National Geographic Society
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Flag of the National Geographic Society |
The
National Geographic Society, based in
Washington, D.C. in the
United States, is one of the world's largest
not-for-profit educational and scientific organizations. Its research interests include
geography and
natural science, the promotion of environmental and historical
conservation, and the study of
world culture and
history.
Its historical mission is "to increase and diffuse geographic knowledge while promoting the conservation of the world's cultural, historical, and natural resources."
Its current President and CEO,
John M. Fahey, Jr., says National Geographic's purpose is to inspire people to care about their planet. The Society is governed by a twenty-three member Board of Trustees composed of a group of distinguished educators, businesspeople, scientists, former governmental officials, and conservationists. The organization sponsors and funds scientific research and exploration. The Society publishes an official journal,
National Geographic Magazine, and other magazines, books, and other publications in numerous languages and countries around the world. It also has an educational foundation that gives grants to education organizations and individuals to enhance geography education.
Its Committee for Research and Exploration has given grants for scientific research for most of its history and has recently awarrded its 9,000th grant for scientific research, conducted worldwide and often reported on by its media properties. Its various media properties reach about 280 million people around the world monthly.
The
National Geographic Society was founded in the United States on
January 27,
1888, by 33 men who were interested in "organizing a society for the increase and diffusion of
geographical knowledge." They had begun discussing forming the Society two weeks earlier on
January 13,
1888.
Gardiner Greene Hubbard became its first president and his son-in-law,
Alexander Graham Bell, eventually succeeded him. Bell's son-in-law Gilbert H. Grosvenor was named the first full-time editor of National Geographic Magazine, and members of the Grosvenor family have played important roles in the organization since. The current Chairman of the Board of Trustees of National Geographic is Gilbert M. Grosvenor, Jr., who received the President Medal of Freedom in 2005 for the Society's leadership for Geography education. National Geographic has been named to receive the Prince of Asturias Award for Communications and Humanity in October 2006.
Main article : National Geographic Magazine |
Cover of January, 1915 National Geographic |
The
National Geographic Magazine, later shortened to
National Geographic, published its first issue nine months after the Society was founded. The magazine has a trademarked yellow border around the edge of its cover.
There are 12 monthly issues of
National Geographic per year, plus additional map supplements. On rare occasions, special issues of the magazine are also created. It contains articles about geography, popular science, world history, current events and photography. The
National Geographic magazine is currently published in 31 language editions in many more countries around the world.
In addition to its flagship magazine, the Society publishes four other periodicals:
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National Geographic Kids: launched in 1975 as
National Geographic World, names changed in 2001.
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National Geographic Traveler: launched in 1984
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National Geographic Adventure: launched in 1999
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National Geographic Explorer: classroom magazine launched in 2001 as
National Geographic for KidsThe Society previously published:
* The
National Geographic School Bulletin, magazine similar to the National Geographic but aimed at grade school children, was published weekly during the school year from
1919 to
1975, when it was replaced by National Geographic World.
* During the 1980s and 1990s, it published a research journal which later closed.
The Society has also published
maps,
atlases, and numerous
books.
Main article : National Geographic ChannelStories by the National Geographic Society are shown on
television. National Geographic specials as well as
television series have been shown on
PBS and other networks in the United States and terrestially globally for many years. (The
Geographic series in the U.S. started on
CBS in 1964, moved to
ABC in 1973 and shifted to PBS in 1975. It has featured stories on scientific figures like
Louis Leakey and
Jacques Cousteau. The specials' theme music, by
Elmer Bernstein, was also adopted by the National Geographic Channel.
In 1997 internationally and in 2001 in the United States, the Society launched, in part ownership with other entities like News Corporation and NBC,
television network, the
National Geographic Channel (NGC) for
cable and
satellite viewers, which has global distribution.
National Geographic has also produced a feature film based on the diary of a Russian submarine commander starring
Harrison Ford in
K-19: The Widowmaker, and most recently retooling a French-made documentary for U.S. distribution with a new score and script narrated by
Morgan Freeman called
March of the Penguins, which received an Academy Award for the Best Documentary in 2006. The National Geographic website (nationalgeographic.com) provides a wealth of content in multimedia formats, including a recently launched site highlighting world music.
The Society has helped sponsor many expeditions and research projects over the years, including:
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Codex Tchacos - (conservation and translation of the only known surviving copy of the
Gospel of Judas)
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Ian Baker (Discovers hidden waterfall of the
Tsangpo Gorge,
Tibet)
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Robert Ballard - (
RMS Titanic discovery)
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Robert Bartlett - (
Arctic Exploration)
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George Bass - (
Undersea archaeology -
bronze age trade)
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Lee Berger - (Oldest footprints of modern humans ever found)
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Hiram Bingham - (
Machu Picchu Excavation)
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Richard E. Byrd - (First flight over
South Pole)
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Jacques-Yves Cousteau - (Undersea exploration)
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Mike Fay - (
MegaTransect and
MegaFlyover in Africa)
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Dian Fossey - (
Mountain gorillas)
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Birute Galdikas - (
Orangutans)
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Jane Goodall - (
Chimpanzees)
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Robert F. Griggs - (
Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes)
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Louis and
Mary Leakey - (Discovery of manlike Zinjanthropus, more than 1.75 million years old)
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Gustavus McLeod - (First flight to the North Pole in an open-air cockpit aircraft)
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Robert Peary and
Matthew Henson - (
North Pole Expedition)
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Paul Sereno - (
Dinosaurs)
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Spencer Wells - (
The Genographic Project)
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Xu Xing - (Discovery of fossil dinosaurs in China that have distinct feathers)
The Society sponsors many socially-based projects including
AINA, a
Kabul-based organization dedicated to developing an independent Afghan media.
The Society also sponsors the
National Geographic Bee, an annual geographic contest for American middle-school students. Every two years, it conducts an international geography competition. The most recent was held in Budapest, Hungary during the summer of 2005.
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Anne Lindbergh's customized medal detailing her flight route |
The
Hubbard Medal is awarded by the National Geographic Society for distinction in exploration, discovery, and research. The medal is named for Gardiner Greene Hubbard, first National Geographic Society president.
The Hubbard Medal has been presented 33 times in the past. Recipients include polar explorers
Robert Peary in
1906,
Roald Amundsen in
1907, Capt.
Robert Bartlett in
1909, Sir
Ernest Shackleton in
1910 and
Richard E. Byrd in
1926; aviators
Charles Lindbergh in
1927 and
Anne Morrow Lindbergh in
1934; anthropologists
Louis Leakey and
Mary Leakey in
1962;
Apollo 11 astronauts
Neil Armstrong,
Edwin Aldrin and
Michael Collins in
1970; anthropologist
Richard Leakey in
1994; conservationist
Jane Goodall in
1995; underwater explorer
Robert Ballard in
1996; and balloonists
Bertrand Piccard and
Brian Jones in
1999.
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Royal Geographical Society*
Royal Canadian Geographical Society*
Maps of the United StatesOfficial websites:*
National Geographic Online:*
MapMachine:*
National Geographic Channel;Additional information:*
"How They Found National Geographic's 'Afghan Girl'" (
March 7,
2003):*
Website criticising the National Geographic on geographical names—describes the Iranian geographic naming controversy:*
National Geographic and the National Iranian American Council discuss the naming dispute (NIAC press release dated
December 7,
2004)
;Photos, maps, and other images:*
Society's flag;National Geographic related humor::*
Parody of National Geographic:*
National Geographic for Kids (Cartoons and Games)
