1866 160 years ago Notable Births August 8

Matthew Henson, American explorer (died 1955)

On August 8, in the year 1866, Matthew Henson, American explorer (died 1955). This event is recorded as a Notable Births event in the history of August 8, one of 464 recorded events on this date across all of history.

1 notable person is associated with this event, including Matthew Henson. Learn more below.

Matthew Alexander Henson was an American explorer who accompanied Robert Peary on seven voyages to the Arctic over a period of nearly 23 years. They spent a total of 18 years on expeditions together. He is best known for his participation in the 1908–1909 expedition that claimed to have reached the geographic North Pole on April 6, 1909. Henson later said that he was the first of their party to reach the North Pole.

Key Facts

  • This event took place on August 8, 1866 (AD era).
  • It is categorised as a Notable Births event in recorded history.
  • Referenced in 1 Wikipedia article.
  • 1 notable person is recorded as involved in or associated with this event.
  • Wikipedia source last updated on 25 July 2026.

On This Date in History 464

Type Year Date Event
Historical Events 2024 Aug 8 Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus takes oath as Chief Adviser to form an interim government in Bangladesh.
Notable Deaths 2024 Aug 8 Issa Hayatou, Cameroonian basketball player and football executive (born 1946)
Notable Deaths 2024 Aug 8 Mitzi McCall, American actress (born 1930)
Notable Deaths 2024 Aug 8 Chi-Chi Rodríguez, Puerto Rican professional golfer (born 1935)
Notable Deaths 2024 Aug 8 Steve Symms, American politician and lobbyist (born 1938)
Historical Events 2023 Aug 8 Hawaii wildfires: Seventeen thousand acres of land are burned and at least 101 people are killed, with two others…
Notable Deaths 2023 Aug 8 Rodriguez, American singer and songwriter (born 1942)
Historical Events 2022 Aug 8 The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) executes a search warrant at former president Donald Trump's residence in…
Notable Deaths 2022 Aug 8 Olivia Newton-John, English-Australian singer-songwriter and actress (born 1948)
Notable Deaths 2021 Aug 8 Bill Davis, Canadian politician, 18th premier of Ontario (born 1929)
Notable Deaths 2020 Aug 8 Gabriel Ochoa Uribe, Colombian football player and manager (born 1929)
Notable Deaths 2020 Aug 8 Alfredo Lim, former Philippine senator and Mayor of Manila (born 1929)
Historical Events 2019 Aug 8 An explosion at the State Central Navy Testing Range in Nyonoksa, Russia, kills five people.
Notable Deaths 2018 Aug 8 Nicholas Bett, Kenyan track and field athlete (born 1990)
Notable Deaths 2017 Aug 8 Glen Campbell, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (born 1936)
Historical Events 2016 Aug 8 Terrorists attack a government hospital in Quetta, Pakistan with a suicide blast and shooting, killing between 70 and…
Historical Events 2015 Aug 8 Eight people are killed in a shooting in Harris County, Texas.
Notable Deaths 2015 Aug 8 Sean Price, American rapper (born 1972)
Notable Deaths 2015 Aug 8 Gus Mortson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (born 1925)
Notable Deaths 2014 Aug 8 Menahem Golan, Israeli director and producer (born 1929)
Notable Deaths 2014 Aug 8 Charles Keating, English-American actor (born 1941)
Notable Deaths 2014 Aug 8 Leonardo Legaspi, Filipino archbishop (born 1935)
Notable Deaths 2014 Aug 8 Peter Sculthorpe, Australian composer and conductor (born 1929)
Notable Deaths 2014 Aug 8 Red Wilson, American football and baseball player (born 1929)
Selected Events 2014 Aug 8 The World Health Organization declared the Western African Ebola epidemic, which began in December 2013, to be a…
Historical Events 2013 Aug 8 A suicide bombing at a funeral in the Pakistani city of Quetta kills at least 31 people.
Notable Deaths 2013 Aug 8 Karen Black, American actress (born 1939)
Notable Deaths 2013 Aug 8 Johannes Bluyssen, Dutch bishop (born 1926)
Notable Deaths 2013 Aug 8 Fernando Castro Pacheco, Mexican painter, engraver, and illustrator (born 1918)
Notable Deaths 2013 Aug 8 Igor Kurnosov, Russian chess player (born 1985)
Notable Deaths 2013 Aug 8 Regina Resnik, American soprano and actress (born 1922)
Notable Deaths 2012 Aug 8 Fay Ajzenberg-Selove, German-American physicist and academic (born 1926)
Notable Deaths 2012 Aug 8 Ruth Etchells, English poet and academic (born 1931)
Notable Deaths 2012 Aug 8 Surya Lesmana, Indonesian footballer and manager (born 1944)
Notable Deaths 2012 Aug 8 Kurt Maetzig, German director and screenwriter (born 1911)
Historical Events 2010 Aug 8 China Floods: A mudslide in Zhugqu County, Gansu, China, kills more than 1,400 people.
Notable Deaths 2010 Aug 8 Patricia Neal, American actress (born 1926)
Selected Events 2010 Aug 8 A massive mudslide in the Chinese province of Gansu killed at least 1,471 people.
Historical Events 2009 Aug 8 A Eurocopter AS350 Écureuil and Piper PA-32R collide over the Hudson River, killing nine people.
Notable Deaths 2009 Aug 8 Daniel Jarque, Spanish footballer (born 1983)
Selected Events 2009 Aug 8 Nine people died when a tour helicopter and a small private airplane collided over the Hudson River in Hoboken, New…
Historical Events 2008 Aug 8 A EuroCity express train en route from Kraków, Poland to Prague, Czech Republic strikes a part of a motorway bridge…
Historical Events 2008 Aug 8 The 29th modern summer Olympic Games took place in Beijing, China until August 24.
Notable Deaths 2008 Aug 8 Orville Moody, American golfer (born 1933)
Selected Events 2008 Aug 8 A EuroCity train en route to Prague struck a part of a motorway bridge that had fallen onto the track near Studénka…
Historical Events 2007 Aug 8 An EF2 tornado touches down in Kings County and Richmond County, New York, the most powerful tornado in New York to…
Historical Events 2007 Aug 8 Space Shuttle program: STS-118 Mission: Endeavour takes off on a mission to the International Space Station.
Notable Deaths 2007 Aug 8 Ma Lik, Chinese journalist and politician (born 1952)
Notable Deaths 2007 Aug 8 Melville Shavelson, American director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1917)
Notable Births 2005 Aug 8 Alysa Liu, American figure skater

This article draws on content from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

People Involved

Matthew Henson

American explorer (1866–1955)

birth

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