Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor

{{Short description|First full-time editor of National Geographic (1875–1966)}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor

| image = Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor 1927.jpg

| caption = Grosvenor in 1927

| office = President of the National Geographic Society

| term_start = 1920

| term_end = 1954

| predecessor = John E. Pillsbury

| successor =

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1875|10|28}}

| birth_place = Constantinople, Ottoman Empire (now Istanbul, Turkey)

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1966|2|4|1875|10|28}}

| death_place = Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada

| resting_place = Rock Creek Cemetery
Washington, D.C., U.S.

| other_names =

| education = Worcester Academy

| alma_mater = Amherst College

| parents = Edwin A. Grosvenor
Lilian Waters

| spouse = {{marriage|Elsie May Bell||1964|reason=her death}}

| children = {{hlist|Melville|Gertrude|Mabel|Lilian|Alexander|Elsie|Gloria}}

| relatives = Alexander Graham Bell
(father-in-law)
Mabel Gardiner Bell
(mother-in-law)
William Howard Taft
(second cousin)
Walter Kendall Myers
(grandson)

}}

Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|g|r|oʊ|v|ən|ər}} {{respell|GROH|vən|ər}}; October 28, 1875 – February 4, 1966) was an American magazine editor who was the first full-time editor of the National Geographic magazine from 1899 to 1954, and is credited with having consolidated the nascent magazine. As President of the National Geographic Society from 1920 to 1954, he assisted its rise to one of the world's largest and best known science and learning organizations, aided by the chronicling in its magazine of ambitious natural and cultural explorations around the globe.

Early life

Grosvenor was born on October 28, 1875, to Lilian Waters and Edwin A. Grosvenor in Constantinople, Ottoman Empire, (now known as Istanbul, Turkey).{{cite web |url=http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms005006 |title=Grosvenor family papers, 1827–1981 |publisher=Library of Congress}}

He was second cousin to U.S. President and U.S. Supreme Court Justice William Howard Taft.[http://lcweb2.loc.gov/service/mss/eadxmlmss/eadpdfmss/2005/ms005006.pdf Grosvenor Family Papers], Manuscript Division, U.S. Library of Congress, 2000, revised April 2010.

He was educated at Worcester Academy and at Robert College.{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,855428,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090902221650/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,855428,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 2, 2009|title=Where East Meets West|date=24 April 2007|magazine=Time }} He attended Amherst College and graduated with the A.B. degree magna cum laude in 1897. While at Amherst, Grosvenor and his twin brother Edwin were one of the best tennis doubles teams.{{cite web |url=http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/l/a/m/M-F-LaMont/GENE3-0072.html |title = M-F-LaMont - User Trees - Genealogy.com}}

Career

= National Geographic Society =

File:National Geographic Magazine editor, Gilbert H. Grosvenor at work at the National Geographic Headquarters in Washington D.C.jpg headquarters in Washington, D.C. (1914)]]

Grosvenor was hired in 1899 as the first full-time employee of the National Geographic Society by Alexander Graham Bell, the Society's President at the time. He eventually was named Director, and later was elected president of the Society in 1920 after the death of Rear Admiral John E. Pillsbury,{{cite news|last1=Grosvenor|first1=Gilbert|title=GILBERT GROSVENOR LAUDS PEARY'S WORK; Geographic Society's Head Tells the Traits Which Made Explorer Successful. TENACITY AND COURAGE Every Campaign Prepared with Such Minute Care That All Arctic Obstacles Were Overcome.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1920/02/22/archives/gilbert-grosvenor-lauds-pearys-work-geographic-societys-head-tells.html|access-date=15 May 2018|work=The New York Times|date=22 February 1920}}{{cite news|title=GROSVENOR PRESIDENT GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/254292689/?terms=%22national%2Bgeographic%2Bsociety%22%2Bpresident%2Bgrosvenor|access-date=15 May 2018|work=The Ithaca Journal|date=January 22, 1920|page=1|language=en}} and remained editor of National Geographic magazine until 1954.{{cite web|title=National Geographic Milestones|url=https://press.nationalgeographic.com/milestones/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180227225312/http://press.nationalgeographic.com/milestones/|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 27, 2018|website=press.nationalgeographic.com|publisher=National Geographic Partners Press Room|access-date=15 May 2018|date=20 June 2012}}

Grosvenor advocated policies of neutrality and positive, upbeat journalism through two world wars, the Great Depression, and the beginning of the Cold War. This style was seen as innovative in the opening years of the 20th century. However, by the 1950s, Grosvenor's style was criticized as being ossified and dated. He and his staff (most of whom were in their late 60s and 70s) were criticized as being conservative, complacent, and unwilling to modernize, and the National Geographic's subscription base fell as a consequence. After 50 years at the helm, he stepped down in 1954 at the age of 78.

