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What was Matthew Henson early life like?
Early Life. American explorer 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.
Who was Matthew Henson in the Arctic?
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. [1]
Did Jim Henson ever have a child?
Around this time, Henson fathered a son, Anauakaq, with an Inuit woman, but back at home in 1906, he married Lucy Ross. The team's final attempt to reach the North Pole began in 1908.
How old was Jim Henson when he lost his mother?
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.
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How many sisters did Matthew Henson have?
He had an older sister S., born in 1864, and two younger sisters Eliza and M. Matthew's mother died when Matthew was seven. His father Lemuel remarried to a woman named Caroline and had additional children with her, including daughters and a son.
Did Matthew Henson have any children?
Anauakaq HensonMatthew Henson / Children
What was Matthew Henson's childhood like?
His parents were sharecroppers, like many African Americans in the post-Civil War years. Both died during Henson's childhood. At the age of 12, he went to work as a cabin boy on a merchant ship, having been fascinated by stories of the sea. Aboard the ship for six years, he learned how to read, write and navigate.
Is Matthew Henson related to Josiah?
As scheduled, Henson, 67, was in the library's conference room at 2 p.m., ready to talk about Matthew Henson and Josiah Henson, his great-great-great uncle, whose life as a runaway slave and preacher who escaped to Canada was depicted in the anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin.
Who was the first person to the North Pole?
explorer Roald AmundsenThe first consistent, verified, and scientifically convincing attainment of the Pole was on 12 May 1926, by Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and his US sponsor Lincoln Ellsworth from the airship Norge.
Who is the first person to reach North Pole?
explorer Robert E. PearyAnd here was the American explorer Robert E. Peary sending word from Indian Harbour, Labrador, that he had reached the pole in April 1909, one hundred years ago this month.
Who discovered the Arctic?
On April 6, 1909, American explorer Robert Peary accomplishes a long elusive dream, when he, assistant Matthew Henson and four Inuits reach what they determine to be the North Pole.
What challenges did Matthew Henson face?
He married twice, and had no children apart from Ahnaukaq Henson, who, in 1987, at the age of 80, achieved his lifetime ambition of visiting the land of his father's birth. Obstacles he faced included ice floes, snowstorms, frostbite and racism: 9.
Who is the famous black American who found and explored the North Pole in 1909?
Matthew Alexander HensonMatthew Alexander Henson, (born August 8, 1866, Charles county, Maryland, U.S.—died March 9, 1955, New York, N.Y.), African American explorer who accompanied Robert E. Peary on most of his expeditions, including that to the North Pole in 1909.
How true is Uncle Tom's Cabin?
Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin was inspired by the memoir of a real person: Josiah Henson. Maryland attorney Jim Henson outside the cabin where his relative, Josiah Henson, lived as a slave.
Who is Uncle Tom based on?
Josiah HensonThe character Uncle Tom, fr om Harriet Beecher Stowe's bestselling novel, ""Uncle Tom's Cabin,"" is based on the life of Josiah Henson (1789-1882). Henson's book garnered attention at the abolitionist reading room in Boston as well as in like-minded households throughout the North.
What is the real meaning of Uncle Tom?
The term "Uncle Tom" is used as a derogatory epithet for an excessively subservient person, particularly when that person perceives their own lower-class status based on race.
What are some fun facts about Matthew Henson?
Matthew Henson may have been the first person to stand at the North Pole. He reached the Pole as a member of an expedition to the Arctic led by the explorer Robert E. Peary in 1909. Matthew Alexander Henson was born in Maryland on August 8, 1866.
How old was Matthew Henson when he ran away?
11When he was 11 or 12, Henson ran away from his foster parents and signed up to be a cabin boy on the sailing vessel Katie Hines. Not long after, while sailing in the Baltic Sea, the Katie Hines was hemmed in by ice and stuck there for several months, giving Henson a formative experience with cold weather.
What challenges did Matthew Henson face?
He married twice, and had no children apart from Ahnaukaq Henson, who, in 1987, at the age of 80, achieved his lifetime ambition of visiting the land of his father's birth. Obstacles he faced included ice floes, snowstorms, frostbite and racism: 9.
What happened Matthew Henson?
Henson died the following year on March 9, 1955. Though he was buried in Woodlawn cemetery in the Bronx, New York on April 6, 1988 his remains along with his wife's were relocated to Arlington National Cemetery.
Where was Matthew Henson born?
Early life and education. Henson was born on August 8, 1866 on his parents' farm east of the Potomac River in Charles County, Maryland, to sharecroppers who had been free people of color before the American Civil War. Matthew's parents were subjected to attacks by the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacist groups, ...
Why did the Henson family move to Georgetown?
To escape from racial violence in southern Maryland, in 1867 the Henson family sold the farm and moved to Georgetown, then still an independent town adjacent to the national capital. He had an older sister S., born in 1864, and two younger sisters Eliza and M. Matthew's mother died when Matthew was seven.
What is the name of the school in Maryland named after Matthew Henson?
