It might be difficult to imagine that the swashbuckling, arrow-dodging Indiana Jones has any root in reality, but he does. Hiram Bingham III was a multi-talented professor, historian and accidental explorer who was credited with one of the greatest discoveries of our time — Machu Picchu.
Although Hiram's character was given some Hollywood glitz and glamour, the similarities between the fedora-wearing action hero and Bingham are palpable. Join us as we dig into the past of Hiram Bingham III, the real Indiana Jones.
Humble Beginnings
Although Hiram Bingham would later become known as the Governor of Connecticut, he was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. His mother was Clara Brewster and his father was Hiram Bingham II, a Protestant missionary. Both of his grandparents, Hiram and Sybil, were also missionaries.
Hiram and Sybil worked tirelessly in Honolulu for over 20 years, with the latter keeping a journal that documented their work. "I believe God appoints my work," she wrote. "It is enough for me to see that I do it all with an eye to his glory." They could never have predicted that from their simple roots would grow a noted politician and explorer.
Scholarly Excellence
Despite the generations-long tradition of Bingham's becoming missionaries, the young Hiram wanted to pursue a different path. It was clear that the young man had a penchant for academia, and after he did all he could at O'ahu College, he left for Massachusetts.
Here, he entered the Phillips Academy in Andover, graduating in 1894. By 1898, he had a degree from Yale University, going on to get another from Berkeley and finally, his Ph. D from Harvard. Before completing his Ph. D, Hiram, then 25, met the first love of his life, Alfreda Mitchell.
A Glittering Union
Alfreda was the granddaughter of Charles L. Tiffany, the founder of the still popular Tiffany's & Co. The pair married in a quiet ceremony on November 20, 1900, at the home of Alfreda's parents. According to the wedding announcement published in the press, the guests included prominent people of New York and Boston.
By this point in his young life, Hiram was already rubbing shoulders with people of importance. The couple wasted no time in adding to their family and had their first son, Woodbridge, a year later. By 1905, they had two more sons, Hiram Bingham IV and Alfred. That same year was to mark the start of Hiram's teaching career.
Hiram Worked Under Woodrow Wilson at Yale
Now in possession of his Ph. D in Latin American History, Hiram was highly respected by his peers and teachers alike at Harvard. Soon after he sat his exams, he was offered a position teaching history and politics. When his time at Harvard ran its course, he upped sticks and took up a position at Princeton, under the watchful eye of soon-to-be President Woodrow Wilson.
According to Hiram, "Princeton did not much favor Latin American History," so the young teacher was shipped back to another former school of his, Yale, who appointed him as a lecturer in South American History. His time there would gain him quite the reputation.
Hiram Was a Pioneer...In More Ways Than One
At the beginning of his academic career, Hiram was one of the very first people to ever gain a degree in Latin American history. It was something seldom discussed, apart from among a very niche group of researchers. As interest in the subject grew, Hiram was the go-to gentleman on the subject.
He is now considered to be one of the pioneers of the subject, sharing his knowledge with eager students. By 1908, he was a father to two more sons. Now with five children and a wife to support, Hiram was as eager as ever to make his mark on history.
An Unplanned Detour Led Him To Machu Picchu
Hiram had always loved history but had never considered the possibility of becoming an archaeologist. He wasn't trained in the subject, so when he re-discovered the forgotten city of Machu Picchu it was a dream come true — but it almost didn't happen.
Hiram was on his way home from an event in Chile when he was persuaded to visit the pre-Columbian city of Choquequirao in Peru. The trip ignited a spark in Hiram, who soon became obsessed with the idea of discovering long-forgotten Inca cities. Without the unplanned detour, Hiram could've taken an entirely different path in the history books.
The Discovery Of Machu Picchu
Although Hiram was many things, it was this element of his career that inspired the Indiana Jones character. Hiram may not have been running from booby traps at every turn, but he was just as passionate as his movie counterpart. Inspired by his Peru trip, Hiram returned to Yale with a lust for exploring.
In no time at all, he organized the 1911 Yale Peruvian Expedition, hoping to identify the last Inca city. Guided by locals, he found several cities before he was led to Machu Picchu, by this point so lost in time that the only people who knew about it were the small number of immediate locals.
The Journey of a Lifetime
Hiram is largely hailed as the one who put Machu Picchu on the map, but others claim to have journeyed there before him. The descendants of two missionaries, Thomas Payne and Stuart McNairn, believe that they were the first to reach it, while a group of Cusco explorers supposedly climbed to Machu Picchu over ten years prior to Hiram's arrival.
The professor became so enamored with Peru that he visited several times over the course of the next few years, gathering information for what would later be his bestselling book, The Lost City of the Incas. Hiram's interest in the subject would never fade, but a war was brewing that required his full attention...
Captain Bingham
Like many of his contemporaries, Hiram enlisted in the army when the First World War broke. By 1916, he had risen to the rank of Captain within the Connecticut National Guard, but his efforts didn't stop there. In 1917, he had added aviator to his list of talents and set up the United States Schools of Military Aeronautics to provide training to cadets.
He served the Aviation Section, U.S Signal Corps, and the Air Service, becoming a highly-prized lieutenant colonel. Hiram was given the task of commanding the largest primary instruction and pursuit training school in France. Now a father of seven sons, Hiram returned home unscathed, with a taste for power.
Scholer, Explorer, Aviator...Poltician?
By 1922, Hiram was a highly revered name in the Connecticut community. No one knew more about — well, everything — than Hiram Bingham. Now 47 years old, the Jack-of-all-trades decided to turn his hand to politics. Unsurprisingly, he also mastered this feat too.
