 | |
| Abbreviation | NGS |
|---|---|
| Formation | January 13, 1888 |
| Type | Nonprofit |
| Purpose | Education Environmental protection Historical preservation |
| Headquarters | 1145 17th Street N.W. Washington, D.C., United States |
Region served
| Worldwide |
Chairman
| Jean M. Case |
CEO/President
| Tracy Wolstencroft |
Main organ
| Board of Trustees |
| Website | www |
The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, and natural science, the promotion of environmental and historical conservation, and the study of world culture and history. The National Geographic Society's logo is a yellow portrait frame—rectangular in shape—which appears on the margins surrounding the front covers of its magazines and as its television channel logo. Through National Geographic Partners (a joint venture with The Walt Disney Company), the Society operates the magazine, TV channels, a website, worldwide events, and other media operations.
Overview
A dancer of the cafes, Algeria, 1917 photograph from National Geographic Magazine
The National Geographic Society was founded in 1888 "to increase and
diffuse geographic knowledge". It is governed by a board of trustees,
whose 21 members include distinguished educators, business executives,
former government officials and conservationists. The organization
sponsors and funds scientific research and exploration. National
Geographic maintains a museum for the public in its Washington, D.C.,
headquarters.
It has helped to sponsor popular traveling exhibits, such as the early 2010s King Tut exhibit featuring artifacts from the tomb of the young Egyptian Pharaoh. Its Education Foundation gives grants to education organizations and individuals to improve geography education. Its Committee for Research and Exploration has awarded more than 11,000 grants for scientific research and exploration.
National Geographic has retail stores in Washington, D.C.,
London, Sydney, and Panama. The locations outside of the United States
are operated by Worldwide Retail Store S.L., a Spanish holding company.
The Society's media arm is National Geographic Partners, a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and the Society, which publishes a journal, National Geographic
in English and nearly 40 local-language editions. It also publishes
other magazines, books, school products, maps, and Web and film products
in numerous languages and countries. National Geographic's various
media properties reach more than 280 million people monthly.
History
| The 33 original founders of the National Geographic Society in 1888: | |
| |
| Although Alexander Graham Bell is sometimes discussed as a founder, he was actually the second president, elected on January 7, 1898, and serving until 1903. | |
Historical emblem of the National Geographic Society
The National Geographic Society began as a club for an elite group of
academics and wealthy patrons interested in travel and exploration. On January 13, 1888, 33 explorers and scientists gathered at the Cosmos Club, a private club then located on Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C., to organize "a society for the increase and diffusion of geographical
knowledge." After preparing a constitution and a plan of organization,
the National Geographic Society was incorporated two weeks later on
January 27. Gardiner Greene Hubbard became its first president and his son-in-law, Alexander Graham Bell, succeeded him in 1897.
In 1899, Bell's son-in-law Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor
was named the first full-time editor of National Geographic magazine
and served the organization for fifty-five years (until 1954), and
members of the Grosvenor family have played important roles in the
organization since. Bell and Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor devised the
successful marketing notion of Society membership and the first major
use of photographs to tell stories in magazines.
The chairman of the National Geographic Society is Jean Case.
Michael Ulica is interim president and chief executive. The
editor-in-chief of National Geographic magazine is Susan Goldberg. Gilbert Melville Grosvenor, a former chairman, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005 for his leadership in geography education.
In 2004, the National Geographic Society headquarters in
Washington, D.C., was one of the first buildings to receive a "Green"
certification from Global Green USA. The National Geographic received the prestigious Prince of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities in October 2006 in Oviedo, Spain.
In 2013 the society was investigated for possible violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act relating to their close association with an Egyptian government official responsible for antiquities.
On September 9, 2015, the Society announced that it would
re-organize its media properties and publications into a new company
known as National Geographic Partners, which would be majority-owned by 21st Century Fox (21CF) with a 73% stake. This new, for-profit corporation, would own National Geographic
and other magazines, as well as its affiliated television networks—most
of which were already owned in joint ventures with 21CF.