= Support for the National Park Service =

File:Gilbert H Grosvenor.jpg and helped write the act that created the National Parks.]]

Grosvenor first traveled to the western United States in 1915 to hike with Stephen Mather in the Sierra Mountains and what is now Sequoia National Park. "Grosvenor was so overwhelmed by the grandeur of the High Sierras and his experience on the trip that he became a revered and long-time friend of Mather and the national parks," according to National Park Service historian Walter Bielenberg.{{cite web|last=Bielenberg|first=Warren|title=Gilbert H. Grosvenor 1875–1966|url=http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/sontag/grosvenor.htm|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=2014-01-22|archive-date=2015-02-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150202060918/http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/sontag/grosvenor.htm|url-status=dead}} Following his return, Grosvenor provided funding to buy Giant Forest and add it to Sequoia National Park.

For years, opposition in Congress had prevented creation of a national system of parks. In late 1915 and 1916, Grosvenor met with Stephen Mather, Horace Albright, and others to draft the Organic Act, which would create a National Park Service. He then created a special issue of National Geographic (April 1916) entitled "The Land of the Best" to promote the importance of parks and encouraged readers to support creation of a national system. He and Albright made sure that every member of Congress had a copy of the issue. Their efforts worked, and that year legislation finally passed that would establish the National Park Service.{{cite web|title=National Geographic and the U.S. National Parks |date=26 May 2010|url=http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/national-parks/society-history/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100601201631/http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/national-parks/society-history/|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 1, 2010|publisher=National Geographic Society|access-date=22 January 2014}}

Grosvenor continued involvement with the National Parks over the years. He became very involved in protecting the Katmai volcanic crater and Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes from mining exploitation, and helped to establish Katmai National Monument in 1918.{{cite book |editor-last=Sontag |editor-first=William H. |title=National Park Service: The First 75 Years |year=1990 |publisher=Eastern National Park and Monument Association |url=http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/sontag/ |access-date=2014-01-22 |archive-date=2014-02-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201232731/http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/sontag/ |url-status=dead }} Katmai National Park's Grosvenor Lodge{{cite web|title=Grosvenor Lodge |date=2 May 2018|url=http://www.katmailand.com/photo-galleries/photo-gallery-grosvenor|publisher=Katmailand National Park\accessdate=8 July 2017}} is named after him.

Personal life

File:Elsie May and Gilbert H. Grosvenor.jpg.]]File:Gilbert H. Grosvenor holds his son, Melville Grosvenor.JPG, 1902. Library of Congress.]]

Grosvenor married Elsie May Bell (1878–1964), the daughter of Alexander Graham Bell. Together, they were the parents of seven children, including:Martin, Sandra. "Mabel Grosvenor, Doctor 1905–2006", Toronto: The Globe and Mail, November 4, 2006, p.S.11. Proquest document ID: 383502285. Retrieved April 12, 2011.{{cite web|title=Elsie May Bell Grosvenor - Alexander Graham Bell Family Papers at the Library of Congress|url=https://www.loc.gov/collections/alexander-graham-bell-papers/articles-and-essays/family-tree/elsie-may-bell-grosvenor/|website=loc.gov|publisher=The Library of Congress|access-date=15 May 2018|language=en}}

Melville Bell Grosvenor (1901–1982), also a National Geographic president.
Gertrude Hubbard Grosvenor (1903–1986), who married Samuel Gayley.
Mabel Harlakenden Grosvenor (1905–2006), was a pediatrician who, for several years, was secretary to her grandfather Alexander Graham Bell,Sullivan, Patricia. [http://www.boston.com/news/globe/obituaries/articles/2006/11/09/mabel_grosvenor_101_doctor_granddaughter_of_inventor_bell/ Obituary: Mabel Grosvenor, 101, Doctor, Granddaughter Of Inventor Bell], Washington Post, November 9, 2006. Retrieved via the Boston Globe at Boston.com on June 15, 2010.
Lilian Waters Grosvenor (1907–1985).
Alexander Graham Bell Grosvenor (1909–1915), who died young.
Elsie Alexandra Carolyn Grosvenor (1911–2004).
Gloria Victoria Grosvenor (1918–1972).

In 1931, Grosvenor bought a property in Coconut Grove, Florida, next door to his brother-in-law, David Fairchild. He called this estate Hissar after the small town in Turkey where he was born. After Fairchild's estate, The Kampong, was acquired by the National Tropical Botanical Garden, they also bought Hissar.{{cite web |title=National Tropical Botanical Garden – Kampong – History |url=http://ntbg.org/gardens/kampong-history.php |access-date=12 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120104014618/http://www.ntbg.org/gardens/kampong-history.php |archive-date=4 January 2012 }} Grosvenor served on the board of trustees of the University of Miami from 1944 to 1960.Tebeau, Charlton W. The University of Miami. Coral Gables: University of Miami Press, 1976. p. 392.

