Talk:Matthew Henson

Unnecessary Sexual Details

"Also like the expedition leader, he had a relationship with an Inuit woman, fathering a child with her." Why is this sentence in the 3rd paragraph of section 1? It is not relevant to his accomplishments as an arctic explorer. At best it feels tacked on and at worst it diminishes his accomplishments by placing undue attention on his sexual activity. In comparison, Robert Peary's wikipedia page mentions his affair in section 8 about family where it seems to make more sense (it also downplays the whole statutory rape thing but that's another story). Since the family section is already replete with salacious details about Henson's love life maybe we don't need it in the beginning. 2605:E000:150B:92A:3CE9:7A5:1E1B:C6AE (talk) 19:19, 15 February 2019 (UTC)JoshK

Untitled

"During their expeditions he and Peary fathered children with Eskimo women that were discovered by S. Allen Counter in a Greenland expedition as they were in their eighties."

What does "as they were in their eighties" mean ? Who were in their eighties and what does this have to do with the discovery made by Allen Counter ? Jay 17:35, 31 Jul 2004 (UTC)

I totally agree. I have removed the "in their eighties" phrase, and re-worked the lead paragraph to more accurately convey the doubt of Peary's claim.

You might want to reconsider your doubts. In a number of Ameican publications of note, including the Johnson Publications, it was well-established that two of Peary's and Henson's sons have survived into their eighties, as of the 1978 publishing of these and other articles commenerating Mr. Henson. I don't know how you Wiki "scholars" authenticate the existence of living persons, but of these descendants, there hasn't been one refutation since. And understand, these two had the intelligence, and physical evidence to back up their claim. They might have long passed now. I'll try to get details and post them. Otherwise, feel free to utilize the online resources of the Shomburg Library and Museum for African-American history. http.//www.nypl/location/shomburg. --69.119.72.223 (talk) 02:25, 24 September 2011 (UTC)Veryverser

You may want to read no original research, verifability and reliable sources to see how Wikipedia's volunteers "authenticate". --CutOffTies (talk) 03:05, 24 September 2011 (UTC)

The doubt about Peary's claim related to the North Pole, not to Counter's assertions about Henson's and his sons by Inuit women. When tracked down by Counter, the sons were octogenarians (thus, in their 80s). They visited the US in 1987, and descendants came the following year when Henson's remains were reinterred at Arlington Nat'l Cemetery.Parkwells (talk) 18:01, 2 October 2013 (UTC)

Tutoring of Captain Childs

I added a paragraph of the tutoring of Captain Childs and the places that Henson sailed around the world. I forgot to sign in though, lol. SO the IP address was actually me.

This was the source I used, http://www.unmuseum.org/henson.htm

Can someone wikify it? It just doesn't sound right.--Vscel4 18:16, 31 March 2007 (UTC)

The part about the tutoring by Captain Childs does not make sense in the context of the information earlier in the section. According to the existing content in the article, by this point in his life, Henson had already had several years of education ("paid for a few years of education for Matthew but soon died.[1] Henson attended a black public school for the next six years"). Is it plausible (let alone true) that Henson had had so many years of schooling under his belt, yet did not know how to read or write until Captain Childs came along? It does not make sense. Someone with correct information, please revise it. -- 2600:1702:2FF0:1D00:C0A:A892:4E24:FEF1 (talk) 04:28, 17 January 2021 (UTC)

Any reason for ethnicity in the lead?

Per MOSBIO this should be corrected. Thanks, --Tom 23:48, 24 October 2008 (UTC)

WP:MOSBIO says "Ethnicity should generally not be emphasized in the opening unless it is relevant to the subject's notability.", but I think it is relevant to the subject's notability. He was the first African-American to reach the North Pole, which is certainly notable. -kotra (talk) 22:54, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

Look, Ma. I Made It; TOP OF THE WORLD!