He was elected Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut, a position he held until 1924. That same year, he was elected as a Republican to serve in the Senate after the suicide of Frank Bosworth Brandegee. Hiram was already Governor-elect when he became Senator-elect, and he served as Governor for a single day. In 1926, he was re-elected to the Senate to serve a full six-year term, but it wasn't always smooth sailing.
Politics and Scandal
Like many politicians, Hiram wasn't without his fair share of dirty laundry. The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee got wind of an arrangement between Hiram, his clerk, and a lobbyist. The Senator wanted the lobbyist to attend meetings as a Senate staffer, and to pass on the information from these closed gatherings to him.
Despite a thorough investigation, the Judiciary Subcommittee let him off the hook but condemned his actions. Hiram, annoyed at the interference, called the entire thing a "witch hunt." His protestations did him no favors, and the Senate led to a resolution of censure (not an expulsion but more than a slap on the wrist) which was passed on November 4, 1929.
Goodbye Senate, Hello Business
After his term as Senator ended, Hiram decided to take a break from politics and dedicated himself to business pursuits instead. His time as Senator had been marred by his censure which lost him some loyal voters, but he was still recognized as a highly influential and intelligent man.
For the next few years, he busied himself by writing about his academic pursuits and Latin American discoveries, while also serving on the boards of several large corporations, who valued his opinion and qualifications. Unfortunately, his home life was also turbulent at the time, and it wasn't long before it would change forever.
"Like a stranger."
Hiram's marriage to Alfreda had lasted almost 40 years. Together, the couple raised seven sons. Now that most of them were grown (the youngest, Jonathan, was now 23), the cracks in the union were beginning to show. Alfreda was the one to file for the divorce in 1937, telling the court that her husband was "absolutely like a stranger" to her.
Alfreda went on to explain that the last four years of their marriage had been awful, alleging that Hiram frequently condescended to her and treated her like an inferior. The court granted the divorce, and Hiram was once again a single man at age 62. It didn't take long for the former Senator to fill the position.
Second Time is a Charm
Hiram didn't accept his wife's accusations of mental cruelty very well and got his revenge by announcing his plans to re-marry just three months after the divorce was granted. His new wife, 48-year-old Suzanne Carroll, was a descendant of Declaration of Independence signer Charles Carroll.
The union seemed to work well enough for both parties, who were no stranger to the ins and outs of marriage. Now a married man once more, Hiram dove back into his work, even serving as the VP of the Coleman Oil Company. However, it would be his written work that made the most impact during this time.
Scholer, Explorer, Aviator, Politician...Author
By 1948 Hiram had compiled his Machu Picchu knowledge into one book, The Lost City of the Incas. The book became a bestseller upon its release, with readers worldwide falling in love with Hiram's retelling of his accidental discovery of the now-famous site.
Although Hiram had helped write historical books in the past, this was his only big hit within the literature community. He expressed his belief that Machu Picchu was possibly used as a training site for priests — a theory that was later disputed. Now 73, Hiram couldn't have imagined returning to politics...until he got a call from the President.
Your President Needs You
When WWII broke out, Hiram once again made himself of use. Now considered too old to be out in the field, he lectured at naval training schools, where he caught the attention of President Harry Truman. Truman appreciated Hiram's expertise and appointed him the chairman of the Civil Service Commission's Loyalty Review Board.
Truman was often marred by accusations of keeping on employees who were disloyal to the administration, so by creating the board the President hoped to counter those claims. Hiram stayed in the role for two years, from 1951 to 1953, before making his retirement known.
The Final Journey
There's no doubt that Hiram Bingham packed a lot into his 80 years on the planet, doing some extraordinary things that some of us couldn't even comprehend. However, even legends have a shelf-life. Hiram became ill in 1956 and succumbed to a respiratory failure at his home in Washington D.C on June 6.
He was survived by his seven sons, his first wife, and his second wife. His work on Latin America paved the way for future generations of archaeologists, researchers, and historians. He wasn't without controversy in his time, and even in death, the Bingham name would cause quite the stir.
Peru VS Bingham
During his trips to Peru, Hiram excavated and imported thousands of historical artifacts from the Machu Picchu site — without the consent of the Peruvian government. Hiram's haul included over 40,000 pieces, including mummies, ceramics, and bones.
For decades since the discovery, Peru fought to get all of these invaluable cultural treasures back, but it wasn't until September 14, 2007, that the keepers, Yale University, agreed to return them. The university had held onto them since their excavation in the 1900s. Had Hiram been alive to contest the exchange, it might have been an entirely different story entirely...
The Real Indiana Jones
Considering the striking similarities between Hiram and the ultimate action hero of the '80s, Indiana Jones, it's not hard to see why it's widely believed that he is the basis for the character. Although the writers have never confirmed it, it's often thought that without Hiram there wouldn't be an Indi.
Hollywood has made a fortune from the movie franchise, which has proved popular with audiences since the first offering was released in 1981. The fifth installment — tipped for a 2021 release — will be Ford's last turn as the fedora-wearing explorer. At age 76, he's earned a break.
A Lasting Legacy
Hiram Bingham had an impact on politics, history, academia and more, but his legacy doesn't end there. His seven sons all went on to do great things, too. The youngest son, Woodbridge, became a professor, while Hiram IV was a diplomat and a decorated WWII hero. Alfred made his mark as a lawyer and author and Charles Tiffany as a doctor.
Third youngest, Brewster, became a minister, Mitchell an artist and perhaps most famously of all, Jonathan Brewster was a Democratic Congressman. The Bingham line continues to be respected and praised to this day — and perhaps that's the greatest of all Hiram's achievements.
