Hiram Bingham

Born in Honolulu on November 19, 1875, he became a historian and explorer whose name is closely tied to Machu Picchu. He taught at Yale and later gained wide public attention for his expeditions in Peru, especially the 1911 journey that helped introduce the Inca site to an international audience.

His career did not stop with exploration. He also served in public life, including time as a United States senator from Connecticut and, briefly, as the state's governor. That mix of academic work, field exploration, and politics made him an unusually wide-ranging public figure.

Bingham died on June 6, 1956. Today he is remembered both for his role in the modern history of Machu Picchu and for a career that connected research, travel, and government service.