Theodore Morde

Theodore A. Morde
Theodore Morde seated at his desk while exploring the Honduran rainforest
Born	(1911-03-17)March 17, 1911 New Bedford, Massachusetts
Died	June 26, 1954(1954-06-26) (aged 43) Dartmouth, Massachusetts
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.