Actually, there is contention with this assertion that Henson was simply the "first African-American" to reach the Pole. Because of the murderous prejudice, powered and sanctioned by the U.S. Goverment's legalized Segregation, harldly any dark-skinned persons (and I do mean red, yellow, brown-anyone darker than American actor Caesar Romero [old Garrett Morris joke],)in the sphere of WASP and European geo-policical influence were accorded any rights and human dignity given to the former. Henson was the "back-bone", and proved to be indispensible, and the ultimate "driving force" of Peary's expedition; not for only the successful eighth one sited, but also two previous ones that Perry pressed Henson into. All the equipment, rugged frontiers mangement, impromptu and innovative tool-making specifically made for the harsh environment; as well as the highly improbable task of learning the customs and LANGUAGE of the Inuit (of whom Peary had the utmost contempt, as his imperious racism kept him aloof from these people, whose help was critical for them making it to the Pole in the first place). Henson's work makes him a first-rate "wildreness" pioneer-frontiersman, as he literally 'carried' this final expedition the last socores of miles to the Pole, while Peary was virtually left behind near-dying of exposer, in addition to losing several toes to hypothermermia and frost burn! So, it seems as though Henson(and his two Inuit scouts, one of them reputed to be his son by an Inuit woman-further proving that Matthew Henson was not only with Peary FOR YEARS at his several, priorly-failed attempts for the Pole-but, as we have known for the past NINETY YEARS, the man was virtually all that propped up the so-called, pompously-named "Peary Expedition"-was indeed the FIRST HUMAN(along with the two Inuits)to reach the Pole! Would it displease you to be reminded that the Weriwether Lewis and William Clark expedition had an African-American servant named York with them the entire journey of their mapping expedition beyond the Allegheny Mountains(into the interior of what would later become the Mid-West territiories of the U.S.)? His assistance was as critical as Henson's, especially in putting the Ameican Aborigianls at ease, even saving Clark's life once from a grizzly bear! Finally, in Mr. Henson's autobiography, the facts rendering the expedtiion have hardly been refuted by the geographical and historical "authorities" for the past sixty years! (On this last point we are reminded that the newspaper man, Stanley ran into similiar, hostile skepticism when he tried to prove to a dislieiving Royal Geographical Society that he had successfully journied through the interior of the Congo, and found a the still-living cleric and missionary Livingston.) --69.119.72.223 (talk) 02:07, 24 September 2011 (UTC)Veryverser

If you have reliable sources to cite whatever you're trying to say, feel free to add it to the article. Posting long-winded comments like this on talk pages from various IPs is not going to help Wikipedia very much. --CutOffTies (talk) 03:05, 24 September 2011 (UTC)

Webcomic

Not really related to improving the article, but this Hark! A Vagrant comic about Matthew Henson may be amusing. -kotra (talk) 22:57, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

Not really (once you start listing all of the equally-notable stuff, it's just a trivia collection). If that particular instance was notable by itself, then it might be topical. Tedickey (talk) 23:14, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

It wasn't a suggestion for the article. I was just posting it here as it may be amusing to readers of this talk page. -kotra (talk) 23:56, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

It was amusing Tedickey (talk) 00:18, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Birthdate

This has gone back and forth a bit, so I thought this link may help Photo from Arlington National Cemetary --Omarcheeseboro (talk) 03:09, 16 November 2009 (UTC)

Thanks for the confirming photo, I have seen multiple sources that put his birth date on 8/8/1866. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Shaftster (talk • contribs) 03:40, 16 November 2009 (UTC)

About 60% say 8th, the remainder (including the only cited one before this point) say the 6th. In either case, the source should be given in the topic itself rather than in the change comments or this discussion page Tedickey (talk) 11:00, 16 November 2009 (UTC)

Posthumous Rank

According to a letter to the editor of Smithsonian in its 11/2009 issue (vol 40 #8 pp 91-93 'Polar Legacies') by S. Allen Counter, Director, the Harvard Foundation, the US Navy in 6/2009 posthumously awarded Henson the rank of Command Master Chief Irish Melkite (talk) 08:39, 19 April 2010 (UTC)

Kissin' Kousins?

Is there any possibility that Matthew Henson, the famed artic explorer and planter of the US flag at the North Pole, could be related to Josiah Henson, the "undergound railroad", abolitionist orator, author, and founder of a Canadian labor settlement in Ontario? He may not be a direct descendent; there is the issue of Josiah Henson's father being forcibly seperated from his father after the latter was tortured and then sold "down the river". Or Matthew could be either directly link to the elder Josiah Henson by simple relation (as is the American actress Taranji P. Henson) removed by a generation or two. Further strecthing this possibility, both men could be have been seperated by a common a common white ancestor two or three generations removed. DNA and ancestry quest can provide the answers. --67.86.107.30 (talk) 05:35, 22 September 2011 (UTC)Veryverser

I can't find a clear answer to this. According to these sources, it's a possible link [1] [2]. But this article makes it seem certain [3] --CutOffTies (talk) 05:55, 22 September 2011 (UTC)

About Josiah Henson...interesting that you asked about a possible familial relationship between Josiah Henson and Matthew Henson. From an article in The Baltimore Sun about a presentation by James Henson:

"After all, [James Henson's] great-uncle, Matthew A. Henson, was co-discoverer of the North Pole on April 6, 1909, with Adm. Robert E. Peary. (emphasis added)

"As scheduled, Henson, 67, was in the library's conference room at 2 p.m., ready to talk about Matthew Henson and Josiah Henson, his great-great-great uncle, whose life as a runaway slave and preacher who escaped to Canada was depicted in the anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin.... (emphasis added)" Source: Powder, J. (2004, January 27). Descendant of slave, explorer talks of heroes. The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved on August 15, 2015.

