1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:05,840 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:09,600 Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, a 3 00:00:09,640 --> 00:00:12,680 Speaker 1: show that flips through the pages of history to deliver 4 00:00:12,840 --> 00:00:16,560 Speaker 1: old news in a new way. I'm Gay, Blues Yay, 5 00:00:16,720 --> 00:00:21,439 Speaker 1: and today we're celebrating the birth of National Geographic, a 6 00:00:21,520 --> 00:00:25,720 Speaker 1: magazine whose vivid photo features and thoughtful journalism have been 7 00:00:25,760 --> 00:00:28,920 Speaker 1: revealing new aspects of our world for more than one 8 00:00:29,040 --> 00:00:39,440 Speaker 1: hundred and thirty years in counting. The day was September 9 00:00:39,440 --> 00:00:45,480 Speaker 1: twenty second, eighteen eighty eight. National Geographic Magazine began publication 10 00:00:45,680 --> 00:00:50,239 Speaker 1: as the official journal of the National Geographic Society. The 11 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:53,599 Speaker 1: group had been founded just nine months earlier as a 12 00:00:53,640 --> 00:00:58,960 Speaker 1: nonprofit devoted to the quote increase and diffusion of geographic knowledge. 13 00:00:59,560 --> 00:01:02,560 Speaker 1: The societ Diciety's goal with the magazine was to use 14 00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:06,720 Speaker 1: the proceeds to fund expeditions and research projects around the world. 15 00:01:07,400 --> 00:01:10,560 Speaker 1: Although the word magazine was initially part of the title, 16 00:01:10,760 --> 00:01:14,280 Speaker 1: the name was later shortened to just National Geographic, and 17 00:01:14,319 --> 00:01:17,960 Speaker 1: now sometimes it shortened even further to just Nat Geo. 18 00:01:18,720 --> 00:01:21,040 Speaker 1: It went on to become one of the world's best 19 00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:26,080 Speaker 1: known and most respected periodicals, easily identified by the distinctive 20 00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:29,280 Speaker 1: yellow border running around the edge of its cover, and 21 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:34,400 Speaker 1: renowned for its stunning photographs of exotic locales, natural phenomena, 22 00:01:34,680 --> 00:01:39,320 Speaker 1: and wildlife. The thirty three men who established the National 23 00:01:39,360 --> 00:01:43,640 Speaker 1: Geographic Society in Washington, d c. Were an eclectic assortment 24 00:01:43,760 --> 00:01:49,720 Speaker 1: of geographers, teachers, military officers, map makers, and financiers. The 25 00:01:49,800 --> 00:01:53,720 Speaker 1: majority were not scientists by trade, but they all shared 26 00:01:53,800 --> 00:01:59,360 Speaker 1: a natural curiosity and were fascinated with science and exploration. Moreover, 27 00:01:59,640 --> 00:02:02,440 Speaker 1: they all all felt supremely lucky to be living in 28 00:02:02,480 --> 00:02:06,320 Speaker 1: the age they did, a time when innovations and transportation 29 00:02:06,520 --> 00:02:09,880 Speaker 1: and communication had made it easier than ever to travel 30 00:02:09,919 --> 00:02:13,720 Speaker 1: to faraway places, document what you find there, and then 31 00:02:13,760 --> 00:02:16,960 Speaker 1: share it with the world. With that in mind, they 32 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:21,080 Speaker 1: wrote up a constitution and formed a nonprofit corporation to 33 00:02:21,160 --> 00:02:26,080 Speaker 1: help further mankind's understanding of the natural world. Nine months 34 00:02:26,080 --> 00:02:29,840 Speaker 1: into that endeavor, the Society launched its own official journal, 35 00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:35,320 Speaker 1: National Geographic Magazine, Volume one, Number one was printed in 36 00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:38,280 Speaker 1: New Haven, Connecticut, and carried a cover price of just 37 00:02:38,400 --> 00:02:43,200 Speaker 1: fifty cents. At first, the magazine was rather unadventurous in 38 00:02:43,320 --> 00:02:46,440 Speaker 1: terms of both its appearance and its content. There was 39 00:02:46,520 --> 00:02:49,880 Speaker 1: no bright yellow border or jaw dropping cover photo to 40 00:02:49,919 --> 00:02:54,280 Speaker 1: lure in readers. Instead, the cover was just plain chestnut 41 00:02:54,320 --> 00:02:57,560 Speaker 1: brown paper with the magazine's title and a little logo 42 00:02:57,600 --> 