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, started nine months after the society began.

Table of contents

1 National Geographic Magazine
2 Other Publications
3 Support for Research & Projects
4 External links

National Geographic Magazine

Cover of January, 1915 National Geographic

The National Geographic Magazine, later shortened to National Geographic, is one of the United States' best known magazines. Monthly issues come out 12 times a year; occasional special additional issues have been issued. It has a characteristic yellow binding and book-like quality. In addition to articles about scenery, history, and culture of various places on earth, the magazine has long been known for high quality photography, regarded as 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.

One famous photo was a cover photo of an Afghan refugee, a young girl with piercing blue eyes. After a search, she was identified in 2002 as Sharbat Gula, a Pashtun. Her story was told in the March 2003 issue of National Geographic.

Back issues of the National Geographic are kept rather than disgarded more commonly than most other magazines.

In 1960, the magazine started publishing photographs on their front covers, previously usually text only.

In 1995, National Geographic began publishing in Japanese, it's 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, Portugeuse, Chinese, Czech and Russian.

Other Publications

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".

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 - ( R.M.S. 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.