Matthew Henson

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, MD. 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 the survey of 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 last attempt to reach the North Pole, and 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.

Glenmont, Maryland · United States