Humble Beginnings

• A group of well-known and rather distinguished gentlemen gathered in Washington, DC, at the close of 1888 with an interest in promoting scientific research and education among the world's youth, who they believed were largely uneducated about geography and world cultures. Among these gents were Alexander Graham Bell, inventor; Gardiner Greene Hubbard, a prominent lawyer; George Keenan, a renowned scholar; and the explorer team of A.W. Greeley and John Powell. The group voted Hubbard, Bell's financier, to be the Society's first president.
  
  

The Magazine

• The NGS produced their magazine sporadically at first, until the regular monthly publication began in 1897. Sales and subscribers to the magazine were poor, as the magazine was scientifically styled and had no illustrations. Hubbard passed away that same year and was succeeded by Bell, the Society's next (and most influential) president. Thanks to Bell, the magazine received an overhaul in 1899, as illustrations and a more conversational text helped increase the magazine's circulation.
  
  

Popularity

• Bell appointed Gilbert Grosvenor, a young teacher, as the magazine's fulltime editor-in-chief later that year. Grosvenor began to include photos in the magazine, a fact that later made the magazine world famous. Despite some in the academic community condemning the "cheapening" of the magazine, sales increased dramatically. In 1904, Grosvenor approved an eleven-page photo spread of the Tibetan city of Lhasa, an idea unheard of at the time. The issue became an instant success. In 1910, the magazine published its first issues featuring colored photos.
  
  

Into the New Millennium

• Bell passed away in 1922. A revolving door of interim presidents served over the course of the next several years until Grosvenor began to serve double duty as both president and editor. The NGS upped its sponsorship of several expeditions (which of course contributed to the magazine's content), such as Robert Byrd's famed trips to the North and South Poles between 1925 and 1930. Over the course of the next decade, the NGS worked with the Allied Powers during World War II to provide intelligence and maps. At the dawn of the Space Age, the NGS sponsored grants for several scientists involved with NASA and space exploration, and turned its attention to TV, where it showcased a number of well-received specials. The Society built a headquarters in Washington, DC.
  
  

The Modern Society

• Despite being a non-profit organization, the Society continues to be financially successful, as DVD sales of specials as well as a cable channel add to their successes. In 1998, the magazine became available not just to the members, but on newsstands worldwide. Currently, the NGS publishes three magazines, one of which is for kids, which began in 2001. NGS also owns and operates two stand-alone retail stores and oversees production of an educational toy line that bears its name.