of books including My Arctic Journal and The Snow Baby. Robert Peary died on February 20, 1920. Josephine died on December 19, 1955.^[2][7]

She was granted the National Geographic Society's highest honor, the Medal of Achievement, for her Arctic accomplishments. ^[4]