The Library of Congress > Linked Data Service > LC Name Authority File (LCNAF)

Henson, Matthew Alexander, 1866-1955


  • URI(s)

  • Variants

    • Henson, Matthew A., 1866-1955
    • Henson, Matthew, 1866-1955

  • Identifies LC/NAF RWO

  • Identifies RWO

    • Birth Date

        1866-08-08

    • Death Date

        1955-03-09

    • Has Affiliation

        • Organization: Steinmetz and Son (Firm)
        • Organization: U.S. Customs House (New York, N.Y.)

    • Birth Place

        Nanjemoy (Md.)

    • Associated Language

        English

    • Field of Activity

      Discoveries in geography

      (lcsh) North Pole--Discovery and exploration


    • Occupation

      Explorers

      • Exact Matching Concepts from Other Schemes

      • Closely Matching Concepts from Other Schemes

      • Sources

        • found: A Negro explorer at the North Pole, 1912.
        • found: A Black explorer at the North Pole, 1989:CIP t.p. (Matthew A. Henson)
        • found: Wikipedia, Sept. 16, 2014(Matthew Henson; Matthew Alexander Henson; born August 8, 1866, Nanjemoy, Maryland; died March 9, 1955 in The Bronx, New York; Arctic explorer, an associate of Robert Peary on seven voyages over a period of nearly 23 years. They made six voyages and spent a total of 18 years in expeditions. Henson served as a navigator and craftsman, traded with Inuit and learned their language, and was known as Peary's "first man" for these arduous travels. During their 1909 expedition to Greenland, Henson accompanied Peary in the small party, including four Inuit men, that has been recognized as the first to reach the Geographic North Pole. Henson was invited in 1937 as a member of The Explorers Club due to his achievement and was the first African American to be accepted)
        • found: African American National Biography, accessed January 29, 2015, via Oxford African American Studies Center database:(Henson, Matthew Alexander; explorer; born 08 August 1866 in Charles County, Maryland, United States. He was a clerk at Steinmetz and Son haberdashery, Washington, D.C.; messenger at the League Island Navy Yard; accompanied Peary on seven Arctic expeditions (1891-1895, 1896 and 1897, 1908-1909); was a messenger at the U.S. Customs House in New York (1913); repeated efforts to present him with a National Medal of Honor were blocked until 1944 when Congress authorized a medal honoring all the men of the Peary expedition; he and his wife were reinterred at Arlington National Cemetery near the site of Robert Peary's grave (1988). He died 09 March 1955 in New York, New York, United States)
        • found: LAC internal file, October 15, 2019(heading: Henson, Matthew Alexander, 1866-1955)

      • Instance Of

      • Scheme Membership(s)

      • Collection Membership(s)

      • Change Notes

        • 1979-06-15: new
        • 2023-09-09: revised

      • Alternate Formats