Founded in 1888, the National Geographic Society sponsors research and expeditions that contribute to the human understanding of the universe and man’s place in it. Since the time of its establishment, the Society has focused on reaching laymen instead of only scientists. To that end, the Society began publishing the National Geographic magazine in 1889.
For its first ten years of publication, National Geographic magazine consisted of highly technical, short articles about the society’s activities and other topics of interest to members. Its circulation remained at around 1,000 until Gilbert Grosvenor became editor in 1899 and made dramatic changes to the magazine. In just a few years, the magazine’s circulation reached 2 million, a jump attributed to a new format which featured general interest articles accompanied by visually stunning photography. The magazine was the first, for example, to publish photographs in natural color of the North and South Poles.
The revenue from the magazine has funded important research and expeditions in the years since. Famed explorers and naturalists such as Robert Peary, Richard Byrd, Jane Goodall, and Jacques Cousteau have all undertaken major projects thanks to funding from the National Geographic Society.