Matthew Henson
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| Matthew Henson | |
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| Born | August 8, 1866 Maryland, USA |
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| Died | March 9, 1955 (aged 88) USA |
| Occupation | Explorer |
| Spouse | Lucy Ross |
Matthew Alexander Henson (August 8, 1866 – March 9, 1955) was an African-American explorer and associate of Robert Peary; during various expeditions, the most famous being a 1909 expedition which claimed to be the first to reach the Geographic North Pole.
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[edit] Life
Matthew Henson was born on a farm in Charles County, Maryland in 1866.[1] He was still a child when his parents Lemuel and Caroline[2] died, and at the age of twelve he went to sea as a cabin boy on a merchant ship. He sailed around the world for the next several years, educating himself and becoming a skilled navigator.
Henson met Commander Robert E. Peary in 1888 and joined him on an expedition to Nicaragua. Impressed with Henson’s seamanship, Peary recruited him as a colleague. For years they made many trips together, including Arctic voyages in which Henson traded with the Eskimos and mastered their language, built sleds, and trained dog teams. In 1909, Peary mounted his eighth attempt to reach the North Pole, selecting Henson to be one of the team of six who would make the final run to the Pole. Before the goal was reached, Peary could no longer continue on foot and rode in a dog sled. Various accounts say he was ill, exhausted, or had frozen toes. In any case, he sent Henson on ahead as a scout. In a newspaper interview Henson said: “I was in the lead that had overshot the mark a couple of miles. We went back then and I could see that my footprints were the first at the spot.”[3] Henson then proceeded to plant the American flag.
Although Admiral Peary received many honors, Henson was largely ignored and spent most of the next thirty years working as a clerk in a federal customs house in New York. But in 1944 Congress awarded him a duplicate of the silver medal given to Peary.[4] Presidents Truman and Eisenhower both honored him before he died in 1955.[5]
In 1912 Henson wrote the book A Negro Explorer at the North Pole about his arctic exploration. Later, in 1947 he collaborated with Bradley Robinson on his biography Dark Companion. The 1912 book, along with an abortive lecture tour, enraged Peary who had always considered Henson no more than a servant and saw the attempts at publicity as a breach of faith.[6]
In 1961 an honorary plaque was installed to mark his Maryland birthplace.[7]
[edit] Family
Henson married Lucy Ross in 1906.
During their expeditions, both Henson and Peary fathered children with Inuit women, two of whom were brought to the attention of the American public by S. Allen Counter, who met them on a Greenland expedition.[8][1]
With an Inuit woman named Akatingwah, Matthew Henson fathered his only child, a son named Anauakaq. After 1909 Henson never saw Akatingwah or his son again, though he did receive updates about them from other explorers for a time. Anauakaq, who died in 1987, arrived in the United States with Kali Peary, Robert Peary's son, on May 29, 1987, to visit his father's family and grave site. Anaukaq and his wife, Aviaq, had five sons who, in turn, had many children of their own who still reside in Greenland.[8][2][9]
The "discovery" of Anauakaq and Kali and their meeting with their Henson and Peary relatives were documented in a book and documentary entitled North Pole Legacy: Black, White and Eskimo.[8][3]
Matthew Henson is also a relative of actress Taraji P. Henson ("The Division", Hustle & Flow).[4]
[edit] Honors
The Explorers Club, under its "polar" President Vilhjalmur Stefansson, invited Henson to join its ranks in 1937. Eleven years later the Club reconsidered Henson's membership and instead awarded Henson its highest rank of Honorary Member, an honor reserved for no more than 20 living members at a time.[10]
On April 6, 1988 Henson was reinterred in Arlington National Cemetery near Peary's monument. Many members from his American family and his Inuit family (Anauakaq's children) were in attendance.[11]
In October 1996, the United States Navy commissioned USNS Henson, a Pathfinder class Oceanographic Survey Ship, in honor of Matthew Henson.
On November 28, 2000, the National Geographic Society awarded the Hubbard Medal to Matthew A. Henson posthumously. Dr. S. Allen Counter petitioned the National Geographic Society for many years to present its most prestigious medal to Henson. He attended the ceremony with Mrs. Audrey Mebane, Henson's 74-year-old great-niece. The medal was presented at the newly named Matthew A. Henson Earth Conservation Center (MAHECC) in Washington, D.C., and accompanied a scholarship given in Henson's name by NGS.
The Matthew Henson Earth Conservation Center in Washington, D.C. is named for him, as are Matthew Henson State Park in Aspen Hill, Maryland, Matthew Henson Middle School[12] in Pomonkey, Maryland,[13] and Matthew Henson Elementary School[14] in Palmer Park, Maryland. Matthew Henson lived for a time in the landmark Dunbar Apartments in Harlem, in New York City.
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ Historical Information: Matthew Alexander Henson Co-Discoverer of the North Pole. Arlington National Cemetery. Retrieved on 2008-02-05.
- ^ Matthew Alexander Henson. Human Archives Organization. Retrieved on 2008-02-05.
- ^ "Matt Henson, Who Reached Pole With Peary in 1909, Dies at 88; He Was the Only American With Explorer", The New York Times, 10 March 1955
- ^ "Vote Grants Medals to Peary Aides", The New York Times, 20 January 1944
- ^ "President Greets Last Survivor of Peary Arctic Dash", The New York Times, 7 April 1954
- ^ The Tragedy of America's Exploited Black Pioneer Polar Explorer Matthew Henson. The Frederick A. Cook Society. Retrieved on 2008-02-05.
- ^ "Polar Hero Honored: Maryland Unveils Plaque to Matthew Henson, a Negro", The New York Times, 19 November 1961
- ^ a b c Dr. S. Allen Counter, "North Pole Legacy: Black, White, and Eskimo" (Invisible Cities Press, 2001).
- ^ "Ahnahkaq [sic] Henson, 80, Dies; A Son of Explorer With Peary", The New York Times, 12 July 1987
- ^ "Peary Aide is Honored: Matthew Henson, 81, Made Member of Celebrated Club", The New York Times, 12 May 1948
- ^ R. Drummond Ayres Jr., "Matt Henson, Aide at Pole, Rejoins Peary", The New York Times, 7 April 1988
- ^ Matthew Henson Middle School
- ^ About: Matthew Alexander Henson. Retrieved on 2008-02-01.
- ^ Matthew Henson Elementary School. Prince George's County Public Schools.
[edit] Other Sources
- Infoplease.com (2007). [5]
- Miles, J. H., Davis, J. J., Ferguson-Roberts, S. E., and Giles, R. G. (2001). Almanac of African American Heritage. Paramus, NJ: Prentice Hall Press.
- National Geographic (2003). [6]
- Potter, J. (2002). African American Firsts. New York, NY: Kensington Publishing Corp.
