Robert Peary and Matthew Henson reached the North Pole on April 6

In 1908 Peary and Henson set out over ice from Ellesmere Island. On April 6, 1909 they finally reached the North Pole. The first people ever to set foot on the North Pole that day were Robert Peary and Matthew Henson, who were accompanied by four Eskimos. It is said that Peary had to rest three miles from the pole making Henson the first American to reach the North Pole.

Trips to the North and South Pole have been done pretty often in recent times. There's even a whole command base near the South Pole. Robert Peary helped to open up the world to the coldest places on Earth while Matthew Henson became the first African-American to reach the North Pole.

African-American Matthew A. Henson accompanied polar explorer Robert E. Peary on a U.S. expedition to the North Pole on April 6, 1909. In 2000, the National Geographic Society posthumously awarded Matthew Henson its highest honor—the Hubbard Medal. Henson's great niece, Audrey Mebane, accepted the award at the Matthew Henson Earth Conservation Center in Washington, D.C.