Matthew Henson

Matthew Alexander Henson (August 8, 1866 – March 9, 1955) was an American explorer and assistant of Robert Peary on various expeditions, the most famous being a 1909 expedition during which he may have been the first person to reach the Geographic North Pole.

Henson in c. 1910

Henson was born on August 8, 1866 in Nanjemoy, Maryland.^[1] He was married to Lucy Ross from 1906 until his death in 1955. Henson died on March 9, 1955 in his home in The Bronx, New York from a stroke, aged 88.