Historical Profile: Matthew A. Henson
April 6, 2009 marked the 100th anniversary of the discovery of the North Pole. Matthew Alexander Henson was one of the members of the original team that discovered the North Pole on April 6, 1909. Henson was born on August 8, 1866 in Charles County, Maryland. When Henson was 13 years old he became an orphan after his parents died. In order to support himself Henson became a cabin boy on a ship. Eventually he sailed to different places around the world. During this time he became a skilled navigator.
In 1887, while working in a Washington, D.C. hat store Henson met U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Robert Edwin Peary. Later, Peary hired Henson as an assistant and soon brought the young man with him on sailing expeditions. The first was a survey trip to Nicaragua in 1887. Peary thought that Henson would be an indispensable part of his quest for discovering the North Pole.
In 1887, while working in a Washington, D.C. hat store Henson met U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Robert Edwin Peary. Later, Peary hired Henson as an assistant and soon brought the young man with him on sailing expeditions. The first was a survey trip to Nicaragua in 1887. Peary thought that Henson would be an indispensable part of his quest for discovering the North Pole.
Between 1891 and 1909 Admiral Peary and Henson went on seven expeditions to the Arctic. Henson’s primary task was to learn Eskimo (Inuit) customs & their language, and survival techniques for the frigid weather conditions. Henson mastered the Inuit language which enabled him to trade with the Inuits. Henson also built sleds and trained dog teams. The Inuits named Henson, “Maripaluk” or Matthew the Kind One.
On April 6, 1909 Henson, Peary, and four Inuits reached the North Pole. Unfortunately, Admiral Peary received all of the credit for the discovery. Years later, Henson was recognized for being part of the discovery team. President William Howard Taft appointed Henson to work at the United States Customs House in New York City. Henson spent thirty years working there as a clerk. In 1937, Henson was admitted into the Explorer’s Club and in 1944 the U.S. Congress honored Henson with a silver medal for the North Pole discovery. President Harry S. Truman and President Dwight D. Eisenhower also recognized Henson’s accomplishments.
According to Mead Treadwell, chairman of the Artic Research Commission, explorers today are still discovering new aspects of the North Pole. New discoveries are still being filled out on the Arctic map. This further highlights the significance of Henson and Peary’s scientific discovery of a foreign land 100 years ago.
Henson’s autobiography A Black Explorer at the North Pole was published in 1912. Henson died on March 9, 1955. He was buried at Woodland Cemetery in New York City. In 1996, to commemorate the 130th anniversary of the pioneer’s birth, the U.S. Navy ship, the USNS Henson was named in his honor. Additionally, the Matthew Alexander Henson Memorial is located in the rotunda at the Maryland State House.
S. Allen Counter, a professor at Harvard Medical School, lobbied to have Henson reburied at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. Counter’s petition was successful and subsequently on April 6, 1988, Henson and his wife Lucy Ross Henson were reburied in Arlington National Cemetery with full U.S. Military honors. President Ronald Reagan granted Counter’s request for the Henson’s to be reburied at Arlington National.
The inscription on the front of Henson’s gravestone states: “Matthew Alexander Henson: Co-Discoverer of the North Pole. Reached the North Pole on April 6, 1909 with Robert E. Peary and Four Polar Eskimos.” The engraved picture on the gravestone shows five people. The individual in the middle is Henson who has his right arm raised. And his four Inuit friends: Ooquea, Ootah, Egingwah, and Seegloo.
Accompanied by his 16-year-old daughter, Counter met with descendants of the Henson, Perry, and the Inuit leader Ootah on April 6, 2009, to mark the centennial anniversary of the North Pole discovery. The group met in Qaanaaq – one of the northernmost villages on Earth. Counter brought a commemorative anniversary case which included: a folded American flag, a Bible from Harvard’s Memorial Church, a copy of Peary and Henson’s books about the North Pole, and essays from James J. McCarthy – a Harvard University scientist whose research focuses on the rapid melting of Arctic ice. Eventually, the commemorative case will be delivered back to S. Allen Counter, who plans on sharing it with schools in New England to inform students about the North Pole discovery. “They did this at a time when reaching the North Pole was tantamount to reaching the moon in our lifetimes,” Counter says in an April 11, 2009, Boston Globe article by Bina Venkataraman.
Henson’s headstone is located in Section 8 near Robert E. Peary’s gravesite and the U.S. Coast Guard Memorial at Arlington National. On the back of the headstone there is a quote: “The lure of the Arctic is tugging at my heart. To me the trail is calling! The Old Trail – The Trail that is always new!”
On April 6, 1909 Henson, Peary, and four Inuits reached the North Pole. Unfortunately, Admiral Peary received all of the credit for the discovery. Years later, Henson was recognized for being part of the discovery team. President William Howard Taft appointed Henson to work at the United States Customs House in New York City. Henson spent thirty years working there as a clerk. In 1937, Henson was admitted into the Explorer’s Club and in 1944 the U.S. Congress honored Henson with a silver medal for the North Pole discovery. President Harry S. Truman and President Dwight D. Eisenhower also recognized Henson’s accomplishments.
According to Mead Treadwell, chairman of the Artic Research Commission, explorers today are still discovering new aspects of the North Pole. New discoveries are still being filled out on the Arctic map. This further highlights the significance of Henson and Peary’s scientific discovery of a foreign land 100 years ago.
Henson’s autobiography A Black Explorer at the North Pole was published in 1912. Henson died on March 9, 1955. He was buried at Woodland Cemetery in New York City. In 1996, to commemorate the 130th anniversary of the pioneer’s birth, the U.S. Navy ship, the USNS Henson was named in his honor. Additionally, the Matthew Alexander Henson Memorial is located in the rotunda at the Maryland State House.
S. Allen Counter, a professor at Harvard Medical School, lobbied to have Henson reburied at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. Counter’s petition was successful and subsequently on April 6, 1988, Henson and his wife Lucy Ross Henson were reburied in Arlington National Cemetery with full U.S. Military honors. President Ronald Reagan granted Counter’s request for the Henson’s to be reburied at Arlington National.
The inscription on the front of Henson’s gravestone states: “Matthew Alexander Henson: Co-Discoverer of the North Pole. Reached the North Pole on April 6, 1909 with Robert E. Peary and Four Polar Eskimos.” The engraved picture on the gravestone shows five people. The individual in the middle is Henson who has his right arm raised. And his four Inuit friends: Ooquea, Ootah, Egingwah, and Seegloo.
Accompanied by his 16-year-old daughter, Counter met with descendants of the Henson, Perry, and the Inuit leader Ootah on April 6, 2009, to mark the centennial anniversary of the North Pole discovery. The group met in Qaanaaq – one of the northernmost villages on Earth. Counter brought a commemorative anniversary case which included: a folded American flag, a Bible from Harvard’s Memorial Church, a copy of Peary and Henson’s books about the North Pole, and essays from James J. McCarthy – a Harvard University scientist whose research focuses on the rapid melting of Arctic ice. Eventually, the commemorative case will be delivered back to S. Allen Counter, who plans on sharing it with schools in New England to inform students about the North Pole discovery. “They did this at a time when reaching the North Pole was tantamount to reaching the moon in our lifetimes,” Counter says in an April 11, 2009, Boston Globe article by Bina Venkataraman.
Henson’s headstone is located in Section 8 near Robert E. Peary’s gravesite and the U.S. Coast Guard Memorial at Arlington National. On the back of the headstone there is a quote: “The lure of the Arctic is tugging at my heart. To me the trail is calling! The Old Trail – The Trail that is always new!”
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