The Explorers Club is an American-based international multidisciplinary

professional society A professional association (also called a professional body, professional organization, or professional society) is a group that usually seeks to further a particular profession, the interests of individuals and organisations engaged in that prof ...

with the goal of promoting scientific exploration and field study. The club was founded in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1904 and has served as a meeting point for explorers and scientists worldwide. The Explorers Club hosts an annual dinner to honor accomplishments in exploration, which is known for its adventurous, exotic cuisine.

History

In 1904, a group of men active in exploration met at the request of noted journalist, historian and explorer

Henry Collins Walsh Henry Collins Walsh (1863–1927) was a journalist, historian, explorer of Central America and Greenland, a founding member of the Arctic Club of America (1894), and the nominal founder of The Explorers Club (1904). He is associated with the Hen ...

to form an organization to unite explorers in the bonds of good fellowship and to promote the work of exploration by every means in its power. Joining Walsh were

Adolphus Greely Adolphus Washington Greely (March 27, 1844 – October 20, 1935) was a United States Army officer and polar explorer. He attained the rank of major general and was a recipient of the Medal of Honor. A native of Newburyport, Massachusetts, ...

, Donaldson Smith,

Carl Lumholtz Carl Sofus Lumholtz (23 April 1851 – 5 May 1922) was a Norwegian explorer and ethnographer, best known for his meticulous field research and ethnographic publications on indigenous cultures of Australia and Mexico. Biography Born in Fåberg ...

, Marshall Saville, Frederick Dellenbaugh and David Brainard. After several further informal meetings, The Explorers Club was incorporated on October 25, 1905. Women were first admitted in 1981, with a class including

Sylvia Earle Sylvia Alice Earle (born August 30, 1935) is an American marine biologist, oceanographer, explorer, author, and lecturer. She has been a National Geographic Explorer at Large (formerly Explorer in Residence) since 1998. Earle was the first fem ...

and Kathryn Sullivan. Famous honorary members have included

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

John Glenn John Herschel Glenn Jr. (July 18, 1921 – December 8, 2016) was an American Marine Corps aviator, astronaut, businessman, and politician. He was the third American in space and the first to orbit the Earth, circling it three times in 1 ...

Jim Fowler James Mark Fowler (April 9, 1930 – May 8, 2019) was an American professional zoologist and host of the acclaimed wildlife documentary television show Mutual of Omaha's '' Wild Kingdom''. Early years Born in Albany, Georgia, Fowler spent ...

Walter Cronkite Walter Leland Cronkite Jr. (November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009) was an American broadcast journalist who served as anchorman for the ''CBS Evening News'' from 1962 to 1981. During the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trust ...

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 19219 April 2021), was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he was the consort of the British monarch from h ...

Sir Edmund Hillary Sir Edmund Percival Hillary (20 July 1919 – 11 January 2008) was a New Zealand mountaineer, explorer, and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953, Hillary and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers confirmed to have reached th ...

Buzz Aldrin Buzz Aldrin ( ; born Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr.; January 20, 1930) is an American former astronaut, engineer and fighter pilot. He made three extravehicular activity, spacewalks as pilot of the 1966 Gemini 12 mission, and was the Lunar Module Eag ...

and

Albert I, Prince of Monaco Albert I (Albert Honoré Charles Grimaldi; 13 November 1848 – 26 June 1922) was Prince of Monaco from 10 September 1889 until his death in 1922. He devoted much of his life to oceanography, exploration and science. Alongside his expeditions, ...

. The Explorers Club has 34 chapters in the United States and around the world, which serve as local contact points for explorers, scientists and students. Many chapters hold monthly dinners, lectures and seminars, award field-research grants to students, publish newsletters and organize expeditions, field trips and educational events.

Charter members

* David Legge Brainard (1856–1946): U.S. Army Lieutenant-Colonel: Sioux, Bannock, and Nez Perce Campaigns; Survivor,

Lady Franklin Bay Expedition * The Lady Franklin Bay Expedition of 1881–1884 ( the Greely Expedition) to Lady Franklin Bay on Ellesmere Island in the Canadian Arctic was led by Lieutenant Adolphus Greely, and was promoted by the United States Army Signal Corps. Its purp ...

(1881–1884); in 1882 claimed Farthest North at 83º24’30” North latitude * Frank Chapman (1864–1945): Curator of Birds and Mammals,

American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Located in Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 21 interconn ...

