Born November 19, 1875,
Honolulu, Hawaii
Died June 6, 1956,
Washington, D.C.

American archaeologist Hiram Bingham led a number of expeditions to Peru in the early twentieth century. There, in the Andes Mountains, he discovered important ruins of the once great Inca civilization. Most famous were Machu Picchu, the ruins of a large fortress city, and Espiritu Pampa, considered by many to be the remains of Vitcos, the “lost” Inca capital. Bingham’s pioneering research also laid a solid foundation for subsequent exploration of the region.

Bingham was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, on November 19, 1875, the son of retired missionaries from an old Hawaii family. After his graduation from Yale University, he returned to Hawaii for a short time. He then decided to pursue an academic career, receiving an M.A. degree from the University of California at Berkeley and a doctorate in Latin American history from...