EXPLORER

Matthew Henson

1866 - 1955

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Icon of person Matthew Henson

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. To promote a lecture tour, Henson later said he was the first of their party to reach the North Pole but there is no evidence for this. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Matthew Henson is the 449th most popular explorer (down from 444th in 2019), the 9,026th most popular biography from United States (down from 8,222nd in 2019) and the 32nd most popular American Explorer.

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Among EXPLORERS

Among explorers, Matthew Henson ranks 449 out of 498Before him are Georgy Ushakov, Krystyna Chojnowska-Liskiewicz, Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón, Frans Blom, John Gardner Wilkinson, and Valerian Albanov. After him are Jan Carstenszoon, Charles Sturt, Herbert Ponting, George Back, Ed Stafford, and Apsley Cherry-Garrard.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1866, Matthew Henson ranks 141Before him are Oskar Messter, Fred Karno, Harry Davenport, Józef Pankiewicz, Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon, and Ndre Mjeda. After him are George Milne, 1st Baron Milne, Gustav de Vries, Ernest Mangnall, Miina Sillanpää, Maud Gonne, and Cornelia Sorabji. Among people deceased in 1955, Matthew Henson ranks 153Before him are Shemp Howard, John Hodiak, Arturo Coddou, William C. deMille, John Fenning, and Einar Arnórsson. After him are Aleksei Dikiy, Anna Ostroumova-Lebedeva, Robert E. Sherwood, Richard Verderber, Giuseppe Domenichelli, and George van Rossem.

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In United States

Among people born in United States, Matthew Henson ranks 9,028 out of 20,380Before him are Chita Rivera (1933), Clayton Anderson (1959), Ellsworth Vines (1911), Sally Mann (1951), Jake Roberts (1955), and James Hartle (1939). After him are Roy Thomas (1940), Robert Beltran (1953), Phil Harris (1904), Ronda Rousey (1987), Tim Holt (1919), and James Marshall (1967).

Among EXPLORERS In United States

Among explorers born in United States, Matthew Henson ranks 32Before him are John Wesley Powell (1834), Nathaniel Palmer (1799), George Kennan (1845), Charles Francis Hall (1821), Isaac Israel Hayes (1832), and Frederick Russell Burnham (1861). After him are John Colter (1774), Adolphus Greely (1844), Wiley Post (1898), Benjamin Morrell (1795), Ezra Meeker (1830), and Sue Hendrickson (1949).