Frederick Cook Frederick Albert Cook (June 10, 1865 – August 5, 1940) was an American explorer, physician and ethnographer, who is most known for allegedly being the first to reach the North Pole on April 21, 1908. A competing claim was made a year l ...

(1865–1940): Surgeon and ethnologist to the first Peary Expedition to Greenland (1892); leader of the SS ''Miranda'' Expedition (1894); surgeon on the Belgica Expedition (1897–1898), the first ship to winter over in the Antarctic; founding member of the

American Alpine Club The American Alpine Club (AAC) is a non-profit member organization with more than 26,000 members. The club is housed in the American Mountaineering Center (AMC) in Golden, Colorado. Through its members, the AAC advocates for American climbers d ...

(1902) *

Herschel Clifford Parker Herschel Clifford Parker (9 July 1867 – 12 March 1944) was an American physicist and mountaineer. He was one of the original members of the American Alpine Club. Biography Parker was born at Brooklyn, New York. He graduated from the Columbia ...

(1867–1931): Professor of Physics,

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

; mountaineer; author; founding member of the American Alpine Club (1902) *

Marshall Howard Saville Marshall Howard Saville (1867–1935) was an American archeologist. Saville was born in Rockport, Massachusetts on June 24, 1867. He studied anthropology at Harvard (1889–1894), engaged in field work under F. W. Putnam, and made important disco ...

(1867–1935): Professor of American Archaeology, Columbia University; Curator of Archaeology, American Museum of Natural History *

(1863–1927): Journalist; historian; explorer of Central America and Greenland; founding member of

Arctic Club of America The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...

(1894); nominal "founder" of The Explorers Club (1904) *

Caspar Whitney Caspar William Whitney (September 2, 1864 – January 18, 1929) was an American author, editor, explorer, outdoorsman, and war correspondent. He originated the concept of the All-American team in college football in 1889, when he worked for '' ...

(1862–1929): War correspondent, explorer of North and South America, outdoorsman, sports journalist, member of the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

(1900–1905), author; Editor, ''

Outing Outing is the act of disclosing an LGBTQ person's sexual orientation or gender identity without their consent. It is often done for political reasons, either to instrumentalize homophobia, biphobia, and/or transphobia Transphobia consists ...

'' magazine

Fellows and Members

The Explorers Club has approximately 3,500 members worldwide, with members from every continent and in more than 60 countries. The club differentiates exploration for field science from exploratory travel for tourism. Individuals eligible for membership are those who engage in or support field science expeditions aimed at exploring unfamiliar or poorly understood locations or phenomena, with the goal of acquiring knowledge for the benefit of humanity. The focus is on individuals who have gained practical experience by actively participating in fieldwork as participants in one or more documented scientific expeditions. The club has made it a priority to expand its membership to include qualified explorers from across a range of diversities, including race, culture, gender, age, sexual orientation, geography and socio-economic level, as well as explorers with disabilities. Membership of the club is divided into two categories. Fellows have made documented contributions to scientific knowledge through field expeditions. Members have evidenced a sustained interest and participation in some aspect of field exploration and have contributed in broad terms to the cause of exploration and the furthering of scientific knowledge.

Famous firsts

The Explorers Club is renowned for various "Famous Firsts" accomplished by its members, including: * First to the North Pole (1909) –

Robert E. Peary Robert Edwin Peary Sr. (; May 6, 1856 – February 20, 1920) was an American explorer and officer in the United States Navy who made several expeditions to the Arctic in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was long credited as being ...

(honorary membership in 1912) &

Matthew Henson Matthew Alexander Henson (August 8, 1866March 9, 1955) was an African American explorer who accompanied Robert Peary on seven voyages to the Arctic over a period of nearly 23 years. They spent a total of 18 years on expeditions together.

Robert Peary's claim to have been the first to the North Pole has been disputed and current consensus does not support his claim. However, in 1968

Ralph Plaisted Ralph Summers Plaisted (September 30, 1927 – September 8, 2008) was an American explorer who, with his three companions, Walt Pederson, Gerry Pitzl and Jean-Luc Bombardier, are regarded by most polar authorities to be the first to succeed in a s ...

became the first undisputed person to reach the North Pole over land. * First to the South Pole (1911) –

Roald Amundsen Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (, ; ; 16 July 1872 – ) was a Norwegians, Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He was a key figure of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Born in Borge, Østfold, Norway, Am ...

