Mathew Henson appeals to me because he was a black explorer but no one would give him because he was black. So he brought someone who was white. But then when he came back they gave the white person all of the credit. But years later they gave Mathew the credit. Mathew Henson discovered the North Pole in 1909. He employed him as an attendant on expeditions to the Arctic from 1891 to 1909 and that is when he discovered the North Pole.             

Listen to An Interview with Matthew Henson    

Matthew Henson was the first African American person to discover the North Pole but he had to go through some tough times to get there.

           Matthew Henson was born on August 8, 1866 in Cape Columbia. He had three sisters and two brothers. His mom died when he was seven and his dad died when he was twelve He was really poor and a white man owned him and his family. The family did not get a break. Matthew never went to school because there was not time for it.. Even though he never went to school he knew a lot about sailors. Matthew had to work on some hard jobs in order to survive. At age eleven he worked at a hat store in Washington D.C. He also worked at shipping docks. In 1878 he worked in a restaurant in Washington D.C. This is where he met Captain Childs. Captain Childs offered him a job on the ship. Matthew was given the job of washing dishes. Childs ended up liking young Matthew Henson and taught him history navigation, and geography. He got a taste of racism when a guy started a fight with him because he was black. Matthew Henson also worked as a bell hop boy in providence, Rhode Island. In New York he dug ditches. Finally at age 17 Matthew worked in a ship yard in Boston, Massachusetts.  At age 21 Henson moved back to Washington, D.C where he was a hat boy. This is where he met Lieutenant Robert Peary. Peary was going on an expedition and he invited him to go along with him. Henson sailed to Nicaragua with Peary. Henson and Peary returned to the U.S. After he worked as a messenger in the league Island Navy Yard in Pennsylvania. Peary then invited Henson to go to the Arctic with him.  But Henson did not know what to do, but learned hoe to hunt and build sledges.

Lieutenant Scaptec challenged Henson if he came back with all of his fingers and toes not missing he would get 100 dollars.  This was a racist comment seeing how Scaptec thought that blacks could not stand the cold. When Henson went to the Arctic again he fell in the water, luckily an Inuit 

man was right there and saved him.

           Matthew Henson fell in love with an Inuit girl and they had children. Their names were  Kudlooktoo and Anaukaq. Matthew died March 9 1955. But years later he was finally given credit for traveling to the North Pole.  In 1988, Henson was moved to the Arlington National Cemetery. In 2000 the  National Geographic Society awarded Henson the Hubbard Medal, its highest honor.

Bibliography

http://www.matthewhenson.com/photos_2009_1C.htm

photo of Henson

Honea, B,A. Matthew Henson.  Mankato, Minnesota   Capstone press, 20006.