Places in Maryland named in Henson's honor include the following: Matthew Henson State Park in Aspen Hill, Matthew Henson Middle School in Pomonkey, and elementary schools named for him in Baltimore and Palmer Park. The Henson Glacier (Greenland) was named after him.
What class is the USNS Henson?
In October 1996, the United States Navy commissioned USNS Henson, a Pathfinder class Oceanographic Survey Ship, named in honor of Matthew Henson.
Who was the first African American to be a member of the Explorers Club?
In 1937 he was the first African American to be made a life member of The Explorers Club; in 1948 he was elevated to the club's highest level of membership. In 1944 Henson was awarded the Peary Polar Expedition Medal, and he was received at the White House by Presidents Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower.
Who was the first person to reach the North Pole?
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 what they believed was the pole.
When was Matthew Henson's dinner?
Entrance of the site of the former Matthew Henson Public Housing Project. On October 19, 1909 , Henson was the guest of honor at a dinner ceremony held by the Colored Citizens of New York, where he was honored by toasts and given a gold watch and chain.
Matthew Henson About
Matthew Henson was born on August 8, 1866 (age 88) in Nanjemoy, Maryland, United States. He is a celebrity explorer. His popular books are A Black Explorer at the North... (1912), Henson at the North Pole and A Journey for the Ages: Mat.... In His career, Matthew Henson has achieved an Hubbard Medal. He attended Harvard University.
Matthew Henson Biography
Matthew Henson was an African-American explorer who accompanied the famous American explorer Robert Peary on his 1909 expedition to Greenland and became the first African-American to reach the Geographic North Pole.
Family life
He was raised by his uncle after his parents died. He married Lucy Ross in 1906.
Before Fame
He worked as a dishwasher in local cafes before landing a job as a cabin boy at age 12.
Trivia
Despite being the first person to reach the North Pole, he is often overshadowed by his partner's fame.
Matthew Henson - Net Worth
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Overview
Early life and education
Henson was born on August 8, 1866 on his parents' farm east of the Potomac River in Charles County, Maryland, to sharecroppers who had been free people of color before the American Civil War. Matthew's parents were subjected to attacks by the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacist groups, who terrorized southern freedmen and former free people of color after the Civil War.
To escape from racial violence in southern Maryland, in 1867 the Henson family sold th…
Henson was born on August 8, 1866 on his parents' farm east of the Potomac River in Charles County, Maryland, to sharecroppers who had been free people of color before the American Civil War. Matthew's parents were subjected to attacks by the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacist groups, who terrorized southern freedmen and former free people of color after the Civil War.
To escape from racial violence in southern Maryland, in 1867 the Henson family sold the farm a…
Exploration
While working at a Washington D.C. clothing store, B.H. Stinemetz and Sons, in November 1887, Henson met Commander Robert E. Peary. Learning of Henson's sea experience, Peary recruited him as an aide for his planned voyage and surveying expedition to Nicaragua, with four other men. Peary supervised 45 engineers on the canal survey in Nicaragua. Impressed with Henson's seaman…
Later life
In 1912 Henson published a memoir about his arctic explorations, A Negro Explorer at the North Pole. In this, he describes himself as a "general assistant, skilled craftsperson, interpreter, and laborer." He later collaborated with author Bradley Robinson on his 1947 biography, Dark Companion, which told more about his life.
Family
Henson married Eva Flint in 1891, but their marriage did not survive their long periods of separation and they divorced in 1897. He later married Lucy Ross in New York City on September 7, 1907. They had no children.
During the extended expeditions to Greenland, Henson and Peary both took Inuit women as "country wives" and fathered children with them. With his concubine, known as Akatingwah, Hens…
Legacy and honors
• On October 19, 1909, Henson was the guest of honor at a dinner ceremony held by the Colored Citizens of New York, where he was honored by toasts and given a gold watch and chain.
• In 1937, The Explorers Club, under its "polar" President Vilhjalmur Stefansson, invited Henson to join its ranks.
Representation in media
• "Matthew Henson, Black Explorer" is part of the series "The Scooby-Doo Gang: Black Explorers" released in 1978 by Hanna-Barbera Educational Filmstrips. Catalog number 52410.
• S. Allen Counter's book, North Pole Legacy: Black, White and Eskimo (1991), discusses the explorations, as well as Peary and Henson's "country wives" (Inuit women) and their part-Inuit descendants, and historical race relations. He made a film documentary by the same name, shown on the Monitor …
Notes
1. ^ Deirdre C. Stam, "Introduction to The Explorers Club Edition," Matthew A. Henson's Historic Arctic Journey: The Classic Account of One of the World's Greatest Black Explorers, Globe Pequot, 2009, pp. 3–6
2. ^ Burial Detail: Henson, Matthew A (Section 8, Grave S-15-1) – ANC Explorer
3. ^ Howard, Brian Clark (2018-02-23). "Historic Photos Celebrate Pioneering Black Explorer". National Geographic. Retrieved 2019-01-17.