The Arctic explorer whose achievement was hidden for decades
Photo credit: National Geographic
On April 6, 1909, after years of grueling Arctic expeditions, someone finally stood at the geographic North Pole—the top of the world. That person was Matthew Alexander Henson.
Yet for decades, history credited the achievement to Robert Peary, the white naval officer who led the expedition. Henson, the Black explorer who actually planted the flag, was relegated to a footnote. It took nearly a century for the truth to be fully recognized.
The Making of an Explorer
Matthew Henson was born in 1866 in Charles County, Maryland, just after the Civil War ended. Orphaned as a young child, he went to sea at age 12, working as a cabin boy on a merchant ship. The captain took an interest in him, teaching him to read, write, and navigate—skills that would prove invaluable.
By the time he was 18, Henson had traveled to China, Japan, Africa, and the Black Sea. He spoke multiple languages and had more sailing experience than most men twice his age.
In 1887, Henson met Robert Peary in a Washington, D.C. store where Henson worked as a clerk. Peary, planning an expedition to Nicaragua, hired Henson as his personal assistant. This began a partnership that would last over two decades and lead them to the ends of the Earth.
Seven Attempts at the Pole
Between 1891 and 1909, Henson accompanied Peary on seven Arctic expeditions. Each journey was brutal—temperatures dropping to 50 below zero, ice breaking beneath their feet, provisions running dangerously low.
Henson proved indispensable. He learned Inuktitut, the language of the Inuit people who served as guides. He became an expert at building sledges, training dog teams, and surviving in conditions that killed other expedition members. The Inuit called him "Mahri-Pahluk"—Matthew the Kind One—and respected him as an equal.
The Final Push
The 1909 expedition set out with a large team that gradually reduced as groups turned back. On the final push to the Pole, only Peary, Henson, and four Inuit men remained.
Henson, as the most skilled sledge driver, was in the lead. On April 6, 1909, he arrived at what he calculated to be the North Pole, planting the American flag 45 minutes before Peary caught up.
"I think I'm the first man to sit on top of the world," Henson later recalled telling Peary.
A Legacy Denied, Then Restored
Upon returning home, Peary claimed sole credit for the discovery. Henson, as a Black man in 1909 America, had no platform to challenge this narrative. He spent the next decades working as a parking lot attendant in Brooklyn, his achievement largely forgotten.
Recognition came slowly:
- 1937: Henson was admitted to the Explorers Club
- 1944: Congress awarded him a duplicate of the Peary Polar Expedition Medal
- 1988: His remains were reinterred at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors
- 2000: National Geographic posthumously awarded him its highest honor, the Hubbard Medal
Today, historians widely acknowledge that Matthew Henson was almost certainly the first person to reach the North Pole.
What Matthew Teaches Us
Matthew Henson's story is a reminder that achievement and recognition don't always align—but truth has a way of surfacing. He explored the most hostile terrain on Earth, mastered skills that saved lives, and reached a goal that humans had pursued for centuries.
His legacy reminds us that Black excellence has always existed, even when it was deliberately obscured. Every time we travel to places we're told we don't belong, we walk in Matthew Henson's footsteps.
Matthew Henson reached the top of the world. Learn about Matthew and other Black history pioneers, then explore our upcoming trips and discover the places waiting for you.
