Matthew A. Henson (August 8, 1866 - March 9, 1955) accompanied Commander Robert Peary to the North Pole.
In 1909, at the North Pole, he is reported to have said, "I think I'm the first man to sit on top of the world."( In fact, on this 8th attempt to reach the Pole, Peary, probably too fatigued to walk sent Henson ahead to scout and the latter reached the Pole first.)
Orphaned at age 11, he learned to read and write working as a cabin boy on a merchant ship.
Awarded the silver medal by Congress in 1944, Henson was also honored by Presidents Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower.
No comments:
Post a Comment