, honorary membership in 1912 * First to the summit of Mt. Everest (1953) –

Tenzing Norgay Tenzing Norgay (; ''tendzin norgyé''; May 1914 – 9 May 1986), born Namgyal Wangdi, and also referred to as Sherpa Tenzing, was a Nepalese-Indian Sherpa mountaineer. On 29 May 1953, he and Edmund Hillary were the first confirmed to ...

, elected honorary members 1953 * First to the deepest point in the ocean (1960) –

Don Walsh Don Walsh (November 2, 1931 – November 12, 2023) was an American oceanographer, U.S. Navy officer and marine policy specialist. While aboard the bathyscaphe ''Trieste'', he and Jacques Piccard made a record maximum descent in the Challeng ...

(honorary member 1997) &

Jacques Piccard Jacques Piccard (28 July 19221 November 2008) was a Swiss oceanographer and engineer, known for having developed submarines for studying ocean currents. In the Challenger Deep, he and Lieutenant Don Walsh of the United States Navy were the fi ...

* First to the surface of the Moon (1969) –

Neil Armstrong Neil Alden Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012) was an American astronaut and aerospace engineering, aeronautical engineer who, in 1969, became the Apollo 11#Lunar surface operations, first person to walk on the Moon. He was al ...

Headquarters

The Explorers Club held its first regular meeting at its original headquarters in the Studio Building at 23 West 67th Street in New York City. The club finished construction on its next headquarters at 544 Cathedral Parkway in 1928 and there the club continued to expand its extensive collection of artifacts, trophies and books on exploration. In 1965, spurred by

Lowell Thomas Lowell Jackson Thomas (April 6, 1892 – August 29, 1981) was an American writer, Television presenter, broadcaster, and documentary filmmaker. He authored more than fifty non-fiction books, mostly travel narratives and popular biographies of ex ...

, the club purchased its current headquarters on the

Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the boroughs of New York City, borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded approximately by 96th Street (Manhattan), 96th Street to the north, the East River to the e ...

, a six-story Jacobean revival mansion on East 70th Street, where it houses the James B. Ford Exploration Library, the Sir Edmund Hillary Map Room and a collection of artifacts from more than a century of exploration. The building was previously the home of Stephen C. Clark. Certain designated rooms of the club are open to the general public.

Lectures and publications

In the 1920s, the club began to invite both explorers returning from the field and visiting scientists to relate their experiences and findings. By the 1930s these informal gatherings developed into academic lectures and illustrated talks. The club continues to provide weekly lectures and programs, which are often open to the public at its headquarters. In November 1921, The Explorers Club published the first edition of ''The Explorers Journal'' to share news from the field, remarks from headquarters, recent acquisitions, obituaries and book reviews. ''The Explorers Journal'' is still published quarterly, with articles and photography from Explorers Club members in the field. Television series In 2022, The Explorers Club and

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience. It init ...

formed a partnership to produce a series called ''Tales from The Explorers Club'', which is hosted by Explorers Club member

Josh Gates Joshua Gates is an American television presenter-actor and television producer who hosts and co-executive produces The Discovery Channel (and former Travel Channel) series '' Expedition: Unknown'' and also ''Legendary Locations''. He is also the ...

. The series covered stories about other famous Explorers Club members such as

Ernest Shackleton Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (15 February 1874 – 5 January 1922) was an Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic. He was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarcti ...

Gertrude Bell Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell (14 July 1868 – 12 July 1926) was an English writer, traveller, political officer, administrator, and archaeologist. She spent much of her life exploring and mapping the Middle East, and became highly inf ...

Jim Lovell James Arthur Lovell Jr. ( ; born March 25, 1928) is an American retired astronaut, naval aviator, test pilot and mechanical engineer. In 1968, as command module pilot of Apollo 8, he became, with Frank Borman and William Anders, one of the fi ...

and

Jeff Bezos Jeffrey Preston Bezos ( ;; and Robinson (2010), p. 7. ; born January 12, 1964) is an American businessman best known as the founder, executive chairman, and former president and CEO of Amazon, the world's largest e-commerce and clou ...

