Theodore A. Morde | |
|---|---|
 Theodore Morde seated at his desk while exploring the Honduran rainforest | |
| Born | March 17, 1911 |
| Died | June 26, 1954 (aged 43) |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | New Bedford High School |
| Occupation(s) | explorer, diplomat, and television news producer |
| Known for | claiming to have discovered the Lost City of the Monkey God |
| Spouse | Gloria E. Gustafson |
| Awards | Bronze Star |
Theodore A. Morde (May 18, 1911 – June 26, 1954) was an adventurer, explorer, diplomat, spy, journalist, and television news producer best known for his unverified claim of discovering the "Lost City of the Monkey God."
Morde began his career as a radio announcer before getting into journalism. In 1940, he was hired to lead an expedition to search for the "Lost City of the Monkey God" in Honduras. After five months, he claimed to have found the city and brought thousands of artifacts back to the United States to prove it. He promised to return soon for a proper excavation, but never did, nor did he reveal the precise location of his find.
Morde spent the later years of his life as a diplomat, and then a producer of news films. He killed himself in 1954. In 2013, Christopher S. Stewart wrote a book about Morde and his hunt for a legendary "lost city" that some have equated with la Ciudad Blanca. Douglas Preston's 2017 book The Lost City of the Monkey God shows that, based on Morde's own expedition journals, Morde never found any ruins and completely fabricated his story of having done so.