As a consequence, the Society and 21st Century Fox announced on
November 2, 2015, that 9 percent of National Geographic's 2,000
employees, approximately 180 people, would be laid off, constituting the
biggest staff reduction in the Society's history. Later, The Walt Disney Company assumed 21CF's share in National Geographic Partners, following the completion of Disney's acquisition of most of 21CF assets on March 20, 2019.
Activities
Support for research and projects
National Geographic Society's Administration Building in Washington, D.C.
The Society has helped sponsor many expeditions and research projects over the years.
Awards
Hubbard Medal
Anne Morrow 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, the first National Geographic Society president. The Hubbard Medal has been presented 44 times as of 2018, the most recent award going to Peter H. Raven.
Alexander Graham Bell Medal
The National Geographic Society also awards, rarely, the Alexander Graham Bell Medal, for exceptional contributions to geographic research. The award is named after Alexander Graham Bell, scientist, inventor and the second president of the NGS. Up to mid-2011, the medal has been twice presented:
- 1980: Bradford Washburn and wife Barbara Washburn
- 2010: Roger Tomlinson and Jack Dangermond
National Geographic Museum
The
Society operates the National Geographic Museum, located at 1145 17th
Street, NW (17th and M), in Washington, D.C. The museum features
changing exhibitions featuring the work of National Geographic
explorers, photographers, and scientists. There are also changing
exhibits related to natural history, culture, history or society.
Permanent exhibits include artifacts like the camera Robert Peary used at the North Pole and pottery that Jacques Cousteau recovered from a shipwreck.
Courtyard entrance to the National Geographic Museum
Commercial ventures
National Geographic Partners, a for-profit joint venture between 21st Century Fox
(which owns a 73% stake) and the Society (which owns 27%), was
established in 2015 to handle commercial activities of the Society,
including television channels worldwide (which were already co-owned by
the Society and Fox) and magazine publications. The Walt Disney Company assumed 21CF’s share of National Geographic Partners in March 2019.
Most of National Geographic Partners' businesses predate the
establishment in 2015, and even the launch of National Geographic
Channel in Asia and Europe by the original News Corporation (of which 21st Century Fox is one of the successors) in the late 1990s.
Publications
National Geographic
Cover of January 1915 The National Geographic Magazine
The National Geographic Magazine, later shortened to National Geographic,
published its first issue in October 1888, nine months after the
Society was founded, as the Society's official journal, a benefit for
joining the tax-exempt National Geographic Society. Starting with the
February 1910 (Vol XXI, No. 2) issue, the magazine began using its now
famous trademarked yellow border around the edge of its covers.
There are 12 monthly issues of National Geographic per
year. The magazine contains articles about geography, popular science,
world history, culture, current events and photography of places and
things all over the world and universe. National Geographic
magazine is currently published in 40 local-language editions in many
countries around the world. Combined English and other language
circulation is around 6.8 million monthly, with some 60 million readers.
Other publications
In addition to its flagship magazine, the Society publishes several other periodicals:
- National Geographic Explorer: Classroom magazine. The National Geographic School Bulletin was launched in 1919 and was replaced by the children's magazine National Geographic World in 1975. NG World was separated into the current National Geographic Explorer and National Geographic Kids in 2001.
- National Geographic History: Launched in Spring 2015.
- National Geographic Kids: A version of National Geographic Magazine for children, launched in 1975 under the name National Geographic World. It has a U.S. circulation of over 1.5 million. There are also currently 18 local-language editions of NG Kids, with another half million in circulation. An Arabic edition of the children's magazine was launched in Egypt in early 2007, and more than 42,000 copies are distributed to all the public schools in Egypt, in addition to another 15,000 single copy sales. More recently, an Albanian and Polish edition were launched.
- National Geographic Little Kids: For younger children aged 3–6
- National Geographic Traveler: Launched in 1984. There are 18 local-language editions of NG Traveler.
The Society also ran an online daily news outlet called National Geographic News.
Additionally, the Society publishes atlases, books, and maps. It previously published and co-published other magazines, including National Geographic Adventure, National Geographic Research (a scientific journal), and others, and continues to publish special issues of various magazines.
