Short answers, pulled from the story.
Pytheas sailed past the Pillars of Hercules in 325 BC. He reached a frozen sea that he described as curdled while seeking tin for his home colony of Massilia on the Mediterranean coast.
Erik the Red established settlements in Greenland in 985 after being outlawed from Norway. These colonies flourished initially but disappeared around 1450 due to complex factors beyond just the Little Ice Age.
Robert Peary claimed to reach the North Pole on the 6th of April 1909 using dogsleds and support crews that turned back at intervals. His achievement remains disputed by modern explorers who argue he could not have completed it on foot within the claimed timeframe.
Roald Amundsen and Lincoln Ellsworth flew over the pole aboard the Norge airship on the 12th of May 1926 marking the first undisputed sighting. Umberto Nobile piloted the Norge and later crashed during his second attempt on the 24th of May 1928.
Russian crewed submersibles descended to the seabed below the North Pole on the 2nd of August 2007 during Arktika 2007. This event followed earlier attempts including a Soviet party landing near the pole in 1948 under Aleksandr Kuznetsov's command.