Hiram Bingham III: Machu Picchu Explorer and Politician | Connecticut History | a CTHumanities...

On June 6, 1956, Hiram Bingham, American Archaeologist, who discovered the Incan site of Machu Picchu), died at the age of 80. From the article:

"In a series of three expeditions from 1911 to 1915, Bingham discovered and excavated the ancient Inca village of Machu Picchu, which was unknown beyond a small number of indigenous people and, possibly, missionaries who had earlier traveled through the area. Often referred to as “the mountain city,” Machu Picchu is located high in the Andes Mountains of Peru and is thought to be the last refuge of the Incas—an empire that lasted for almost 500 years. This majestic landscape is dotted with granite temples and palaces and, perhaps most famously, a series of terraced farms arranged down the side of the mountain.

Bingham discovered Machu Picchu as part of the Yale Peruvian Expedition. The expedition had its roots in the expansion of US influence in Latin America during the early 20th century. American politicians saw opportunities in Latin America to expand US markets and cultivate new political alliances. The Yale Peruvian Expedition was just one of a number of scientific forays sponsored by American universities during this time in which institutions like Yale, Harvard, and Stanford competed for discoveries to boost their scholarly prestige.

...In his honor, the Peruvian government named the main road to Machu Picchu the Hiram Bingham Highway."