<P> It is desirable to tie the system of Earth coordinates (latitude, longitude, and elevations or orography) to fixed landforms . Of course, given plate tectonics and isostasy, there is no system in which all geographic features are fixed . Yet the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service and the International Astronomical Union have defined a framework called the International Terrestrial Reference System . </P> <P> As early as the 16th century, many prominent people correctly believed that the North Pole was in a sea, which in the 19th century was called the Polynya or Open Polar Sea . It was therefore hoped that passage could be found through ice floes at favorable times of the year . Several expeditions set out to find the way, generally with whaling ships, already commonly used in the cold northern latitudes . </P> <P> One of the earliest expeditions to set out with the explicit intention of reaching the North Pole was that of British naval officer William Edward Parry, who in 1827 reached latitude 82 ° 45 ′ North . In 1871 the Polaris expedition, a US attempt on the Pole led by Charles Francis Hall, ended in disaster . Another British Royal Navy attempt on the pole, part of the British Arctic Expedition, by Commander Albert H. Markham reached a then - record 83 ° 20'26" North in May 1876 before turning back . An 1879--1881 expedition commanded by US naval officer George W. DeLong ended tragically when their ship, the USS Jeanette, was crushed by ice . Over half the crew, including DeLong, were lost . </P> <P> In April 1895 the Norwegian explorers Fridtjof Nansen and Hjalmar Johansen struck out for the Pole on skis after leaving Nansen's icebound ship Fram . The pair reached latitude 86 ° 14 ′ North before they abandoned the attempt and turned southwards, eventually reaching Franz Josef Land . </P>

Who was the first person to reach the north pole and when did it happen