Hiram Bingham III (November 19, 1875 – June 6, 1956) was an American academic, explorer and politician. In 1911, he publicised the existence of the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu which he rediscovered with the guidance of local indigenous farmers. Later, Bingham served as the 69th Governor of Connecticut for a single day in 1925—the shortest term in history. He had been elected in 1924 as governor, but was also elected to the Senate and chose that position. He served as a member of the United States Senate until 1933. On July 24, 1911, Melchor Arteaga led Bingham to Machu Picchu, which had been largely forgotten by everybody except the small number of people living in the immediately neighboring valley. In addition, Cusco explorers Enrique Palma, Gabino Sanchez, and Agustín Lizárraga are said to have reached the site in 1901. Two local missionaries, Thomas Payne and Stuart McNairn, are credited by descendants with having climbed to the ruins in 1906. We celebrate his 150th birthday with an AI generated graffiti of him …
November 19
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