Grosvenor, Gilbert H

Grosvenor, Gilbert H(ovey)

(born Oct. 28, 1875, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire—died Feb. 4, 1966, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Can.) U.S. geographer, writer, and editor. Grosvenor attended Amherst College and was hired by Alexander Graham Bell, president of the National Geographic Society, as an editorial assistant for its magazine. As editor in chief of National Geographic Magazine (1903–54), he transformed it from a small scholarly journal into an interesting and superbly illustrated magazine with a large circulation. In 1920 he was elected president of the society. He contributed many articles and photographs to the magazine, wrote a history of the society and other books, and was long a leader in conservation and wildlife protection.