The Explorers Club flag

The Explorers Club flag has been carried on hundreds of expeditions by club members since 1918. To obtain permission to carry the flag, a club member must show that the expedition holds the promise of scientific results. The flag must be exhibited at every suitable opportunity on the expedition, and must be returned to the club along with a written record of the expedition, called the Flag Report. The club's Research Collections is the repository for these unique reports, including the original "Flag Book" — a bound journal of hand-written reports, vintage prints, clippings and assorted records submitted by the explorers who first carried The Explorers Club flag on expeditions. There are currently 242 numbered flags. Many of the older flags have been retired. The Explorers Club flag has been carried on such expeditions as: *Flag #2 –

Roy Chapman Andrews Roy Chapman Andrews (January 26, 1884 – March 11, 1960) was an American explorer, adventurer, and Natural history, naturalist who became the director of the American Museum of Natural History. He led a series of expeditions through the politi ...

– the

Gobi Desert The Gobi Desert (, , ; ) is a large, cold desert and grassland region in North China and southern Mongolia. It is the sixth-largest desert in the world. The name of the desert comes from the Mongolian word ''gobi'', used to refer to all of th ...

expeditions *Flag #7 – Sir George Hubert Wilkins – the first trans-Arctic flights *Flag #32 – Capt. Robert A. "Bob" Bartlett – the '' Effie M. Morrissey'' expeditions *Flag #50 –

Bertrand Piccard Bertrand Piccard Royal Scottish Geographical Society, FRSGS (born 1 March 1958) is a Swiss explorer, psychiatrist and balloon (aircraft), environmentalist. Along with Brian Jones (aeronaut), Brian Jones, he was the first to complete a non-stop b ...

and

André Borschberg André Borschberg (born 13 December 1952) is a Swiss entrepreneur, explorer, pilot, and professional speaker. He is the co-founder and CEO of Solar Impulse. In July 2016, he co-piloted and successfully completed the first manned solar-powered ...

–

Solar Impulse Solar Impulse is a Swiss long-range experimental solar-powered aircraft project, and also the name of the project's two operational aircraft. The privately financed project is led by Swiss engineer and businessman André Borschberg and Swiss ...

across America *Flag #61 – Luc Hardy – the Pax Arctica expedition (Canadian Arctic) *Flag #71 – Raphaël Domjan – PlanetSolar the first around the world with solar energy *Flag #80 – Tim Taylor FN’04, Citation of Merit Laureate 2008 — Discovery of three lost US WWII submarines: Expedition R-12, Expedition S-26, Expedition S-28 *Flag #81 –

Victor Vescovo Victor Lance Vescovo (born February 10, 1966) is an American private equity investor, retired naval officer, sub-orbital spaceflight participant, and undersea explorer. He was a co-founder and managing partner of private equity company Insight ...

and Patrick Lahey – the Five Deeps expedition *Flag #105 –

L. Ron Hubbard Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (March 13, 1911 – January 24, 1986) was an American author and the founder of Scientology. A prolific writer of pulp science fiction and fantasy novels in his early career, in 1950 he authored the pseudoscie ...

– The Alaska Radio Experimental Expedition *Flag #123 –

Thor Heyerdahl Thor Heyerdahl KStJ (; 6 October 1914 – 18 April 2002) was a Norwegian adventurer and Ethnography, ethnographer with a background in biology with specialization in zoology, botany and geography. Heyerdahl is notable for his Kon-Tiki expediti ...

– the ''

Kon-Tiki The ''Kon-Tiki'' expedition was a 1947 journey by raft across the Pacific Ocean from South America to the Polynesian islands, led by Norwegian explorer and writer Thor Heyerdahl. The raft was named ''Kon-Tiki'' after the Inca god Viracocha, f ...

'' expedition *Flag #132 – David Concannon for

and

Bezos Expeditions Bezos Expeditions is an American investment firm based in Mercer Island, Washington. It serves as a family office for Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos by managing his personal investments. The firm invests both in early and late stage ventures of ...

– the Saturn V F-1 engine search and recovery expedition *Flag #134 – Gino Caspari – Discovery of Royal Scythian Tomb Tunnug 1 *Flag #150 –

George Kourounis George Kourounis (born 22 May 1970), is a Greek-Canadian adventurer and storm chaser who specializes in documenting extreme weather and worldwide natural disasters. He presents the television series ''Angry Planet''. Storm chasing Kourounis has ...

– collecting soil samples from the

Darvaza gas crater The Darvaza gas crater (), also known as the Door to Hell or Gates of Hell, officially, the Shining of Karakum, is a burning natural gas field collapsed into a cavern near Darvaza, Turkmenistan. Hundreds of natural gas fires illuminate the floo ...

