19 Feb 2025 6 min read Blog

Black History Month: Matthew Henson

Learn about the first Black Arctic explorer and a part of the small group considered to be the first to reach the geographic North Pole in 1909.

Today's Black History Month illustration is of Matthew Henson, the first Black Arctic explorer and a part of the small group considered to be the first to reach the geographic North Pole in 1909.

an illustration of the first Black Arctic explorer, Matthew Henson, by Alleanna Harris — Matthew Henson by Alleanna Harris

Matthew Alexander Henson was born in 1866 in Maryland. He was the son of two freeborn Black sharecroppers. When Henson was 4, his father moved the family to Washington DC for better work opportunities. His parents died early on and Henson and his siblings were left with other family members.

Matthew Alexander Henson, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing front, wearing his fur suit. Circa 1910. — Matthew Henson. c. 1910.

When Henson was 11, he left home to find his own way. He walked from DC all the way to Baltimore, Maryland and found work as a cabin boy on the ship Katie Hines. The skipper, Captain Childs, took Henson under his wing and educated him. Also, while being a cabin boy, he travelled to Asia, Africa, and Europe.

After Captain Child passed, he made his way back to Washington DC. In 1887, while working in a store, Henson met Robert E. Peary, who hired him as a valet for his next expedition to Nicaragua. Peary was impressed with Henson’s skills and all around resourcefulness and employed him as an attendant on seven expeditions to the Arctic.

The North Pole expedition including Henson and Peary. 1909. Courtesy of The Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum, Bowdoin College.

On April 6, 1909, Henson, Peary, and four Inuit guides, Egingwah, Ooqueah, Ootah, and Seeglo, drove their dogsleds to the North Pole. It’s said that Henson arrived alone at what he thought was the North Pole. Peary caught up to him an hour later and refused to accept Henson’s calculation. Peary then chose a different location and called it the North Pole.

When they returned home from the expedition, Peary received most of the accolades for the trip even though Henson was technically first. And despite the accolades, the team faced a lot of skepticism, and Peary had to testify before Congress about the lack of proof of reaching the North Pole.

Matthew Henson as a US Customs clerk in New York City — Matthew Henson at work at the New York Custom House. Courtesy of the US Customs Archives.

Matthew Henson points to a map which follows the flights of Byrd and the Amundsen-Ellsworth expeditions to North Pole in 1926. — Matthew Henson points to a map which follows the flights of Byrd and the Amundsen-Ellsworth expeditions to North Pole. 1926. Courtesy of the Bettman Archive and Getty Images.

Matthew Henson's book, A Negro Explorer at the North Pole — A Negro Explorer at the North Pole by Matthew Henson.

By order of President Taft, Henson was appointed clerk in the US Customs House in New York City and he also continued to talk about his experiences as an explorer. In 1912, he wrote the book A Negro Explorer at the North Pole. In 1937, when Henson was 70, he was accepted as an honorary member of the highly regarded Explorers Club. A few years later, he and the other members of the North Pole Expedition were awarded a Congressional Medal. In 1947, he worked with Bradley Robinson to write his biography, Dark Companion.

Matthew Henson at the White House in 1954 with his wife, and President Dwight Eisenhower. Courtesy of Bettmann Archive.

Matthew Henson holding a picture of Peary — Matthew Henson holds a portrait of Robert E. Peary taken during an expedition to the North Pole. 1953. World-Telegram photo by Roger Higgins. Courtesy of Library of Congress

Henson died in NYC in 1955, but was reinterred at Arlington National Cemetery in 1987 at the request of Dr. S. Allen Counter of Harvard University.

Matthew Henson's gravesite at Arlington National Cemetery — Tombstone over the grave of Matthew Alexander Henson and his wife, Lucy Ross Henson, at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.

My illustration of Matthew Henson is available as an art print here.

I'll be back on Friday with another illustration and story!

-Alleanna

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