Matthew Henson Receives a Joint Medal from Congress
1944 – Matthew Henson receives a joint medal by Congress
Matthew Henson receives a joint medal by Congress for his role as co-discoverer of the North Pole.
Matthew Alexander Henson (August 8, 1866 – March 9, 1955) was the first African-American Arctic explorer, an associate of Robert Peary on seven voyages over a period of nearly 23 years. They made six voyages and spent a total of 18 years in expeditions.[1] Henson served as a navigator and craftsman, traded with Inuit and learned their language, and was known as Peary’s “first man” for these arduous travels.
During their 1909 expedition to Greenland, Henson accompanied Peary in the small party, including four Inuit men, that has been recognized as the first to reach the Geographic North Pole (although this has also been subject to dispute). Henson was invited in 1937 as a member of The Explorers Club due to his achievement and was the first African American to be accepted. In 1948 he was made an honorary member, a distinction for 20 persons annually. Based on research into Peary’s diary and astronomical observations, Wally Herbert, a later Arctic explorer who reached the North Pole in 1969, concluded in 1989 that Peary’s team had not reached the pole. This has been widely accepted, but some dispute this conclusion.
Henson published his memoir, A Negro Explorer at the North Pole (1912), which included a foreword and praise by Peary. Since the late 20th century, Henson’s contributions have received more recognition. By presidential order, in 1988, the remains of Henson and his wife were reinterred with a monument at Arlington National Cemetery, near that for Peary and his wife. Henson has received numerous posthumous honors since then. In the late 20th century, Henson’s and Peary’s elderly sons by their Inuit “country wives” were tracked down, and their descendants invited to the United States to meet other family members, as well as to attend the 1988 ceremonies.
