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Matthew Henson was born on August 8 1866 in Nanjemoy, Maryland U.S.A..
His parents died when he was very young so Matthew had to learn how to take care of himself.

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When Matthew Henson was 12, he learned to read and write.

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When he was 13 he was working on a ship named Katie Hines as a cabin boy accompanied by Captain Childs.

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After Captain Childs passed away Matthew Henson met an explorer called Robert E. Peary and soon, they became friends.

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Matthew Henson and Robert Peary made 7 expeditions to the North Pole. They were the first people to discover the North Pole.

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Matthew Henson wrote a book about his adventures at the North Pole.

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Matthew and Robert went farther North than any other explorer.

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A lot of their attempts failed.
But one day they went so far North that they met a tribe called the Inuits.

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Matthew studied with teachers: the Inuit. Out of all of the people who came to the Arctic, Matthew was the Inuit's favorite.

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They gave him the Inuit name,

Mahri-Pahluk which meant Matthew the kind one.

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Matthew learned their language, how to build and drive a dog sledge,  and how to make friends.
He worked hard, was skilled and kind. So Matthew earned the respect of all.

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No matter how far North they went, the wind forced them to turn back. But Matthew didn't give up. He said he would try one more time and if it didn't work he would turn back.

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On July 6, 1908, Matthew, Some of the Inuit men, and Admiral Peary set of to the North Pole with lots of supplies and set sail on Roosevelt, a ship so strong that it could break through the Arctic's ice.

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Almost everyday they had to send men and dogs back because they were running out of supplies.

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By April 1 Peary had sent everyone back except for Matthew and for Inuit men,

Ootah,Seegloo,Ooqueah,and Egingwah. Without them there would be no North Pole.

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On April 3 as they were voyaging across the ice, Matthew slipped through the ice! into the cold unbearable water. Ootah came there very quickly and pulled Matthew out of the water. Then they started their voyage again.

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On April 6 1909 Matthew Alexander Henson, Robert E. Peary, and four Inuit men had made it to the top of the world! Admiral Peary planted a flag on a spot of ice which marked they had been the people to stand there first and since that day the flag has been there.