National Geographic Society

Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, 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 National Geographic, multiple TV channels, a website, worldwide events, and other media operations.

Overview

The National Geographic Society was founded on January 13, 1888 "to increase and diffuse geographic knowledge". It is governed by a board of trustees whose 33 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. The Education Foundation gives grants to education organizations and individuals to improve geography education. The 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. Its efforts are supported by a wide range of individual, charitable, governmental and corporate donors, including the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, Gates Foundation, Lockheed Martin, Pfizer, National Endowment for the Humanities and many others.

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History

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 (co-founder of AT&T) became its first president and his son-in-law, Alexander Graham Bell (also co-founder of AT&T), 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 eventually elected as the president of the society in 1920. Grosvenor resigned as editor and president in 1954 and served as chairman of the organization's board until his death in 1966. 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 currently is Jean Case. Michael Ulica is president. Jill Tiefenthaler is the chief executive officer. 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.

National Geographic Expeditions was launched in 1999 to fulfill one of its missions and for the proceeds to go towards its mission.

In 2006, the society purchased Hampton-Brown, an English-as-a-second-language educational material publisher, using a good part of its endowments. However, the publisher did not generate much profit. By 2009, the society's endowments were about $200 million.

National Geographic Ventures, its commercial arm, launched a music division, National Geographic Music and Radio, in 2007. The society formed in October 2007 National Geographic Entertainment division to include its entertainment units.

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. On June 29, 2023, National Geographic laid off the remaining staff writers for their magazine and announced their publications would no longer be sold at physical newsstands in the United States in 2024. In a statement to the press, a spokesperson for the society said that the company will continue to publish a monthly magazine "dedicated to exceptional multi-platform storytelling with cultural impact" through the work of freelance writers and the few remaining editors on staff.

List of original founders

The 33 original founders of the National Geographic Society in 1888:

Cleveland Abbe
Frank Baker
Marcus Baker
John Russell Bartlett
Charles J. Bell
Rogers Birnie
William Dall
Arthur Powell Davis
Clarence Dutton
Henry Gannett
Samuel Gannett
Grove Karl Gilbert
George Brown Goode
James Howard Gore
Adolphus Washington Greely
Edward Everett Hayden
Henry Wetherbee Henshaw
Gardiner Greene Hubbard
Willard Drake Johnson
George Kennan
George Wallace Melville
Clinton Hart Merriam
Henry Mitchell
Robert Muldrow II
Herbert Gouverneur Ogden
John Wesley Powell
William Bramwell Powell
Israel Russell
Winfield Scott Schley
Almon Harris Thompson
Gilbert Thompson
Otto Hilgard Tittmann
James Clarke Welling

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.

Activities

Support for research and projects

The society has helped sponsor many expeditions and research projects over the years.

Awards

Hubbard Medal

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 of the telephone 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. In early 2023, the museum closed for a major renovation; it reopened on June 26, 2026, and is now known as the National Geographic Museum of Exploration.

National Geographic Explorers program

The NGS names individuals as "Explorers" or "Youth Explorer" for "exceptional individuals in their fields who receive funding and support from the Society to illuminate and protect our world through their work in science, exploration, education, and storytelling." They consist of scientists or content producers, such as photographers and filmmakers. National Geographic Explorers have included:

Angela Busheska (2021)
Jen Guyton, American photographer and ecologist
Suaad Al Harthi, conservation scientist and executive director of the Environment Society of Oman (ESO)

Commercial ventures

National Geographic Partners, a for-profit joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (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.

The society formed in October 2007 National Geographic Entertainment division to include Cinema Ventures, Feature Films, Kids Entertainment, Home Entertainment and Music & Radio divisions. Music and Radio division president David Beal was appointed head of Nat Geo Entertainment.

Films and television

National Geographic Films

National Geographic Films was a wholly owned taxable subsidiary of the National Geographic Society.

National Geographic Films appointed Adam Leipzig as president in 2004. The society formed in October 2007 National Geographic Entertainment division to include Cinema Ventures and Feature Films. In 2008, the film division and Image Nation formed a $100 million fund to develop, produce, finance and acquire over five years 10–15 films. The first film the fund invested in was The Way Back.

Leipzig left the company in January 2010. On March 15, 2010, former Miramax president Daniel Battsek started as National Geographic Films president. Basttsek ended up also over seeing Nat Geo Cinema Ventures distribution and big screen production before he left in 2012 becoming president of Cohen Media Group.

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.
Forces of Nature (2004)
March of the Penguins (2005) grossed more than $125 million worldwide, distributed by National Geographic Films and Warner Independent
God Grew Tired of Us (2006)
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.
Amreeka (2009)
The Way Back (2010)
The First Grader (2010)
The Wildest Dream (2010)
Restrepo (July 2, 2010) Outpost Films Production; domestic rights, Sundance documentary grand jury prize winner
Life in a Day (2011)
The Last Lions (2011)
Mysteries of the Unseen World (2013)
Jerusalem (2013)
Pandas: The Journey Home (2014)
City of Life and Death
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.
Blue Man Group: Mind Blast

In 2005, the National Geographic Society acquired the film distribution arm of Destination Cinema and entered the film distribution business.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, National Geographic partnered with pharmaceutical company Pfizer to produce a sponsored documentary chronicling the development of Pfizer and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine.

Cinema Ventures

National Geographic Cinema Ventures (NGCV) was a giant-screen, 3D and specialty films production and distribution company operated under National Geographic Entertainment.

At the late 2011 American Alliance of Museums conference, National Geographic Cinema Ventures launched the Museum Partnership Program as museums want a brand for their giant screen theaters. Starting on February 1, 2018, Cosmic Pictures gained distribution rights to a number of the NGCV library.

Museum Partnership Program

The Museum Partnership Program is the branding and content program of National Geographic Cinema Ventures. Partner museums would receive immediate market exclusivity on their 2 new digital 3D films per year and gain access to the National Geographic organization from members to exhibition to television.

There were nine partner museums as of 2012:

Putnam Museum in Davenport, Iowa

Films

Sea Monsters (2007)
Extreme Weather
Mysteries of the Unseen World (2013)
Jerusalem (2013) - produced by Cosmic Pictures; distribution; Cosmic Pictures gain rights to distribute
Pandas: The Journey Home (2014) 40-minute, Oxford Scientific Films Production for Sky3D and NGCV, in association with the Chinese Wildlife Conservation Association, Wolong Panda Conservation Centre, CCTV9, Nat Geo WILD; international distributor

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. For the first 10 years, Geographic produced the specials in partnership with documentary film vetaran Wolper Productions. 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. Under PBS, from 1975 to 1985, Gulf Oil Corporation sponsored the specials, until the oil company merged with rival Chevron, and continued to sponsor the specials before moving to NBC in 1995.

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 (closed; formerly 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. With National Geographic Channels, Music and Radio on October 15, 2007, launched the Nat Geo Music channel in Italy.

The society formed in October 2007 National Geographic Entertainment division to include the Music & Radio division and promoted the division president David Beal was appointed head of Nat Geo Entertainment. In 2009, the division became a full-service record label as Nat Geo Music with Mat Whittington appointed as president.

More recently, NGMR has leaned into the digital landscape with the rise of streaming services, maintaining an active presence on platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube, showcasing soundtracks, artist collaborations, and music related to National Geographic's programming.