00:03:00,800 Speaker 1: of a map at the center. There weren't any photos 43 00:03:00,880 --> 00:03:05,040 Speaker 1: inside the magazine either, just ninety eight pages of sedate, 44 00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:10,040 Speaker 1: scholarly writing. The six articles featured in the inaugural issue 45 00:03:10,120 --> 00:03:13,280 Speaker 1: had begun life as research papers presented at the bi 46 00:03:13,360 --> 00:03:17,200 Speaker 1: weekly meetings held by the Society. They weren't written with 47 00:03:17,240 --> 00:03:20,880 Speaker 1: a public audience in mind, and were therefore rather formal 48 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:25,480 Speaker 1: and academic in tone. The liveliest read came from founding 49 00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:29,920 Speaker 1: member Everett Hayden and detailed the devastating great storm that 50 00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:33,160 Speaker 1: had struck the Atlantic coast of the US earlier that March. 51 00:03:33,919 --> 00:03:36,760 Speaker 1: The dullest content, on the other hand, had to be 52 00:03:36,920 --> 00:03:41,280 Speaker 1: the Survey and Map of Massachusetts by Henry Gannett, another 53 00:03:41,400 --> 00:03:45,960 Speaker 1: founding member and future Society president. As the title suggests, 54 00:03:46,120 --> 00:03:48,920 Speaker 1: the article described the process of how the state of 55 00:03:49,000 --> 00:03:53,839 Speaker 1: Massachusetts was topographically mapped, including a breakdown of what all 56 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:56,840 Speaker 1: was covered in the mapping, such as post offices and 57 00:03:56,920 --> 00:04:00,960 Speaker 1: public canals, as well as what was excluded fences and 58 00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:04,160 Speaker 1: field crops. As he can tell, it was a real 59 00:04:04,240 --> 00:04:09,160 Speaker 1: page Turner. The National Geographic Society had hoped their magazine 60 00:04:09,160 --> 00:04:11,960 Speaker 1: would appeal to people from all walks of life, and 61 00:04:12,040 --> 00:04:14,880 Speaker 1: not just to the highly educated, But since most of 62 00:04:14,920 --> 00:04:18,560 Speaker 1: the content dealt with technical subjects and lacked illustrations of 63 00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:21,560 Speaker 1: any kind, there really wasn't much there for the layman. 64 00:04:22,480 --> 00:04:25,440 Speaker 1: The magazine fared well enough in its early years and 65 00:04:25,480 --> 00:04:29,359 Speaker 1: eventually became a monthly publication in eighteen ninety six, but 66 00:04:29,480 --> 00:04:33,520 Speaker 1: its readership wouldn't truly thrive until three years later, when 67 00:04:33,560 --> 00:04:37,839 Speaker 1: Gilbert H. Grovener took over as the first full time editor. 68 00:04:38,520 --> 00:04:42,800 Speaker 1: On his watch, National Geographic ditched the stuffy, jargon heavy 69 00:04:42,880 --> 00:04:46,200 Speaker 1: articles that had limited its appeal and started focusing more 70 00:04:46,279 --> 00:04:50,920 Speaker 1: on general interest topics accompanied by photographs. The first issue 71 00:04:50,960 --> 00:04:54,000 Speaker 1: with a photo feature hit news stands in January of 72 00:04:54,080 --> 00:04:57,640 Speaker 1: nineteen o five and gave readers an exclusive look at 73 00:04:57,640 --> 00:05:01,560 Speaker 1: the Buddhist temples of Lasa, Tibet. As a result of 74 00:05:01,600 --> 00:05:04,880 Speaker 1: this and other changes, including the addition of that snappy 75 00:05:04,960 --> 00:05:08,599 Speaker 1: yellow border in nineteen ten, Grovenor was able to boost 76 00:05:08,640 --> 00:05:12,359 Speaker 1: the magazine's circulation from one thousand to well over a 77 00:05:12,480 --> 00:05:17,799 Speaker 1: million by nineteen twenty six. Grovenor's leadership didn't just improve 78 00:05:17,880 --> 00:05:22,320 Speaker 1: the magazine's accessibility and esthetics, It also broadened the scope 79 00:05:22,360 --> 00:05:25,680 Speaker 1: of its coverage. Instead of focusing mostly on the United 80 00:05:25,720 --> 00:05:28,919 Speaker 1: States as it had done before, the magazine now featured 81 00:05:28,960 --> 00:05:32,360 Speaker 1: stories from even the most remote corners of the world, 82 00:05:32,440 --> 00:05:34,839 Speaker 1: and to help bring those places to life for the reader, 83 00:05:35,279 --> 00:05:40,080 Speaker 1: National Geographic pioneered new techniques in natural photography and became 84 00:05:40,160 --> 00:05:43,520 Speaker 1: one of the first magazines to publish full color photographs. 