Grosvenor's health deteriorated following the death of his wife and he died peacefully in his sleep at the age of 90 on February 4, 1966, at the Bell family estate, Beinn Bhreagh, near Baddeck, Nova Scotia, Canada.{{cite news |title=Dr. Gilbert H. Grosvenor Dies. Head of National Geographic, 90. Editor of Magazine 55 Years Introduced Photos, Increased Circulation to 4.5 Million. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1966/02/05/archives/dr-gilbert-h-grosvenor-dies-head-of-national-geographic-90-editor.html |work=New York Times |date=February 5, 1966|access-date=2007-07-21}} Grosvenor is buried in Rock Creek Cemetery in Washington, D.C., alongside his wife and members of the Bell family. Grosvenor Arch, a sandstone double arch located in southern Utah, is named after Gilbert Grosvenor.

=Descendants=

Through his eldest son Melville, he was the grandfather of Alexander Graham Bell Grosvenor (1927–1978), a United States Navy pilot, Gilbert Melville Grosvenor (b. 1931), also a National Geographic president,[http://www.cosmosclub.org/web/journals/1998/wentzel.html Cosmos Club blog] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120104014618/http://www.ntbg.org/gardens/kampong-history.php|date=2012-01-04}} and Edwin S. Grosvenor (b. 1951), the editor-in-chief of American Heritage.{{cite web|title=Edwin S. Grosvenor|url=http://www.americanheritage.com/users/edwin-s-grosvenor|publisher=AmericanHeritage.com}}

Through his daughter Elsie, he was the grandfather of Walter Kendall Myers (b. 1937),[http://www.ncix.gov/publications/posters/poster_treasonfromwithin.php "Treason from within"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141217205833/http://www.ncix.gov/publications/posters/poster_treasonfromwithin.php |date=2014-12-17 }} by Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive a former U.S. State Department employee who, with his wife, Gwendolyn, was arrested and indicted in 2009 on charges of spying for Cuba for nearly 30 years.{{cite news| url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna31129203| title = Couple indicted on charges of spying for Cuba| date = June 5, 2009| access-date = June 5, 2009| work = NBC News}}Cuban Spies Arrested {{cite web|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2009/06a/124404.htm |title=Arrest of Walter Kendall Myers |access-date=2012-05-17 }}{{cite web|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2009/06a/124404.htm |title=Arrest of Walter Kendall Myers |access-date=2012-05-17 }} He was convicted of spying and sentenced to life imprisonment by a U.S. federal court in July 2010. The judge told the couple: "I see no sense of remorse. You were proud of what you did".{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/remorse-cuban-spy-kendall-myers-life-parole-wife/story?id=11182193|title=Bad Month For Spies: Cuban Spy Gets Life Without Parole, Wife Gets 6 ½ Years|author=Jason Ryan|website=ABC News|date=July 16, 2010|access-date=September 17, 2017}}

= Legacy =

File:Grosvenor Gilbert gravesite.jpg in Washington, D.C.]]

Grosvenor was one of the founders of the Cruising Club of America.{{cite web|title=History|url=https://www.cruisingclub.org/about/about_history.htm|publisher=Cruising Club of America|access-date=16 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706104013/https://www.cruisingclub.org/about/about_history.htm|archive-date=6 July 2017|url-status=dead}}

In the 1950s, Grosvenor's daughter Gertrude Gayley acquired an historic building in Baddeck, Nova Scotia, which she named Gilbert H. Grosvenor Hall in his honour.

His daughter Mabel oversaw the stewardship of Bell's legacy Canadian estate, Beinn Bhreagh, until her death, and was also the Honorary President of the Alexander Graham Bell Club (founded in 1891), Canada's oldest continuing women's club. The club grew out of a social organization started at Beinn Bhreagh, by her grandmother and namesource Mabel Bell.Bethune, Jocelyn. "Alexander Graham Bell’s Granddaughter Dies At 101", Halifax, Nova Scotia: The Chronicle Herald, October 31, 2006. Retrieved June 15, 2010.Bethune, Jocelyn. [https://books.google.com/books?id=YmtoPgAACAAJ Historic Baddeck: Images Of Our Past], Nimbus Publishing, Halifax, N.S., 2009, pp.112–113, 117, {{ISBN|1-55109-706-0}}, {{ISBN|978-1-55109-706-0}}.