The question about a familial relationship to Matthew Henson was asked during an interview with Taraji P. Henson, who reported that Matthew Henson was a distant cousin -- a factoid that was also noted in her Wikipedia article on this site. Therefore, based on the familial relationship among Josiah, Matthew, and Taraji P. Henson, all of them appear to be related to each other along Taraji P. Henson's paternal (father's) branch. →Lwalt ^♦ talk 03:56, 16 August 2015 (UTC)

Wikipedia isn't a repository of self-promotional claims by various people. A reliable source should be a third-party source. TEDickey (talk) 09:33, 16 August 2015 (UTC)

Photograph?

Whereas the source of the lead picture of Henson http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Matthew_Henson_1910.jpg is the reputable US Library of Congress, I think it is actually a picture of Peary! If you go down the article you will find a picture of Henson holding up a picture of Peary which looks suspiciously like the lead picture.

LuxNevada (talk) 10:31, 22 March 2012 (UTC)

The latter image is poor-quality, not a good clue TEDickey (talk) 11:00, 22 March 2012 (UTC)

You are stating the obvious. Do you have a better argument? LuxNevada (talk) 01:57, 23 March 2012 (UTC)

Matthew Henson was born on August 8th 1866 in Nanjemoy ,Maryland ,Usa.    Matthew Henson was an explorer he visited places such as China Japan the Philippines France Africa and Southern Russia. then educating himself and becoming a skilled navigator. After that he got married in 1906 her name was Lucy Ross. his friend went with him to the north pole.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.0.52.2 (talk) 04:29, 30 January 2013 (UTC) 

   Matthew Henson was born on a farm in Nanjemoy ,Maryland on August 8th,1866. He was still a child when his parents Lemuel and Caroline died. He was sent to live with his uncle , who paid for his education until he died. After his uncle's death Henson got a job as a dishwasher at "Janey's Home Cooked Meals Café". At the age of twelve he went to sea as a cabin boy on a merchant ship called Katie Hines. The captain child's took him under his son. Childs and Henson were close for a long time. Henson sailed around the world for the next several years. He visited places such as China, Japan, the Philippines, France, Africa , and the Southern Russia, educated himself and became a skilled navigator  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.0.52.2 (talk) 05:14, 30 January 2013 (UTC) 

Justinas explorer report

 Matthew Henson was born on a farm in Najemoy Maryland on August 8th, 1866. He was sent to live with his uncle  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.0.50.219 (talk) 05:39, 16 February 2013 (UTC) 

irrelevant link

So far, no independent, reliable sources have been offered for the section about Extended family. Keep in mind that it's one thing to claim to be related, but another thing to document it TEDickey (talk) 18:56, 2 October 2013 (UTC)

I recommend we delete it - nothing has been added to support those assertions in some time.Parkwells (talk) 03:14, 3 October 2013 (UTC)

agreed (the section isn't really topical in any case) TEDickey (talk) 07:17, 3 October 2013 (UTC)

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Younger sister named "M. Henson" not "S. Henson"

The older sister was named S. Henson. However, the wikipedia article wrongly identifies one of his younger sisters as "S. Henson". She would be correctly name "M. Henson" per the geneology cited:

108.228.226.220 (talk) 17:15, 29 February 2020 (UTC)

Perhaps, but the link you gave is not a reliable source. TEDickey (talk) 18:21, 29 February 2020 (UTC)

References

"Extended family" section is redundant and non-notable

Under the heading "Family", the section clearly spells-out Henson's relevant family relations, but someone has gone on to add an "Extended family" section. It begins with "Matthew Henson's only descendants were the children of his Inuit son and their children." This is already stated in the second paragraph of the preceding section, where it says "...Henson fathered his only child, a son named Anauakaq, born in 1906. Anauakaq's children are Henson's only descendants..." making the addition thoroughly redundant. It goes on to say "...in his lifetime Henson had identified families of two nieces as being part of his extended birth family. They were Virginia Carter Brannum, daughter of Henson's sister Eliza Henson Carter of Washington, D.C., and Olive Henson Fulton of Boston, daughter of his half-brother." Daughters of half-brothers and their ilk are utterly irrelevant to this, or any, article about an individual who was noteworthy for expeditionary accomplishments which took place far from their family. Neither woman appears to have any notability (Google searches only refer to this article) and, assuming they were old enough to have attended Henson's funeral in 1955, and that either is still alive, they would be at least in their late-70s as of 2024 when I write this. The section goes on to state "Counter later recommended to the United States Navy and the National Geographic Society that Audrey Mebane, daughter of Virginia Brannum, and Olive Henson Fulton be designated as family representatives for any ceremonies honoring Henson." The notion of "designated family representatives" is an odd one, and in itself conveys neither notability nor weight, so it does not belong here. I think that the entire article would be strengthened by not wandering off into these kinds of digressions about distant family members. I propose it be removed. And for anyone who disagrees, I invite them to first consider whether or not an article about say, Paul Siple, who participated in 6 Antarctic expeditions between 1928-1957, should likewise include information about his extended family (it currently does not). Bricology (talk) 01:06, 19 February 2024 (UTC)