*Flag #161 –

James Cameron James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker, who resides in New Zealand. He is a major figure in the post-New Hollywood era and often uses novel technologies with a Classical Hollywood cinema, classical filmmaking styl ...

– the ''

Deepsea Challenger ''Deepsea Challenger'' (DCV 1) was a deep-diving submersible designed to reach the bottom of the Challenger Deep, the deepest-known point on Earth. On 26 March 2012, Canadian film director James Cameron piloted the craft to accomplish this go ...

'' expedition *Flag #163 –

– The Oceanographic-Archeological Expedition (1961) and the Hubbard Geological Survey Expedition (1966) *Flag #193 –

Naomi Uemura was a Japanese adventurer who was known particularly for his solo exploits. For example, he was the first person to reach the North Pole solo, the first person to raft the Amazon River solo, and the first person to climb Denali solo. Before h ...

– first solo

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...

expedition NASA missions

Apollo 8 Apollo 8 (December 21–27, 1968) was the first crewed spacecraft to leave Sphere of influence (astrodynamics), Earth's gravitational sphere of influence, and the first human spaceflight to reach the Moon. The crew orbited the Moon ten times ...

Apollo 11 Apollo 11 was a spaceflight conducted from July 16 to 24, 1969, by the United States and launched by NASA. It marked the first time that humans Moon landing, landed on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin l ...

Apollo 13 Apollo 13 (April 1117, 1970) was the seventh crewed mission in the Apollo program, Apollo space program and would have been the third Moon landing. The craft was launched from Kennedy Space Center on April 11, 1970, but the landing was abort ...

and

Apollo 15 Apollo 15 (July 26August 7, 1971) was the ninth crewed mission in the Apollo program and the fourth Moon landing. It was the first List of Apollo missions#Alphabetical mission types, J mission, with a longer stay on the Moon and a greate ...

each carried miniature club flags on board.

Honors and grants

Honors

''The Explorers Club Medal'', the highest honor that can be bestowed by the Club, is awarded for "extraordinary contributions directly in the field of exploration, scientific research, or to the welfare of humanity". Past recipients include: *1914 –

*1917 – William Curtis Farabee *1918 –

Vilhjalmur Stefansson Vilhjalmur Stefansson (November 3, 1879 – August 26, 1962) was an Arctic explorer and ethnologist. He was born in Manitoba, Canada. Early life and education Stefansson, born William Stephenson, was born at Arnes, Manitoba, Canada, in 1879. ...

*1919 –

Cândido Mariano da Silva Rondon Cândido is a Portuguese masculine given name, equivalent of Spanish Cándido * Cândido de Oliveira (1896–1958), Portuguese football player * Cândido Firmino de Mello-Leitão (1886–1948), Brazilian zoologist * Cândido José de Araújo Via ...

*1923 – Adolphus W. Greely *1925 – Lowell H. Smith *1926 –

Knud Rasmussen Knud Johan Victor Rasmussen (; 7 June 1879 – 21 December 1933) was a Greenlandic-Danish polar explorer and anthropologist. He has been called the "father of Eskimology" (now often known as Inuit Studies or Greenlandic and Arctic Studies) ...

*1927 –

*1927 - Robert Bartlett *1927 -

Fridtjof Nansen Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen (; 10 October 1861 – 13 May 1930) was a Norwegian polymath and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He gained prominence at various points in his life as an explorer, scientist, diplomat, humanitarian and co-founded the ...

*1929 - David L. Brainard *1932 -

*1936 -

Lincoln Ellsworth Lincoln Ellsworth (May 12, 1880 – May 26, 1951) was an American polar explorer, engineer, surveyor, and author. He led the first Arctic and Antarctic air crossings. Early life Linn Ellsworth was born in Chicago, Illinois on May 12, 1880. His ...

*1937 –

Richard E. Byrd Richard Evelyn Byrd Jr. (October 25, 1888 – March 11, 1957) was an American naval officer, and pioneering aviator, polar explorer, and organizer of polar logistics. Aircraft flights in which he served as a navigator and expedition leader cr ...

*1940 - Sir

Hubert Wilkins Sir George Hubert Wilkins MC & Bar (31 October 188830 November 1958), commonly referred to as Captain Wilkins, was an Australian polar explorer, ornithologist, pilot, soldier, geographer and photographer. He was awarded the Military Cross aft ...

