Matthew Alexander Henson was an African American Arctic explorer. He worked with Robert Peary for
almost 23 years exploring the Arctic. Henson became famous in black history for being part of an expedition that reached the North Pole between 1908-1909 and he was the first person in the group to reach the Pole. He was born to free African American parents on August 8, 1866, in Nanjemoy, Maryland but the family later moved to Georgetown, an independent town at that time, in 1867. Henson’s parents died when he was still little so he lived with an uncle in Washington who sponsored his education for some years but eventually died. At the age of 10, he attended a commemoration ceremony for Abraham Lincoln and there he listened to a speech given by Fredrick Douglass who was an Ex-slave, orator, and a renowned figure in African American History. Henson was motivated by the speech as Douglass encouraged the people to seek education at all costs and fight racism. When he was 12, he began to work in Baltimore as a cabin boy on a sailing ship known as Katie Hines. While he was working, one of the ship leaders, Captain Childs, noticed Henson, began to care for him and educated him. Sadly in 1887, Captain Childs died and Henson left his job at Katie Hines for a clothing store in Washington D.C
I think I’m the first man to sit on top of the world.
Matthew Henson
At the clothing store, he met Robert E. Peary who quickly hired him to be his assistant together with four other people for his next expedition to Nicaragua and because of his wealth of experience and knowledge. After the trip to Nicaragua, they spent over 20 years exploring the Arctic. Henson learned to speak the Inuit language so he could communicate with those who lived in that region. Peary wanted to embark on a journey to the North Pole in 1909 and he made Henson and some Innuit men and some dogs go with him. When they got to the North Pole, Henson was the first to make it to the top of the Pole as Peary was ill and could not continue walking.
Three years later, Henson released a memoir titled ” A Negro Explorer at the North Pole” but he barely
received any recognition for his expedition as most of the accolades went to Peary. Henson went to work at the US Custom House in New York City for over 30 years and began to gain recognition and was soon inducted into the Explorers Club in 1937 and became an honorary member in 1948. He died at age 88 in the Bronx, New York on March 9, 1955, and was laid to rest at Woodlawn Cemetery.