3. Matthew Henson – 1st person to step on the North Pole
Explorer best known as the co- discover of the North Pole with Robert Edwin Peary in He reported that he was the first of the party to reach the North Pole on April 6, 1909

4. Matthew Henson – 1st person to step on the North Pole
At age 12, he walked all the way to Baltimore, Maryland, and found work as a cabin boy on the ship Katie Hines. Its skipper, Captain Childs, took Henson under his wing and saw to his education, which included instruction in the finer points of seamanship.

5. Matthew Henson – 1st person to step on the North Pole
In 1893 he traveled with Peary to Greenland, with the goal of charting the entire ice cap. While there, Henson embraced the local Eskimo culture, learning the language and the natives' Arctic survival skills over the course of the next year.

6. Matthew Henson – 1st person to step on the North Pole
Over the next several years, Peary and Henson would make multiple attempts to reach the North Pole. Their 1902 attempt proved tragic, with six Eskimo team members perishing due to a lack of food and supplies.

7. Matthew Henson – 1st person to step on the North Pole
The team's final attempt to reach the North Pole began in Henson proved an invaluable team member, building sledges and training others on their handling. Of Henson, expedition member Donald Macmillan once noted, "With years of experience equal to that of Peary himself, he was indispensable."

8. Matthew Henson – 1st person to step on the North Pole
In 1937, a 70-year-old Henson finally received the acknowledgment he deserved: The highly regarded Explorers Club in New York accepted him as an honorary member. In 1944 he and the other members of the expedition were awarded a Congressional Medal.

9. Matthew Henson – 1st person to step on the North Pole
In a move to honor Henson, in 1987, President Ronald Reagan approved the transportation of Henson and Lucy's remains for reinterment at Arlington National Cemetery, per the request of Dr. S. Allen Counter of Harvard University. The national cemetery is also the burial site of Peary and his wife, Josephine.   

10. Matthew Henson – 1st person to step on the North Pole