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| Hiram S. Bingham III | |
|---|---|
| Name | Hiram S. Bingham III |
| Birth date | November 19, 1875 |
| Birth place | Honolulu, Kingdom of Hawaii |
| Death date | June 6, 1956 |
| Death place | Washington, D.C., United States |
| Occupation | Explorer, academic, politician, soldier |
| Spouse | Alfreda Mitchell |
| Parents | Hiram Bingham II, Clara Brewster |
Hiram S. Bingham III was an American Explorer and politician best known for leading expeditions to Machu Picchu in 1911 and serving as a United States Senator from Connecticut from 1924 to 1933. Born into a missionary family in Honolulu, he combined careers in Harvard University scholarship, Yale University teaching, and United States Senate statesmanship, while also participating in World War I and later diplomatic activities. His life intersected with prominent figures and institutions including Theodore Roosevelt, The National Geographic Society, Paul Rivet, and the Smithsonian Institution.
Bingham was born in Honolulu during the reign of King Kalākaua to a lineage of Protestant missionaries, including his father Hiram Bingham II and grandfather Hiram Bingham I, and grew up among families associated with Kamehameha Schools and the Mission Houses Museum. He attended Phillips Academy in Andover, matriculated at Yale University where he joined the Skull and Bones society and studied under scholars linked to the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, then pursued graduate study at Harvard University and earned a fellowship connected to the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. His early mentors included professors affiliated with Yale Divinity School, Harvard Divinity School, and researchers associated with École française d'Extrême-Orient influences, which shaped his approaches to South American fieldwork and Polynesian cultural studies.
In 1911 Bingham led an expedition financed by supporters including the National Geographic Society and sponsored by Yale University that traveled from Cusco into the Andes and is credited with bringing international attention to the Inca site of Machu Picchu. The expedition involved collaboration and sometimes conflict with local figures such as Agustín Lizárraga and Melchor Arteaga, and entailed interactions with institutions like the Peruvian Ministry of Culture and collectors tied to the Peabody Museum. Reports of the expedition were publicized through outlets including National Geographic Magazine and presentations at the American Geographical Society. Subsequent debates arose involving the Republic of Peru, the Smithsonian Institution, and the International Council of Museums about the removal and repatriation of archaeological materials, provoking legal and diplomatic exchanges with officials from Lima and scholars from Cambridge, Massachusetts and Oxford University.
Bingham's scholarly career included teaching appointments at Yale University where he lectured on Latin American history, and he maintained ties to Harvard University through publications and correspondence with academics at the Harvard-Yale nexus. He wrote for and engaged with periodicals such as the Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society and collaborated with archaeologists from institutions like the British Museum and the Museo Nacional de Arqueología, Antropología e Historia del Perú. Raised in a family connected to American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions activities in Hawaii, he also maintained interest in missionary networks including Congregationalism and links to educational initiatives resembling those of Andover Theological Seminary and Yale Divinity School alumni.
Bingham entered politics as a member of the Republican Party and served as the Governor of Connecticut's lieutenant or allied officials before winning election to the United States Senate, succeeding George L. Record-era figures and participating in committees alongside senators such as Henry Cabot Lodge and Robert M. La Follette. In the Senate he spoke on foreign policy issues connected to Latin America, supported tariff measures influenced by industrial centers like Hartford and worked with colleagues responding to events including the Washington Naval Conference and debates over the Kellogg–Briand Pact. He campaigned nationally with assistance from political actors associated with the Republican National Committee and engaged with press organs such as the New York Times, Time (magazine), and The Washington Post.
During World War I Bingham served in the United States Army and was attached to units that liaised with Allied commands, cooperating with contemporaries who later became notable veterans tied to organizations like the American Legion. His wartime service brought him into contact with military figures from the American Expeditionary Forces, and his rank and assignments involved coordination with staff officers linked to the War Department and veterans' affairs administrators who later worked with the Veterans Administration.
Bingham married Alfreda Mitchell, linking him to families with social connections in New Haven and Boston, and their descendants engaged with institutions such as Yale-New Haven Hospital and cultural organizations in Connecticut. His legacy is contested: he is celebrated in accounts produced by the National Park Service and featured in exhibitions at the Peabody Museum and the Smithsonian Institution, while Peruvian authorities and scholars from Lima to Cusco have critiqued collections policies and repatriation negotiations involving the Peru–United States cultural heritage dialogues. His life is also discussed in biographies alongside explorers like Percy Fawcett and within historiography alongside critics from Postcolonialism-linked scholars at Columbia University and University of Oxford. Several places and institutions—museums, lecture series, and archival collections at Yale University and the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology—preserve documents and photographs from his expeditions, while contemporary debates involve entities such as the International Council on Monuments and Sites and national cultural ministries in Peru and the United States.
Category:1875 births Category:1956 deaths Category:American explorers Category:United States senators from Connecticut