Black Co-Discoverer of North Pole Buried Beside Adm. Peary

ARLINGTON, Va. — The black co-discoverer of the North Pole received what one supporter called “long overdue recognition” as his remains were reinterred with full military honors Wednesday at Arlington National Cemetery alongside those of Adm. Robert E. Peary.

Matthew Alexander Henson planted the American flag at the North Pole exactly 79 years ago during an expedition with Peary and four Eskimos.

Peary was buried at Arlington in 1920 and a monument to him was erected by his grave. Henson, who died in 1955, was buried in a shared grave at Woodlawn Cemetery in New York because his wife could not afford a separate grave site.

“He was denied proper recognition because of the racial attitudes of his time,” said S. Allen Counter, a Harvard professor who petitioned President Reagan to allow Henson’s reinterment at Arlington.