This week's open thread theme focused on black explorers. The last explorer I am highlighting is York. York (1770 – unknown) was an African American slave best known for his participation with the Lewis and Clark Expedition. As William Clark's slave, he performed hard manual labor without pay, but participated as a full member of the expedition. Like many … [Read more...] about Saturday Open Thread: Black Explorers
Black Explorers
Friday Open Thread: Black Explorers
Continuing with this week's theme, I am highlighting the adventures of black explorers. Matthew Alexander Henson (August 8, 1866 – March 9, 1955) was an African American explorer and associate of Robert Peary on various expeditions, the most famous being a 1909 expedition during which he may have been the first person to reach the Geographic North Pole. Henson was … [Read more...] about Friday Open Thread: Black Explorers
Thursday Open Thread: Black Explorers
Mathieu Da Costa, a free black seaman, is believed to be the first person of African ancestry to reach Canada and he is the first recorded black man to visit the region of Port Royal in Nova Scotia. Although little is known of his background before he reached Canada, Da Costa is said to have had some education and was also baptized. Even his actual name is in dispute. He was … [Read more...] about Thursday Open Thread: Black Explorers
Wednesday Open Thread- Black Explorers
This week's open thread theme is focusing on the accomplishments of black explorers. The first enslaved African to arrive in Florida whom we can document by name was a black man named Esteban or Stephen the Black. And, long before the explorers Lewis and Clark crossed the continent, he would traverse the land that later became the United States, through the Southwest, to … [Read more...] about Wednesday Open Thread- Black Explorers
Tuesday Open Thread: Black Explorers
Continuing with this week on Black Explorers, I am highlighting the accomplishments of George W. Gibbs Jr. George Washington Gibbs, Jr. (November 7, 1916 – November 7, 2000), a sailor in the United States Navy, became the first African American to set foot on the continent of Antarctica, on the Antarctic Peninsula as a member of Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd's third … [Read more...] about Tuesday Open Thread: Black Explorers