MATTHEW HENSON - 50 American Heroes Every Kid Should Meet

MATTHEW HENSON

August 8, 1866 - March 9, 1955

By 1900, humans had been almost everywhere on this planet's land surface--everywhere, that is, except the North and South Poles.

Adventure: It was in his blood. Risk-taking: It was part of his way to live life.

To escape from a difficult childhood, Matthew Henson set out to sea when only 12 years old. Through on-the-job training, he learned math, reading and navigation skills. By the age of 21, he was an experienced world traveler. Then fate stepped in. Henson was working in a fur and supplies store when an explorer named Robert Peary came in to buy some items. He mentioned that he needed a servant to accompany him on an expedition to Nicaragua. Guess whom he chose?

On that trip young Henson so impressed Commander Peary that he made him his trusted assistant. Together, they would try to make Peary's dream come true -- to be the first humans to reach the North Pole.

If you like adventure and mystery, there are few stories to match this genuine drama. Constant danger, sub-freezing temperatures, wild animals - it was all there. Only after three failed attempts did Robert Peary, four native Inuit (Eskimo) guides and Matthew Henson finally reach the North Pole, It was April 6, 1909, the end of a torturous 36-day journey. They probably wouldn’t have made it at all without Henson. He knew how to drive the dog team and hunt polar bear and musk oxen for food. He realized that the Inuits knew what they were doing in that harsh environment. He learned to speak their language so he could ask for their help.

The years of hard work and risk-taking had paid off. Humans had reached one of the last unreachable points on the globe. After Henson and Peary's remarkable trek, no one went back to the Pole until 17 years later, when an airplane flew over it. And no one has ever repeated the trip to and from the North Pole by dogsled.

POWER WORDS!

"History will take care of that. God will see to it, and God has plenty of helpers."
- Matthew Henson (reflecting on the fact that he had received so little recognition for his role in the successful trek to the North Pole)

For many years, Matthew Henson's achievement was ignored in history books because of his race. Although some people appreciated the key role he played in the North Pole expedition, Robert Peary got most of the glory. People in the early 1900's just weren't ready to cheer for a black man, no matter how big a hero he was. Some say Peary turned his back on Henson after they returned from the Pole. When Peary died, he was buried in Arlington National Cemetery and a big monument was placed on his grave. Matthew's final resting-place was a shared grave in the Bronx, New York.

But the United Sates has finally begun to appreciate Matthew Henson. In 1988, he received a hero's burial in Arlington, right next to his old friend, Peary. In 2001 a book called A Negro Explorer at the North Pole was brought back into print nearly 90 years after it was written. This book tells Henson's story in his own words and includes photos of the historic journey. See if you can find a copy at your local library. Click on www.matthewhenson.com and take a look. Don't miss the controversy over whether Henson and Peary actually were the first to reach the Pole! There's a movie about Peary you can watch, too. It's called Glory and Honor and it came out in 1998 and is available on DVD.

DIVE IN!

I, Matthew Henson: Polar Explorer by Carole Boston Weatherford (Walker, 2008), 32 pages.

Onward: a Photobiography of African-American Polar Explorer Matthew Henson by Dolores Johnson (National Geographic, 2006), 64 pages, Photobiographies.