National Geographic

 

 

The first National Geographic (1888, vol 1, No. 1)

 

October 17, 1888: The National Geographic Society produces a magazine that goes on sale at newsstands. On January 13, 1888 thirty-three founding members met in Washington DC to create a society “for the increase and diffusion of geographic knowledge.” Their organization published the National Geographic Magazine and shipped it to 200 charter members at the beginning of the month  with sales at newsstands beginning on this date.

The soon to be yellow edged magazine was filled with articles about geography, popular science, world history, and current events. Photography was an early part of the magazine as well, but a minor part. In 1905, the editor-in-chief, Gilbert H. Grosvenor published eleven pages of photos of Lhasa in Tibet. Rather than being sanctioned, the photo spread was a huge success. Photography became an essential part of the magazine.

Years of beautiful and accurate photography proved invaluable in 1941 when they were used to aid President Roosevelt and the US armed forces. Not content with photography of the surface of the planet, in October 1952, the first deep sea photographs were published. The society also awards The Hubbard Medal for outstanding exploration, discovery, and research. The medal has been awarded 33 times. Today the magazine is published in 31 languages and there is a National Geographic cable channel.

The society continues to sponsor scientific research and exploration. Results are published in their magazine as well as other magazines, books, and other publications in many languages and countries around the world. They have recently bestowed their 9,000^th grant for scientific research.

“The National Geographic Society is a very powerful brand, whose impeccable, family-oriented reputation for bringing knowledge of different cultures and geographies to many people is a perfect fit for our vision of this project.” – Kevin Donavan

“It takes a special breed of artist to be an illustrator for National Geographic. There’s lots of collaboration between the researchers and the artists, and it could take over a year to get it right.” – Steaphanie Plunkett

“I truly love being outdoors and working with cameras. My dream would be to someday shoot for National Geographic.” – Pamela Moore

“I never leaf through a copy of National Geographic without realizing how lucky we are to live in a society where it is traditional to wear clothes.” – Erma Bombeck

Also on this day, in 1860 the first Open Championship (British Open) was held.