Autobiography of matthew henson
Matthew Henson
(1866-1955)
Who Was Matthew Henson?
Famed African American explorer Matthew Henson was hired by explorer Robert Edwin as his valet for expeditions. For more than two decades, they explored the Arctic, and on April 6, 1909, Peary, Henson and the rest of their team made history, becoming the first people to reach the North Pole — or at least they claimed to have. Henson died in New York City in 1955.
Early Life
Matthew Alexander Henson was born on August 8, 1866, in Charles County, Maryland. The son of two freeborn Black sharecroppers, Henson lost his mother at an early age. When Henson was 4 years old, his father moved the family to Washington, D.C., in search of work opportunities. His father died there a few years later, leaving Henson and his siblings in the care of other family members.
At the age of 11, Henson left home to find his own way. After working briefly in a restaurant, he walked all the way to Baltimore, Maryland, and found work as a cabin boy on the ship Katie Hines. Its skipper, Captain Childs, took Henson under his wing and saw to his education, which included instruction in the finer points of seamanship. During his time aboard the Katie Hines, he also saw much of the world, traveling to Asia, Africa and Europe.
In 1884 Captain Childs died, and Henson eventually made his way back to Washington, D.C., where he found work as a clerk in a hat shop. It was there that, in 1887, he met Robert Edwin Peary, an explorer and officer in the U.S. Navy Corps of Civil Engineers. Impressed by Henson's seafaring credentials, Peary hired him as his valet for an upcoming expedition to Nicaragua.
Career as an Explorer
After returning from Nicaragua, Peary found Henson work in Philadelphia, and in April 1891 Henson married Eva Flint. But shortly thereafter, Henson joined Peary again, for an expedition to Greenland. While there, Henson embraced the local Eskimo culture, learning the language and the natives' Arctic survival skills o Robert Peary is remembered as the intrepid explorer who successfully reached the North Pole in 1909. Far less celebrated is his companion, Matthew Henson, a black man from Maryland. A Negro Explorer at the North Pole: The Autobiography of Matthew Henson, first published in 1912 and now re-issued, tells this unsung hero's story in his own words. Henson, who was paid only minimum wages throughout two decades of his association with Peary, was indispensable to the famous explorer's journey; he learned the language of the Eskimos, was an expert dog-sled driver and even built the sleds. But after they reached the North Pole, Peary stole the black man's photographs, barely spoke to him and refused to recognize his importance to the expedition. This edition contains rare photos of the journey and an introduction by S. Allen Counter, author of North Pole Legacy: Black, White, and Eskimo Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc. American explorer (1866–1955) Matthew A. Henson Henson c. 1910 Matthew Alexander Henson Nanjemoy, Maryland, U.S. The Bronx, New York, US Eva Flint Lucy Ross Matthew Alexander Henson (August 8, 1866 – March 9, 1955) was an African American explorer who accompanied Robert Peary on seven voyages to the Arctic over a period of nearly 23 years. They spent a total of 18 years on expeditions together. He is best known for his participation in the 1908–1909 expedition that claimed to have reached the geographic North Pole on April 6, 1909. Henson said he was the first of their party to reach the North Pole. Henson was born in Nanjemoy, Maryland, to sharecropper parents who were free Black Americans before the Civil War. He spent most of his early life in Washington, D.C., but left school at the age of twelve to work as a cabin boy. He later returned to Washington and worked as a salesclerk at a department store. One of his customers was Robert Peary, who in 1887 hired him as a personal valet. At the time, Peary was working on the Nicaragua Canal. Their first Arctic expedition together was in 1891–92. Henson served as a navigator and craftsman, and was known as Peary's "first man". Like Peary, he studied Inuit survival techniques. During their 1908–09 expedition to Greenland, Henson was one of the six men – including Peary and four Inuit assistants – who claimed to have been the first to reach the geographic North Pole. In interviews, Henson identified as the first member of the party to reach A Negro Explorer at the North Pole: The Autobiography of Matthew Henson
I first encountered the man as a child in my Afro-Bets Book of Black Heroes from A to Z. Growing-up in Maryland in the 90s, meant that any person who could be used as an inspiration to "Black youth" would have their story told. It was only recently that I learned that he had published his own account. And of course I decided to read it.
The story is of mixed quality. On the one-hand, it is basic propaganda for Perry and his legacy, with Henson doing all he could to emphasize Peary, but he also incidentally gave interesting insight to the struggles of an Arctic expedition. Also, Peary & Henson had been going on expeditions around the world for 23 years before the final attempt at reaching the North Pole in 1909. Despite this, there was extreme anger at Peary taking Henson, especially choosing Henson to be the only other American to make the 130 mile journey to the Pole. While this this book is more propaganda than historical account it does make for an interesting adventure account. I did not expect him to be able to go into honest detail of his role in the North Pole Expedition (this was written in 1912) and I was not impressed by his paternalistic view of Inuits (ironic given his own treatment once he got back to the USA), but there were some details that rea A Negro Explorer at the North Pole: The Autobiography of Matthew Henson - Softcover
From Publishers Weekly
Matthew Henson
Born
(1866-08-08)August 8, 1866Died March 9, 1955(1955-03-09) (aged 88) Resting place Arlington National Cemetery Known for Arctic explorer, claimed as the first to reach the geographic North Pole Spouses Children Anauakaq (1906–1987; by Akatingwah)