85 00:05:44,360 --> 00:05:47,839 Speaker 1: By nineteen o eight, roughly half the magazine was composed 86 00:05:47,839 --> 00:05:51,159 Speaker 1: of photos, many of which gave readers their first glimpse 87 00:05:51,480 --> 00:05:55,159 Speaker 1: of people, places, and animals that they never knew existed. 88 00:05:55,760 --> 00:05:59,200 Speaker 1: And although the magazine stumbled here and there, it mostly 89 00:05:59,279 --> 00:06:03,280 Speaker 1: lived up to its own gentlemanly pledge that quote, only 90 00:06:03,360 --> 00:06:06,320 Speaker 1: what is of a kindly nature is printed about any 91 00:06:06,320 --> 00:06:11,560 Speaker 1: country or people, everything unpleasant or unduly critical being avoided. 92 00:06:12,640 --> 00:06:15,839 Speaker 1: One of the main reasons for the magazine's creation was 93 00:06:15,839 --> 00:06:20,080 Speaker 1: to help finance the Society's scientific expeditions, and it achieved 94 00:06:20,080 --> 00:06:23,479 Speaker 1: that goal in eighteen ninety, just two years into its run. 95 00:06:24,160 --> 00:06:27,640 Speaker 1: The proceeds from the magazine's sales allowed the Society to 96 00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:31,560 Speaker 1: embark on a mission led by explorer Israel Russell to 97 00:06:31,640 --> 00:06:35,560 Speaker 1: map the Saint Elias Mountains in North America. Since then, 98 00:06:35,920 --> 00:06:40,960 Speaker 1: National Geographic has sponsored thousands of other explorer led expeditions 99 00:06:41,200 --> 00:06:45,440 Speaker 1: and research projects, including Robert Pieri's journey to the North Pole, 100 00:06:45,800 --> 00:06:49,560 Speaker 1: Richard Byrd's flight over the South Pole, Jane Goodall's study 101 00:06:49,640 --> 00:06:54,159 Speaker 1: of wild chimpanzees, and Jacques Cousteau's exploration of the under 102 00:06:54,200 --> 00:06:57,680 Speaker 1: sea world. A great deal has changed in the one 103 00:06:57,800 --> 00:07:01,599 Speaker 1: hundred and thirty plus years since nat Geo's debut, both 104 00:07:01,680 --> 00:07:04,560 Speaker 1: in the world at large and in the magazine business. 105 00:07:04,880 --> 00:07:07,800 Speaker 1: If you haven't noticed, print media ain't what he used 106 00:07:07,800 --> 00:07:11,280 Speaker 1: to be, and as a result, control of National Geographic 107 00:07:11,320 --> 00:07:14,960 Speaker 1: has changed hands twice in the past decade, first in 108 00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:18,280 Speaker 1: twenty fifteen when it was acquired by twentieth Century Fox, 109 00:07:18,680 --> 00:07:21,680 Speaker 1: and then in twenty nineteen when Fox was acquired by 110 00:07:21,720 --> 00:07:25,200 Speaker 1: the Walt Disney Company. That means you're much more likely 111 00:07:25,280 --> 00:07:28,480 Speaker 1: to encounter the NAT Geo banner on Disney Plus than 112 00:07:28,480 --> 00:07:32,320 Speaker 1: that a newstand. But purists shouldn't worry just yet. The 113 00:07:32,400 --> 00:07:36,320 Speaker 1: venerable magazine is still going strong, with a monthly circulation 114 00:07:36,480 --> 00:07:39,920 Speaker 1: of just under two million copies. So even though we 115 00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:43,280 Speaker 1: live in a volatile time in a volatile world, you 116 00:07:43,320 --> 00:07:47,600 Speaker 1: can still count on National Geographic to deliver the beauty, complexity, 117 00:07:47,800 --> 00:07:52,160 Speaker 1: and wonder of that world, all within a familiar yellow frame. 118 00:07:54,360 --> 00:07:57,800 Speaker 1: I'm Gabe Luesier and hopefully you now know a little 119 00:07:57,840 --> 00:08:01,800 Speaker 1: more about history today than you do yesterday. If you 120 00:08:01,920 --> 00:08:04,400 Speaker 1: enjoyed today's episode, you might want to keep up with 121 00:08:04,480 --> 00:08:09,400 Speaker 1: us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at TDI HC Show, 122 00:08:10,040 --> 00:08:12,200 Speaker 1: And if you have any feedback you'd like to share, 123 00:08:12,400 --> 00:08:14,600 Speaker 1: feel free to get in touch by writing to This 124 00:08:14,800 --> 00:08:19,160 Speaker 1: Day at iHeartMedia dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays for 125 00:08:19,240 --> 00:08:22,280 Speaker 1: producing the show, and thank you for listening. I'll see 126 00:08:22,320 --> 00:08:26,000 Speaker 1: you back here again soon for another day in History class.