*1950 -

Isaiah Bowman Isaiah Bowman, AB, Ph. D. (December 26, 1878 – January 6, 1950), was an American geographer and President of the Johns Hopkins University, 1935–1948, controversial for his antisemitism and inaction in Jewish resettlement during World War ...

*1951 -

Bernt Balchen Bernt Balchen (23 October 1899 – 17 October 1973) was a Norwegian pioneer polar aviator, navigator, aircraft mechanical engineer and military leader. A Norwegian native, he later became an American citizen and was a recipient of the Disting ...

*1953 -

James Chapin James Paul Chapin (July 9, 1889 – April 5, 1964) was an American ornithologist and curator of the American Museum of Natural History. Biography Chapin is one of the highest-regarded ornithologists of the twentieth century. He was joint leader ...

*1953 - Donald B. MacMillan *1954 - Lord John Hunt *1954 –

Auguste Piccard Auguste Antoine Piccard (28 January 1884 – 24 March 1962) was a Swiss physicist, inventor and explorer known for his record-breaking hydrogen balloon flights, with which he studied the Earth's upper atmosphere and became the first person to ...

*1957 -

Laurence McKinley Gould Laurence McKinley Gould (August 22, 1896 – June 21, 1995) was an American geologist, educator, and polar explorer. He made expeditions to both the Arctic and Antarctic, and was chief scientist on Richard Evelyn Byrd's first Antarctic expediti ...

*1959 - Sir

Vivian Fuchs Sir Vivian Ernest Fuchs ( ; 11 February 1908 – 11 November 1999) was an English scientist-explorer and expedition organizer. He led the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition which reached the South Pole overland in 1958. Biography Fuch ...

for the

Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition The Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition (CTAE) of 1955–1958 was a Commonwealth-sponsored expedition that successfully completed the first overland crossing of Antarctica, via the South Pole. It was the first expedition to reach the South ...

*1961 – President

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was the 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933. A wealthy mining engineer before his presidency, Hoover led the wartime Commission for Relief in Belgium and ...

*1962 -

Alexander Wetmore Frank Alexander Wetmore (June 18, 1886 – December 7, 1978) was an American ornithologist and avian paleontologist. He was the sixth Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. He was also an elected member of both the American Philosophical Soc ...

*1963 - William H. Phelps, Jr. *1964 –

Gilbert H. Grosvenor Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor ( ; 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 ...

*1965 - James H. Doolittle *1966 -

Robert Cushman Murphy file:The American Museum journal (c1900-(1918)) (18156963552).jpg, The whaling ship, ''Daisy'', which Murphy traveled on to the Antarctic Robert Cushman Murphy (April 29, 1887 – March 20, 1973) was an American ornithologist and Lamont Curator of ...

*1967 - Charles B. Hitchcock *1968 -

Finn Ronne Finn Ronne (December 20, 1899 – January 12, 1980) was a Norwegian-born U.S. citizen and Antarctic explorer. Background Finn Ronne was born in Horten, in Vestfold county, Norway. His father, Martin Rønne (1861–1932), was a polar explorer ...

*1968 –

*1969 - William B.O. Field, Jr. *1970 - Julius M. Amberson *1971 - Michael J. Leahy *1971 –

and

Michael Collins Michael Collins or Mike Collins most commonly refers to: * Michael Collins (Irish leader) (1890–1922), Irish revolutionary leader, soldier, and politician * Michael Collins (astronaut) (1930–2021), American astronaut, member of Apollo 11 and Ge ...

for

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

*1972 - Walter A. Wood *1973 - Serge A. Korff *1974 -

Roger Tory Peterson Roger Tory Peterson (August 28, 1908 – July 28, 1996) was an American natural history, naturalist, Conservationist (biology), conservationist, citizen scientist ornithology, ornithologist, artist and illustrator, educator, and a founder of th ...

*1975 - Junius B. Bird *1976 - Edward M. Weyer, Jr. *1977 - Lewis N. Cotlow *1978 - Leigh Wade *1979 –

*1980 – Willard N. Bascom *1981 -

Carl von Hoffman Carl von Hoffman (c. 1889 in St. Petersburg or Latvia, Russia – 8 July 1982 in New York, New York, US) was a soldier, adventurer, author, and photographer of German ancestry. He was possibly a descendant of Melchior Hoffman; journalist Nichola ...

