Matthew Henson was born in Charles County, Maryland, on August 8, 1866. At age 12, he left home and lived in Washington, DC, and Baltimore, Maryland. From 1879 to 1884, he served as a cabin boy on the ship Katie Hines, explored the world, and learned to read, write, and navigate. In 1887, he joined Robert E. Peary to assist in surveying Nicaragua for a possible canal. In 1889, he moved to Philadelphia and worked as a messenger at the League Island Navy Yard. In 1891, he went on the Greenland Expedition with Peary and lived with the Inuit for over a year. In 1895, he returned from the north to work at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. In 1908, he left on the USS Roosevelt for a final attempt to reach the North Pole. In 1909, he reached the North Pole with Peary and planted the American flag. From 1913 to 1936, he worked as a clerk in the federal customs house in New York. In 1944, Congress awarded him the Peary Polar Medal, and in 1954 President Eisenhower honored him at the White House with his wife Lucy Henson. He died on March 9, 1955, at the age of 88.