Matthew Henson, Polar Explorer (1866-1955). Letter of verification, at left. At right, New York Explorers Club, signed photo, New York City c. 1937.
From 1891, Henson proved indispensable to Cdr. Robert E. Peary on their many attempts to reach the North Pole. Setting out from their ship in February, they reached the Pole on April 6, 1909, with Peary, Henson, and four Eskimos. Peary was ill and sled-bound, so Henson went ahead and concluded by dead reckoning that he had reached the North Pole. On returning, Henson hailed Peary, “I think I’m the first man to sit on top of the world.” Henson later wrote that this angered Peary. “Oh, he got hopping mad … No, he didn’t say anything, but I could tell.”
Henson was the Explorer Club’s first African American member.