*1982 - Virgil Kauffman *1983 – Sir

Ranulph Fiennes Sir Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, 3rd Baronet (born 7 March 1944), commonly known as Sir Ranulph Fiennes () and sometimes as Ran Fiennes, is a British explorer, writer and poet, who holds several endurance records. Fiennes served in the ...

for

Transglobe Expedition The Transglobe Expedition (1979–1982) was the first expedition to make a longitudinal (north–south) circumnavigation of the Earth using only surface transport. British adventurer Sir Ranulph Fiennes led a team, including Oliver Shepard and ...

*1984 - H. Bradford Washburn, Jr. *1985 - Sir

Wally Herbert Sir Walter William Herbert (24 October 1934 – 12 June 2007) was a British polar explorer, writer and artist. In 1969 he became the first man fully recognized for walking to the North Pole, on the 60th anniversary of Robert Peary's disputed exp ...

*1986 – Sir Edmund P. Hillary *1987 - Barry C. Bishop *1988 -

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.Lanken, Dane. "The bee in Grosvenor's bonnet", ''Canadia ...

for

National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, natural sc ...

*1989 –

Mary Leakey Mary Douglas Leakey, Fellow of the British Academy, FBA (née Nicol, 6 February 1913 – 9 December 1996) was a British paleoanthropologist who discovered the first fossilised ''Proconsul (mammal), Proconsul'' skull, an extinct ape which is now ...

for the

Leakey Family The Leakey family is a British and Kenyan family consisting of a number of notable military figures, agricultural scientists and Archaeology, archaeologists of the 20th and 21st centuries. Originally a family from Somerset and Devon in south-west E ...

*1990 - George B. Schaller *1991 - William J. L. Sladen *1992 -

Heinrich Harrer Heinrich Harrer (; 6 July 1912 – 7 January 2006) was an Austrian mountaineer, explorer, writer, sportsman, geographer, and briefly SS sergeant. He was a member of the four-man climbing team that made the first ascent of the North Face of the ...

*1993 – Dame

Jane Goodall Dame Jane Morris Goodall (; born Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall; 3 April 1934), formerly Baroness Jane van Lawick-Goodall, is an English zoologist, Primatology, primatologist and Anthropology, anthropologist. She is considered the world's foremo ...

*1994 - James M. Fowler *1995 – Robert D. Ballard *1996 – Sylvia A. Earle *1997 - Anna C. Roosevelt *1998 - Ardito Desio *1999 - Norman D. Vaughan *2000 – The Piccard Family *2001 – Joseph W. Kittinger *2001 -

*2002 -

Johan Reinhard Johan Reinhard (born December 13, 1943) is an American anthropologist and archaeologist. Currently, he is a Research Professor at Future Generations University. formerly Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society. He is also a sen ...

*2003 -

Steve Fossett James Stephen Fossett (April 22, 1944 – September 3, 2007) was an American businessman and a record-setting aviator, sailor, and adventurer. He was the first person to fly solo nonstop around the world in a balloon and in a fixed-wing aircraf ...

*2004 - David K. Hempleman-Adams *2005 –

Burt Rutan Elbert Leander "Burt" Rutan (; born June 17, 1943) is a retired American aerospace engineer and entrepreneur noted for his originality in designing light, strong, unusual-looking, and energy-efficient air and space craft. He designed the recor ...

Brian Binnie William Brian Binnie (April 26, 1953 – September 15, 2022) was a United States Navy officer and one of the test pilots for SpaceShipOne, the experimental spaceplane developed by Scaled Composites and flown from 2003 to 2004. Early life ...

and Michael Melvill for ''

SpaceShipOne SpaceShipOne is an experimental air launch, air-launched rocket-powered aircraft with sub-orbital spaceflight capability at speeds of up to / using a hybrid rocket motor. The design features a unique "Feathering (reentry), feathering" atmosph ...

'' *2006 - J. Michael Fay *2007 - Kathryn D. Sullivan *2008 –

Eugenie Clark Eugenie Clark (May 4, 1922 – February 25, 2015), popularly known as The Shark Lady, was an American ichthyologist known for both her research on shark behavior and her study of fish in the order Tetraodontiformes. Clark was a pioneer in the fie ...

*2009 – Lee M. Talbot *2009 – Edward O. Wilson *2010 -

Donald C. Johanson Donald Carl Johanson (born June 28, 1943) is an American paleoanthropologist. He is best known for discovering the fossil of a female hominin australopithecine known as "Lucy" in the Afar Triangle region of Hadar, Ethiopia. Biography Ear ...

