Hiram Bingham III
1875–1956 · American (Honolulu/New Haven) · Modern Era
Known for: Brought Machu Picchu to world attention in 1911—the real-life inspiration for Indiana Jones
Bingham was a Yale lecturer led to Machu Picchu by local farmer Melchor Arteaga. He wasn't the first outsider to see the ruins, but his Yale-funded expeditions brought global attention to the Inca citadel.
He removed thousands of artifacts to Yale (returned to Peru in 2012 after a long legal battle). He was charismatic, ambitious, and self-promoting. He later became a US senator and governor of Connecticut. The real-life Indiana Jones.
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