Online Encyclopedia
National Geographic Society
The National Geographic Society was founded in the USA on January 27, 1888, by 33 men 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. Its purpose is to advance the general knowledge of geography and the world among the general public. To this end, it sponsors exploration, and publishes a monthly magazine, National Geographic.
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National Geographic Magazine
The National Geographic Magazine, later shortened to National Geographic, first came out nine months after the Society was founded. It has become one of the world's best-known magazines and is immediately identifiable by its characteristic yellow borders.
Monthly issues of the magazine come out 12 times a year; occasional special additional issues have been issued. In addition to articles about the scenery, history, and from every corner of the world, the magazine has long been known for its book-like quality and its standard of photography makes it the home of some of the premier photojournalism in the world. The magazine often featured some color photography even in the early 20th century when this technology was still rare.
The magazine also is well-known for frequently providing detailed maps of regions that are visited. The Society's map archives have even been used by the United States government in instances where its own cartographic resources were limited.
Subscribers to the magazine frequently keep old issues (most other magazines tend to be discarded when a household has finished with them), and subscribers can get special cases to contain each yearly volume.
In 1960, the magazine started publishing photographs on their front covers, previous front covers usually only contained text.
One cover photo in 1984 was of an Afghan refugee, a young girl with piercing green eyes. Her image became world famous. After the US-led invasion of Afghanistan a search was conducted for the girl. She was identified in 2002 as Sharbat Gula, a Pashtun. Her story was told in the March 2003 issue of National Geographic.
In 1995, National Geographic began publishing in Japanese, its first local language edition. The magazine is now published in a number of different languages around the world, including: Japanese, Spanish, Hebrew, Greek, French, German, Polish, Korean, Portuguese, Chinese, Czech, Romanian, Russian and Dutch.
Other publications
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. In 1984, the Society created "National Geographic Traveler". This was followed in 1999 by "National Geographic Adventure Magazine" and in 2001 by "National Geographic for Kids".
The society has also published maps, atlases, and numerous books.
Television
The National Geographic Society has also explored the use of television as a way to bring the travels of its correspondents into people's homes. National Geographic specials as well as television series have been shown on PBS and other networks in the United States for many years. Recently, the society launched its own television network, the National Geographic Channel for cable and satellite viewers.
Support for research & projects
The Society has helped sponsor many expeditions and research projects over the years, including:
- Robert Peary and Matthew Henson - (North Pole Expedition)
- Hiram Bingham - (Machu Picchu Excavation)
- Richard E. Byrd - (First flight over South Pole)
- Jacques-Yves Cousteau - (Undersea exploration)
- Louis and Mary Leakey - (Discovery of manlike Zinjanthropus, more than 1.75 million years old)
- Jane Goodall - (Chimpanzees)
- Dian Fossey - (Mountain gorillas)
- George Bass - (Undersea archaeology - bronze age trade)
- Robert Ballard - (RMS Titanic discovery)
- Paul Sereno - (Dinosaurs)
- Lee Berger - (Oldest footprints of modern humans ever found)
- ? (Discovery of fossil dinosaurs in China that have distinct feathers)
- Ian Baker (Discovers hidden waterfall of the Tsangpo Gorge, Tibet)
- Gustavus McLeod - (First flight to the North Pole in an open-air cockpit aircraft)
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.
External links
- National Geographic Online
- March 2003 issue, How They Found National Geographic's "Afghan Girl"
- Society's flag