Gilbert M. Grosvenor

Gilbert Melville Grosvenor (born May 5, 1931) is the former president and chairman of the National Geographic Society, who previously served as the editor of National Geographic magazine.[1] Now largely retired, Mr. Grosvenor and his wife Wiley live in Virginia. [2]

Gilbert M. Grosvenor
Born (1931-05-05) May 5, 1931
Washington, D.C., United States
NationalityAmerican
CitizenshipU.S.A.
Alma materYale College, Class of 1954
OccupationChairman Emeritus, National Geographic Society
Spouse(s)
Donna Kerkam
​
(
m. 1961, divorced)
Mary Helen Wiley Jarman
(
m. 1979)
Children3
Parent(s)Melville Bell Grosvenor, Helen Grosvenor (née Rowland)
RelativesAlexander Graham Bell Grosvenor, brother

Edwin S. Grosvenor, brother
Gilbert H. Grosvenor, grandfather

Alexander Graham Bell, great-grandfather
AwardsPresidential Medal of Freedom (2005)

Born in Washington, D.C., Grosvenor is the son of Melville Bell Grosvenor and the great-grandson of Alexander Graham Bell. He received a B.A. in psychology from Yale University in 1954. Between his junior and senior years, he volunteered in the Netherlands in efforts to recover from the North Sea flood of 1953 and co-authored an article that was published in the National Geographic. "Although I'm not sure I realized it at the time, it changed my life," Grosvenor recently recalled. "I discovered the power of journalism. And that's what we are all about—recording those chronicles of planet Earth."[3] He subsequently joined the staff of the magazine as a picture editor.

In 1970, Grosvenor assumed the position of editor of National Geographic Magazine.[1] He served as editor until 1980, when he became president of the National Geographic Society, additionally becoming chairman of the board of trustees (on which he served from 1966 to 2014) in 1987. He retired as president in 1996 and chairman in 2011, since which time he has served as an honorary director of The Explorers Club.

In 1996, Grosvenor was awarded a Gold Medal by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and the Scottish Geographical Medal by the Royal Scottish Geographical Society.[1][4]

Grosvenor was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States, by President George W. Bush on June 23, 2004.

Writings
  • "The Water Crisis," Huffington Post[5]
  • "Bali of the Back Roads," National Geographic Magazine, November, 1969.
gollark: In what circumstance is that desirable?
gollark: This is why I distrust you. I only write malware *ironically*.
gollark: Doesn't C specify function pointers as working in a really different way to regular ones anyway?
gollark: On function pointers.
gollark: But comparing memory locations is... not useful?

References
  1. Lanken, Dane. "The bee in Grosvenor's bonnet", Canadian Geographic, Vol. 116.6, November–December 1996: pp. 95-96.
  2. "Interview of Gilbert M. Grosvenor". The Gilbert M. Grosvenor Center for Geographic Education.
  3. "Why National Geographic Is a Family Affair". NationalGeographic.com. February 15, 2015.
  4. Royal Scottish Geographical Society Awards and Medals Archived February 12, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  5. "The Water Crisis". Huffington Post.
Non-profit organization positions
Preceded by
Robert E. Doyle		 President of the National Geographic Society
March 1980 – 1996		 Succeeded by
J. Reginald Murphy
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