Matthew Henson was a man who started life near the bottom of society and ended up at the top of the world as the first person ever to reach the north pole. On april 6, 1909, Henson, another American, and four eskimos reached the top of the world. Henson was the trailbreaker for the expedition and arrived about 45 minutes before the rest of the party. In 1937, Henson was made an honorary member of The Explorers Club and the first African-American to be accepted. In 1944 he and the other members of the expedition were awarded a Congressional Medal.