Matthew Alexander Henson (Aug. 8, 1866 - March 9, 1955) was an _______________________ explorer and one of the first _______________________ to visit the North Pole. He was on most of Robert E. ______________________ expeditions, including the 1909 trip to the _______________________.

Henson's parents died when he was a young boy. He went to sea when he was 12 years old, working as a cabin boy on a three-masted sailing _______________________. He later became a clerk in Washington, D.C., where he met the Arctic _______________________ Robert E. Peary; in 1888, Peary hired Henson as a personal assistant for his expedition to Nicaragua, Central _______________________. Because of Henson's skills (Henson was an accomplished _______________________, navigator and carpenter), resourcefulness and strength, Peary chose Henson to accompany him on his next 7 _______________________ to the Arctic, from 1891 through 1909. Peary, Henson, and four _______________________ were the first people to reach the North Pole (in 1909).