*2011 – Wade Davis *2012 - Philip J. Currie *2012 - Alfred S. McLaren *2013 –

*2014 –

Walter Munk Walter Heinrich Munk (October 19, 1917 – February 8, 2019) was an American physical oceanographer. He was one of the first scientists to bring statistical methods to the analysis of oceanographic data. Munk worked on a wide range of topics, i ...

*2015 –

Neil deGrasse Tyson Neil deGrasse Tyson ( or ; born October 5, 1958) is an American astrophysics, astrophysicist, author, and science communication, science communicator. Tyson studied at Harvard University, the University of Texas at Austin, and Columbia Univ ...

*2016 – Frederick Roots *2017 -

and

Nainoa Thompson Charles Nainoa Thompson (born March 11, 1953) is an Native Hawaiian navigator and the president of the Polynesian Voyaging Society. He is best known as the first Hawaiian to practice the ancient Polynesian art of navigation since the 14th centu ...

*2018 - James A. Lovell *2019 – Kenneth Lacovara *2020 –

*2021 – Dereck and

Beverly Joubert Beverly Joubert (born 12 January 1957) is a South African-born wildlife photographer, filmmaker, conservationist and National Geographic explorer-at-large. She has been documenting, researching and exploring Africa for over 40 years with her husba ...

*2022 –

Rick Ridgeway Rick Ridgeway (born August 12, 1949) is an American mountaineer and adventurer, who during his career has also been an environmentalist, writer, filmmaker and businessman. Ridgeway has climbed new routes and explored little-known regions on six con ...

*2023 – Margaret D. Lowman *2024 –

Rita Colwell Rita Rossi Colwell (born November 23, 1934) is an American environmental microbiologist and scientific administrator. Colwell holds degrees in bacteriology, genetics, and oceanography and studies infectious diseases. Colwell is the founder and C ...

*2025 – Biruté Mary Galdikas ''The Legendary Explorer Medal'' is given "to recognize a feat of such courage and incredible accomplishment that has transcended the ordinary bounds of history". Past recipients include: *2013 –

Scott Carpenter Malcolm Scott Carpenter (May 1, 1925 – October 10, 2013) was an American naval officer and aviator, test pilot, aeronautical engineer, astronaut, and aquanaut. He was one of the Mercury Seven astronauts selected for NASA's Project Mercury ...

*2013 –

*2020 – Dame

*2024 –

Rusty Schweickart Russell Louis "Rusty" Schweickart (also Schweikart; born October 25, 1935) is an American aeronautical engineer, and a former NASA astronaut, research scientist, United States Air Force, U.S. Air Force fighter aircraft, fighter pilot, as well as ...

Beyond ''The Explorers Club Medal'' and ''The Legendary Explorer Medal'', the club also presents, among others, ''The Edward C. Sweeney Medal'', ''The Citation of Merit'', ''The

Award'', ''The

Memorial Award'', ''The

Space Exploration Award'', ''The

Award'', ''The

William Beebe Charles William Beebe ( ; July 29, 1877 – June 4, 1962) was an American natural history, naturalist, ornithologist, marine biologist, entomologist, explorer, and author. He is remembered for the numerous expeditions he conducted for the New Y ...

Award'', ''The President’s Award'' and ''The New Explorer Award''.

Grants

The club also awards a range of grants for field science and exploration, including The Youth Activity Fund Grant, The Exploration Fund Grant and the President's Award for Exploration and Technology. One club award, the Scott Pearlman Field Award for Science and Exploration, is named for one of the youngest club members (inducted at age 22) who was a photographer and participant in three flag expeditions. Scott A. Pearlman contracted hepatitis C and died at the age of 38. Pearlman was a son of Explorers Club member and officer

Robert E. Pearlman Robert Eugene Pearlman (September 16, 1939 – February 11, 2021) was an American explorer, graphic designer, author and publisher. He was primarily known for his work with the Maasai people of Kenya, where he conducted several cultural outreach e ...

Presidents

Presidents of The Explorers Club are elected by a vote of the Board of Directors after the Annual Meeting. Men and women may offer their name for consideration.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Explorers Club Organizations established in 1904 1904 establishments in New York City Organizations based in New York (state) Clubs and societies in New York City Clubs and societies in Manhattan Culture of Manhattan Upper East Side International professional associations