**TODAY ONLY**

January 13

National Geographic Society Founded
On this day in 1888, the National Geographic Society was founded in Washington, DC. That evening, on foot, by horseback, and in horsedrawn carriages, 33 men made their way through the streets of Washington to the Cosmos Club, across from the White House. They sat down at one of the club's large tables to talk about "the advisability of organizing a society for the increase and diffusion of geographical knowledge." The society they were about to create became the largest nonprofit scientific and educational institution in the world. Who Was There? Geographers, explorers, teachers, lawyers, cartographers, military officers, and financiers. What brought them all together was their love of knowledge and their thirst for discovery and achievement. What One of Them Said... They were the "first explorers of the Grand Canyon and the Yellowstone, those who had carried the American flag farthest north, who had measured the altitude of our famous mountains, traced the windings of our coasts and rivers, determined the distribution of flora and fauna, enlightened us in the customs of the aborigines, and marked out the path of storm and flood." Age of Exploration? The 33 men represented an era that was marked by exploration, discovery, invention, and change. Industrial expansion and immigration was changing the way the country looked, thought, and believed.	Making it Official. That very night, the men approved a resolution that the Society be organized "on as broad and liberal a basis in regard to qualifications for membership as is consistent with its own well-being and the dignity of the science it represents." Get to Work. Over the next two weeks a constitution and plan of organization were prepared. On January 27, 1888, the National Geographic Society was officially incorporated. What's It All About? Gardiner Greene Hubbard ~ the first president ~ was a lawyer and financier who helped found a school for the deaf. He was a supporter of experiments of his son-in-law: Alexander Graham Bell. Hubbard's election showed the world that the Society was not just for professional geographers, but for those who wanted to promote special researches by others, and to spread the information learned in those researches to the rest of the world. A Magazine is Born. Nine months later, the first National Geographic magazine was published. The first National Geo was a studious, scientific journal with a plain brown cover. It bore little resemblance to the image-filled magazine it would become. Its Mission. On its first two pages was an announcement stating the mission of the Society and its magazine: "The 'National Geographic Society' has been organized 'to increase and diffuse geographic knowledge,' ... its pages will be open to all persons interested in geography, in the hope that it may become a channel of intercommunication, stimulate geographic investigation and prove an acceptable medium for the publication of results."	What They've Done. Since 1888 the National Geographic Society has supported nearly 7,000 expeditions and research projects, published 8,000 magazine articles, and tens of thousands of photographs. Via the magazine, and later on television and the Web, these stories have fueled the imaginations of virtual travelers and explorers around the world. Now Online... One hundred and eight years later, at 12:01 a.m. on June 20, 1996, their web site ~ nationalgeographic.com was launched. Link for More. A Timeline of Expeditions. National Geo News. Inquiring Minds Have to Know. The Map Machine.

TODAY ONLY

January 13

National Geographic Society Founded

On this day in 1888, the National Geographic Society was founded in Washington, DC. That evening, on foot, by horseback, and in horsedrawn carriages, 33 men made their way through the streets of Washington to the Cosmos Club, across from the White House. They sat down at one of the club's large tables to talk about "the advisability of organizing a society for the increase and diffusion of geographical knowledge." The society they were about to create became the largest nonprofit scientific and educational institution in the world.

Who Was There? Geographers, explorers, teachers, lawyers, cartographers, military officers, and financiers. What brought them all together was their love of knowledge and their thirst for discovery and achievement.

What One of Them Said... They were the "first explorers of the Grand Canyon and the Yellowstone, those who had carried the American flag farthest north, who had measured the altitude of our famous mountains, traced the windings of our coasts and rivers, determined the distribution of flora and fauna, enlightened us in the customs of the aborigines, and marked out the path of storm and flood."

Age of Exploration? The 33 men represented an era that was marked by exploration, discovery, invention, and change. Industrial expansion and immigration was changing the way the country looked, thought, and believed.

Making it Official. That very night, the men approved a resolution that the Society be organized "on as broad and liberal a basis in regard to qualifications for membership as is consistent with its own well-being and the dignity of the science it represents."

Get to Work. Over the next two weeks a constitution and plan of organization were prepared. On January 27, 1888, the National Geographic Society was officially incorporated.

What's It All About? Gardiner Greene Hubbard ~ the first president ~ was a lawyer and financier who helped found a school for the deaf. He was a supporter of experiments of his son-in-law: Alexander Graham Bell. Hubbard's election showed the world that the Society was not just for professional geographers, but for those who wanted to promote special researches by others, and to spread the information learned in those researches to the rest of the world.

A Magazine is Born. Nine months later, the first National Geographic magazine was published. The first National Geo was a studious, scientific journal with a plain brown cover. It bore little resemblance to the image-filled magazine it would become.

Its Mission. On its first two pages was an announcement stating the mission of the Society and its magazine:

"The 'National Geographic Society' has been organized 'to increase and diffuse geographic knowledge,' ... its pages will be open to all persons interested in geography, in the hope that it may become a channel of intercommunication, stimulate geographic investigation and prove an acceptable medium for the publication of results."

What They've Done. Since 1888 the National Geographic Society has supported nearly 7,000 expeditions and research projects, published 8,000 magazine articles, and tens of thousands of photographs. Via the magazine, and later on television and the Web, these stories have fueled the imaginations of virtual travelers and explorers around the world.

Now Online... One hundred and eight years later, at 12:01 a.m. on June 20, 1996, their web site ~ nationalgeographic.com was launched.

Link for More.

A Timeline of Expeditions.

National Geo News. Inquiring Minds Have to Know.

The Map Machine.