The Society publishes a series of books about natural remedies and medicinal herbs. Titles include Guide to Medicinal Herbs, Complete Guide to Natural Home Remedies, Nature's Best Remedies, Healing Remedies, and Natural Home Remedies.
The books make claims to describe, among other things, plants, herbs,
and essential oils purported to help treat diseases and ailments. While
giving some appropriate warnings about such concerns as anecdotal
evidence and side effects are given, the books have been criticized from
a medical perspective for a number of reasons. These include making
recommendations that lack scientific evidence, inconsistent claims from
one book to the next as well as internal contradictions, and failure to
mention effective and safe alternatives.
Films and television
National Geographic Films
National
Geographic Films is a wholly owned taxable subsidiary of the National
Geographic Society. Films it has produced include:
- K-19: The Widowmaker (2002), a feature film, submarine thriller based on the diary of a Russian submarine commander, starring Harrison Ford.
- March of the Penguins (2005), a French-made documentary for U.S. distribution with a new score and script, narrated by Morgan Freeman; it received an Academy Award for the Best Documentary in 2006. After a record $77 million theatrical gross in the United States, over four million DVD copies of March of the Penguins have been sold.
- Arctic Tale (2007), a feature film documenting the story of two families of walrus and polar bears, narrated by Queen Latifah.
- Sea Monsters (2007), inspired by a National Geographic Magazine article, is a 3-D large format and reality film, with a musical score by Peter Gabriel.
- The Last Lions (2011)
- Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson and the Opening of the American West, a co-production for HBO by National Geographic Films, Edward Norton, and Brad Pitt, is a 10-hour mini-series of Steven Ambrose's award-winning book. Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson and the Opening of the American West for HBO.
In 2005, the National Geographic Society acquired the film
distribution arm of Destination Cinema and entered the film distribution
business.
Television programs
Television programs produced by the National Geographic Society are also broadcast on television. National Geographic television specials and series have been aired on PBS and other networks in the United States and globally for many years. The Geographic series in the U.S. started on CBS in 1964, moved to ABC in 1973, shifted to PBS (produced by WQED, Pittsburgh) in 1975, shifted to NBC in 1995, and returned to PBS in 2000. It moved to National Geographic Channel in 2005.
It has featured stories on numerous scientific figures such as Jacques Cousteau, Jane Goodall, and Louis Leakey
that not only featured their work but as well helped make them
world-famous and accessible to millions. Most of the specials were
narrated by various actors, including Glenn Close, Linda Hunt, Stacy Keach, Richard Kiley, Burgess Meredith, Susan Sarandon, Alexander Scourby, Martin Sheen, and Peter Strauss. The specials' theme music, by Elmer Bernstein, was also adopted by the National Geographic Channel.
Another long-running show is National Geographic Explorer.
Television channels
The original News Corporation
launched National Geographic Channel in Asia and Europe in the late
1990s, in partnership with the Society. The Society provides programming
to the National Geographic-branded channels worldwide, while, as of
March 2019, The Walt Disney Company's subsidiaries (Walt Disney Television in the United States and Fox Networks Group
outside the United States) handle distribution of the channels and
advertisement sales. The National Geographic Channel has begun to launch
a number of sub-branded channels in international markets, such as Nat Geo Wild, Nat Geo People and Nat Geo Kids.
The U.S. domestic version of National Geographic Channel was launched in January 2001 as a joint venture of National Geographic and Fox Cable Networks.
Music and Radio
National Geographic Music and Radio (NGMR) is the music and radio
division of National Geographic Ventures. The scope of the division
includes National Geographic Live! events, digital music distribution,
music publishing, radio content, Nat Geo Music TV channel (available in parts of Asia and Europe) and film and TV music. Clear Channel, Salem Communications and NPR were distribution partners.
In early August 2007, National Geographic Ventures announced the
existence of the then-recently formed division. The division was already
creating music for its feature film and kids units. Initially hired to
run the division were Mark Bauman, executive vice president of radio and
video production, and David Beal, head of music labels, publishing and
radio operations.
