Matthew Henson

Matthew Alexander Henson was born on August 8, 1866, in Nanjemoy, Maryland. His parents were sharecroppers who were free people. Henson lost his mother when he was two years old and his father remarried. In 1870, his family moved to Washington, DC, in search for work opportunities. His father died there a few years later, leaving Henson in the care of his uncle. His uncle took a great deal of interest in his education, paying for it for several years. However, his uncle died when he was 11, leaving Henson to support himself.

At the age of 11, Henson left DC to find his own way. After working briefly in a restaurant as a dishwasher, he walked all the way to Baltimore, Maryland, and found work as a cabin boy on the merchant ship Katie Hines. Captain Childs took Henson under his wing and saw to his education, which included instruction in the finer points of seamanship as well as to read and write.

Henson sailed around the world with Captain Childs for several years, gaining experience as a crewman on the ship and learning about many countries. Visiting Europe, Asia, Africa, and Russia, Henson was exposed to cultures and languages of the different regions.

In 1883 Captain Childs died, and Henson eventually made his way back to Washington, DC, where he found work as a clerk in a hat shop. It was there that he met Commander Robert E. Peary, an explorer and officer in the U.S. Navy Corps of Civil Engineers. Peary had been ordered to do a survey for the proposed Nicaragua Canal. In preparing to go south, he had stopped in the store to purchase a sun hat and to sell some of the seal and walrus pelts he had collected in Greenland. He and Henson discussed their travels. Henson had the skill set Peary needed and he asked Henson to join him as his personal valet.

During their two years in Central America, Peary told Henson of his desire to explore the Arctic Circle, it became a goal for Henson too. He traveled with Peary to explore parts of Greenland in 1891. While there, Henson embraced the local Eskimo culture, learning the language and the natives' Arctic survival skills over the course of the next year. But by the end of the journey, all of the other members of the team had abandoned the venture, leaving Peary and Henson alone.

Their next trip to Greenland came in 1893, this time with a goal of charting the entire ice cap. The two-year journey almost ended in tragedy, with Peary's team on the brink of starvation; members of the team managed to survive by eating all but one of their sled dogs. Despite this perilous trip, the explorers returned to Greenland in 1896 and 1897, to collect three large meteorites they had found during their earlier quests, ultimately selling them to the American Museum of Natural History and using the proceeds to help fund their future expeditions.

Over the next several years, Peary and Henson would make multiple attempts to reach the North Pole. Their 1902 attempt proved tragic, with six Eskimo team members perishing due to a lack of food and supplies. However, they made more progress during their 1905 trip: Backed by President Theodore Roosevelt and armed with a then state-of-the-art vessel that had the ability to cut through ice, the team was able to sail within 175 miles of the North Pole. Melted ice blocking the sea path thwarted the mission’s completion, forcing them to turn back. Around this time, Henson fathered a son, Anauakaq, with an Inuit woman, but back at home in 1906 he married Lucy Ross.

The team's final attempt to reach the North Pole began in 1908. Henson proved an invaluable team member, building sledges and training others on their handling. Of Henson, expedition member Donald Macmillan once noted, "With years of experience equal to that of Peary himself, he was indispensable."

The expedition continued into the following year, and while other team members turned back, Peary and the Henson trudged on. On April 6, 1909, Peary, Henson, four Eskimos and 40 dogs (the trip had begun with 24 men, 19 sledges and 133 dogs) finally reached the North Pole, planting the American flag into the ground at, what is now known as, Camp Jesup.

When they returned to the United States, Peary received many accolades for his accomplishment. Peary was celebrated everywhere he went, but as an African American, Henson was largely forgotten and ignored. He spent the next 30 years working as a clerk in a New York federal customs house.

In 1937, a 70-year-old Henson finally received the acknowledgment he deserved: The highly regarded Explorers Club in New York accepted him as an honorary member. In 1944 he and the other members of the expedition were awarded a Congressional Medal.

Matthew Henson died in New York City on March 9, 1955, and was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery. In a move to honor Henson, in 1987, President Ronald Reagan approved the transportation of Henson remains for reinterment at Arlington National Cemetery. The national cemetery is also the burial site of Peary.