Hiram Bingham III
publication date: Tuesday, April 2, 2024 (part of April 2024)
category: 
Exploration
clue: The single day that he spent as the governor of Connecticut was about the same amount of time that he gave anyone else credit for "discovering" Machu Picchu before him.
explanation: Bingham was an explorer who initially gave credit to Agustín Lizárraga, one of several people who reached the ruins of Machu Picchu before him, but he traded on the fame of "discovering" the ruins by himself and began claiming to have been the first. In 1925, he was elected both governor and senator in Connecticut, and chose the latter job after doing the former for a single day. more…
intended difficulty: easy
solved by: Russ Wilhelm, Steve West, and Samir Mehta
Machu Picchu Week: Among the most famous ruins in the world, the mountain-top site known today as Machu Picchu is what remains of an Incan city constructed in the fifteenth century at 8000 feet above sea level, in modern-day Peru. Its remoteness, grandeur, and mystery (owing to a lack of any written records as to its purpose) have captivated archeologists and the public alike since its rediscovery. Can you identify these seven figures who are all associated with the Lost City of the Incas?Similar Goos
Charlton Heston
By starring in the first major Hollywood studio film made at a Peruvian archeological site, this actor inspired Indiana Jones. Go »
Pachacuti
Turning a village into an empire that conquered much of a continent was all in a day's work for this sun worshiper, but he's best remembered today for the ruins of his estate on top of a mountain. Go »
Che Guevara
Long before this Marxist revolutionary appeared on the shirts and dorm walls of college students, he kept "motorcycle diaries" of his travels as a young man, including his pivotal trip to a mountaintop ruin that opened his eyes to the exploitation of the locals around it. Go »
Martín Chambi
This Indigenous photographer from Cusco made a name for himself by photographing both portraits of the living and the ruins of the dead. Go »
Fabrizio Moretti
This drummer and visual artist is the only South American member of the band that scored an early-2010s streaming hit with a song about a desire to go mountaineering. Go »
