In honor of Black History Month, we're celebrating four remarkable explorers and their groundbreaking discoveries across land and sky. Below is a short introduction to their daring adventures and impactful work. Be sure to check out our other posts celebrating influential Black figures throughout the month and all year.
Matthew Henson (1866–1955)
The Arctic explorer, Matthew Henson, may just have been the first person to stand at the North Pole. Born three years after the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, Henson would grow up to become an accomplished sailor. He joined Robert Peary, a naval officer, on his adventures through the Nicaraguan jungle and the Arctic. The pair would travel together for eighteen years, recovering huge fragments of meteors, and mapping the Greenland ice caps. The real goal of these Arctic explorations was to discover and claim the North Pole. No one really knows if Henson was the first man on the North Pole, or if it was Peary. However, when the two returned home Peary was credited with the discovery due to racial prejudices.
Today, history remembers Henson’s invaluable role in the North Pole expeditions. This brave adventurer was a skilled sailor, explorer, hunter, and craftsman, He belongs to the inspiring first generation of African American explorers.
Bessie Coleman (1892–1926)
Bessie Coleman made history in 1921. Not only was she the first African American woman and Native American woman to become a pilot, but she was also the first American woman to earn an international pilot’s license! And this was no simple feat.
Coleman began to dream of the skies after she heard the stories of World War I pilots. However, because of her race and gender, she was turned away by American flying schools. Desperate to fly, she traveled to France where she earned her pilot’s license. After she returned to the US, Coleman soared to stardom. She wowed audiences by performing stunts in popular air shows throughout the country. She hoped to start a flying school so other Black Americans could be given the opportunities she was denied. Coleman sadly died during a stunt pilot rehearsal gone wrong, but her amazing accomplishments have been remembered throughout history by nearly every female pilot.
James Beckwourth (1798/1800–1867)
James Beckwourth would become one of the most influential American pioneers. He was born into slavery in 1798 or 1800 and emancipated by his white father ten years later. When Beckwourth was a young man, he decided to leave Virginia and explore the Western United States.
Beckwourth lived his life as a “mountain man.” This meant he was an explorer who made money hunting and trapping animals. For many years, he lived with the Apsáalooke people (also known as Crow) who taught him about the landscape of the wilderness. With this knowledge, Beckwourth eventually discovered important routes through the Sierra Nevada mountain range. His discoveries, including the "Beckwourth Pass”, played a key part in the California Gold Rush.
Mae Jemison (1956–Present)
In 1992, Mae Jemison made history as the first African American woman to go to space. This famous astronaut had been interested in space and science since she was a young girl. Jemison excelled in school and earned both a chemical engineering degree and a medical degree. In 1987, she decided to take the leap and applied to NASA. Five years later, Jemison was given her first mission aboard the space shuttle Endeavor.
As Endeavor rocketed into the sky, Jemison carried a picture of her idol: the barrier-breaking Bessie Coleman. On this trip, Jemison was the science mission specialist. Her task was to conduct experiments on animals and humans to understand how space affected their health and behavior. When she returned, she used her influential platform to set up The Earth We Share, an international space camp. She also became a professor at Dartmouth College. Today, Mae Jamison continues to inspire future explorers to reach for the stars.
Looking for inspiring stories for your classroom or home library? We recommend our kids magazine. Issue 8 | The Spirit of the Games, Issue 13 | The Golden Rule, and Issue 25 | A Good Hope are our top picks for Black History Month.
