Matthew Alexander Henson
(1866-1955)
Trailblazer
Fascinated by stories of the sea as a young boy,
Matthew Henson hungered to explore the world and break trails
where few men dared to step. Born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1866
to freeborn sharecroppers, Henson experienced a tumultuous childhood.
Raised in Charles County, Maryland, Henson’s mother died
when he was only two years old. His father, Lemuel Henson; re-married
a woman named Nellie, but died in 1874, leaving Matthew to be
raised by his stepmother.
Due to the stress of raising children on her
own, Henson’s stepmother was very abusive to him. At 11
years old, after suffering a severe beating by his stepmother,
Henson ran away from home to Washington, DC. There he was befriended
by Captain Childs of the merchant ship the Katie Hines. Childs
hired Henson as a cabin boy and treated him like a son, teaching
him math, history and navigation. Henson traveled around the world
with Childs to places such as China, Japan and the Black Sea.
When Henson was 17, Childs died, forcing Matthew
to abandon his sea life and work odd jobs in Boston, Providence,
Buffalo and New York. Eventually, Henson returned to DC, taking
a job at a fur shop. In 1887, engineer and explorer Robert Peary
visited the shop to sell the owner some furs he obtained on a
recent hunting trip to the artic. Talking with the owner, Peary
explained he was in search of an assistant to join him on his
voyage to Nicaragua. The US government hired Peary to explore
the possibility of building a canal that would connect the Atlantic
and Pacific oceans. The Panama Canal would eventually be built
in 1914.
The fur shop owner recommended Peary hire the
21 year old Henson, explaining he was an experienced seaman. During
their two year trip to Nicaragua, Peary was so impressed by Henson’s
mapmaking and carpentry skills that he asked Henson to join him
as a fellow explorer in his life-long quest to be the first man
to reach the North Pole.
In 1891, Peary invited Henson to join him in
more exploration of Greenland. Henson eagerly accepted and married
Eva Flint prior to embarking on his voyage. During their first
exploration to Greenland in 1891, Henson quickly learned the Eskimo
language and Artic survival skills such as building camp, breaking
trails and driving dog teams. For the next 18 years, Henson’s
survival skills proved critical in Peary’s repeated explorations
of the Artic.
In 1906, before embarking on his final exploration
with Peary to discover the North Pole, Henson married his second
wife, Lucy Jane Ross. His marriage to Eva Flint ended earlier
in divorce because of Henson’s constant travels. On July
6, 1908, Henson was 40 when he set sail with the 50 year old Peary
on the USS Roosevelt for their final attempt to reach the North
Pole. In addition to Henson, Peary’s team included five
other explorers. They spent six months in the piercing cold above
the Artic circle, preparing to strike out toward the Pole in the
spring.
Storms, sub-freezing temperatures and breaks
in icepacks called “leads” make Artic explorations
extremely dangerous. As supplies ran out, Peary’s team members
retreated, leaving Henson and Peary, along with their Eskimo guides
alone to reach the Pole. Henson’s ‘dead reckoning’
ability, also known as innate sense of direction, led him to out
run Peary and become the first man to reach the North Pole on
April 9, 1909. Peary, who had frostbitten feet, was being pulled
in the snow by their Eskimo companions and reached the Pole 45
minutes later.
Upon returning to the Roosevelt, Peary and Henson
learned Dr. Frederick Cook was falsely claiming he had reached
the North Pole a full year earlier. The National Geographic Society
investigated Cook’s claim and determined it was a hoax.
Unfortunately, Cook’s hoax robbed Peary and Henson of the
public accolades they should have received at the time.
Eventually, Peary was honored as the sole discoverer
of the North Pole, while Henson received almost no recognition
for his contribution. This lack of public recognition for his
monumental achievement forced Henson to work as a civil servant,
living his life in obscurity while Peary received numerous accolades
and died as a well known explorer. Determined to set the record
straight, in 1946 the Explorers Club of New York City made Henson
an honorary member and the club worked diligently to get Henson
recognized as the first discoverer of the North Pole.
The club’s effort’s paid off. In
1954 President Dwight Eisenhower presented Henson with an award
honoring his extraordinary achievement. Henson died March 9, 1955
and was buried in the Bronx. On the 79th anniversary of the discovery
of the North Pole, President Ronald Reagan granted permission
for Henson to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery, next to
Robert Peary.
In his autobiography A Negro at the North
Pole, published in 1912, Henson acknowledged he was inspired
by Frederick Douglass to make an achievement in life that would
bring recognition to all Blacks. Written on his tombstone is a
quote from his autobiography: “The lure of the Artic is
tugging at my heart. To me the trail is calling. The old trail.
The trail that is always new.“ Henson’s enormous accomplishment
shows mankind dreams beckon within us all and can be turned into
reality if we simply follow the trail that calls us.
In honor of Henson’s great achievement,
HIA Toys is proud to offer our Trailblazer
action figure.
