Dark Companion

Dark Companion chronicles the polar expedition of African American explorer, Matthew Henson. Born in 1866, four years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued, Henson went on to triumph as one of the first men to “stand on top of the world." On April 6, 1909, Henson along with Robert Peary co-discovered the North Pole. Hundreds had previously attempted and failed to reach the elusive polar ice cap. Peary declared that the success of their expedition would not have been possible without the expertise and intelligence of his companion, the man the Eskimos fondly referred to as Matthew the Kind One. Written by Bradley Robinson with counsel from Henson, the Smithsonian Libraries’ copy of Dark Companion is bound with the calling card of Joseph Robinson, Bradley’s father. Joseph was a member of the prestigious Explorers’ Club in New York City, the famed club to which Matthew Henson was given membership in 1937 and awarded a long-overdue honorary medal in 1944. This book, published in 1947, belonged to Alexander Wetmore, president of the Explorers Club (1944-1946) and the sixth Secretary of the Smithsonian (1945-1952). This copy of Dark Companion was likely a gift from Joseph Robinson to Wetmore during his tenure as Club President. Undoubtedly, the two men were well-acquainted with Henson.