# List of National Geographic cover stories (1959 and 1960s)

National Geographic is an American magazine that is noted for its cover stories and accompanying photography. The first photo to appear on the cover of National Geographic was in the July 1959 issue of the magazine. The cover story titled "New Stars for Old Glory" featured the 49-star flag of the United States after Alaska's admission to the Union as a U.S. state, which was signed into law on July 3, 1959, by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The article was written by Lonnelle Aikman, with the photograph captured by B. Anthony Stewart.
Throughout the 1960s National Geographic's cover stories showcased global historical events such as the one hundredth Anniversary of the Unification of Italy and America's involvement in the Vietnam War. Cover stories included articles written by notable writers such as Jacques Cousteau, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Jane Goodall and Melville Bell Grosvenor. Cover photos were published by notable photographers such as Winfield Parks, Helen and Frank Schreider and twin brothers Frank and John Craighead.
The 1960s saw articles written and photographed at locations around the globe featuring wildlife like the March 1967 issue titled "Snowflake, the World's First White Gorilla", written by Arthur J. Riopelle with a photo on the cover of Snowflake the gorilla, photographed by Paul A. Zahl. Articles featured on the cover of the magazine also included human-interest stories such as "Afghanistan: Crossroads of Conquerors", written and photographed by Thomas J. Abercrombie featuring an Afghan family in the September 1968 issue. Many geographical locations were featured including Mount Everest in the October 1963 article "Six to the Summit" about the American Everest expedition, written by Norman Dyhrenfurth with photographs by mountaineer Barry C. Bishop.
In the December 1969 issue, astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins wrote the cover story titled "First Explorers on the Moon", writing in detail their account of the Apollo 11 mission and what it was like being the first humans on the Moon. The photo on the cover of the magazine featured a picture taken from space by Armstrong, that of Aldrin in a spacesuit on the surface of the Moon.

## 1959

Only five issues were published in 1959 with photos on the cover.
1959 :
| Title | Date | Author | Photographer/artist | Images |
| New Stars for Old Glory | July 1959 | Lonnelle Aikman | B. Anthony Stewart | Flag of the United States |
| Pacific Fleet: Force for Peace | September 1959 | W.E. Garrett | Franc Shor | A jet's afterburner |
| Creatures of Hawaii's Coral Reefs | October 1959 | Paul A. Zahl | Paul A. Zahl | Girl gathering Sea urchins |
| California's Wonderful One | November 1959 | Frank Cameron | B. Anthony Stewart | Golden Gate Bridge |
| New Guinea to Bali in Yankee | December 1959 | Irving and Electa Johnson | W. L. Newton | Brigantine Yankee |

## 1960

1960 :
| Title | Date | Author | Photographer/artist | Images |
| Little Laos, Next Door to Red China | January 1960 | Elizabeth Perazic | Hannah Herz | Laos rice-farmer with water buffalo |
| Chile, The Long and Narrow Land | February 1960 | Kip Ross | Staff photographer | Chilean man |
| Fountain of Fire in Hawaii | March 1960 | Frederick Simpich Jr. | Robert B. Goodman | Volcano in Hawaii |
| Diving Saucer Takes to the Deep | April 1960 | Jacques Cousteau | Photographer | Diving Saucer |
| When the President Goes Abroad | May 1960 | Gilbert M. Grosvenor | Gilbert M. Grosvenor | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| Eternal France | June 1960 | Walter Meayers Edwards | Walter Meayers Edwards | Arc de Triomphe |
| Space Pioneers of NASA | July 1960 | Allan C. Fisher Jr. | Dean Conger | Space capsule |
| Knocking Out Grizzly Bears For Their Own Good | August 1960 | Frank and John Craighead | Frank and John Craighead | Grizzly bears |
| Where Elephants Have the Right of Way | September 1960 | George and Jinx Rodger | George and Jinx Rodger | Women of Uganda (picture shaped of Africa) |
| From the Hair of Silva | October 1960 | Helen and Frank Schreider | Helen and Frank Schreider | person pryaing at Taj Mahal |
| The Hummingbirds | November 1960 | Crawford Greenewalt | Crawford Greenewalt | Hummingbird |
| Japan: The Exquisite Enigma | December 1960 | Franc Shor | John Landois | Japanese Maiko |

## 1961

1961 :
| Title | Date | Author | Photographer/artist | Images |
| Inside the White House | January 1961 | Lonnelle Aikman | B. Anthony Stewart | White House |
| Exploring New Britain's Land of Fire | February 1961 | E. Thomas Gilliard | E. Thomas Gilliard | New Guinea native |
| The Magic Road Round Ireland | March 1961 | H. V. Morton | Robert F. Sisson | Irish woman |
| Witness to a War | April 1961 | Robert T. Cochran | Illustrated London News | Battery Wagner |
| Indonesia: The Young and Troubled Island Nation | May 1961 | Helen and Frank Schreider | Helen and Frank Schreider | Balinese woman |
| The city: London's Storied Square Mile | June 1961 | Allen C. Fisher | Melville Bell Grosvenor | Grenadier Guards in London, England |
| From Sea to Shining Sea: A Cross Section of the United States Along Historic Route 40 | July 1961 | Ralph Gray | Ralph Gray Dean Conger | Photomontage of the United States |
| Report on Laos | August 1961 | Peter T. White | W.E. Garrett | Laos children eating noodles |
| United Nations: Capital of the Family Man | September 1961 | Adlai E. Stevenson | B. Anthony Stewart John E. Fletcher | Headquarters of the United Nations |
| Mexico in Motion | October 1961 | Bart McDowell | Kip Ross | Mexican woman |
| United Italy Marks its 100th Year | November 1961 | Nathaniel T. Kenney | William Palmstrom | Map of Italy |
| The Kress Collection: A Gift to the Nation | December 1961 | Guy Emmerson, Litt. D. | Samuel Henry Kress collection | Madonna art |

## 1962

1962 :
| Title | Date | Author | Photographer/artist | Images |
| Florida's Coral City Beneath the Sea | January 1962 | Jerry Greenberg | Jerry Greenberg | diver at Coral Reef State Park |
| Roseate spoonbill – Radiant birds of the gulf coast | February 1962 | Robert Porter Allen | Frederick Kent Truslow | Roseate spoonbill |
| Journey to Outer Mongolia | March 1962 | William O. Douglas | Dean Conger | Mongolians |
| Huzza for Ataheite! | April 1962 | Luis Marden | Luis Marden | Bounty (1960 ship) |
| Australian New Guinea | May 1962 | John Scofield | John Scofield | New Guinea tribesman |
| John Glenn's three orbits in Friendship 7 | June 1962 | Robert B. Voas | Robert C. Maple | John Glenn |
| Tahiti, "Finest Island in the World" | July 1962 | Luis Marden | Luis Marden | Tahitian woman |
| Cape Cod – Where Sea holds Sway Over Man and Land | August 1962 | Nathaniel T. Kenney | Dean Conger | Cape Cod map |
| Brazil, Oba! | September 1962 | Peter T. White | Winfield Parks | Copacabana Beach, Brazil |
| California's City of Angels | October 1962 | Robert D. Roos | Thomas Nebbia | Hollywood Boulevard |
| Helicopter Over South Viet nam | November 1962 | Dickey Chapelle | Dickey Chapelle | South Vietnam village on fire |
| Puerto Rico's Seven-League Bootstraps | December 1962 | Bart McDowell | B. Anthony Stewart | Cruise ship Empress |

## 1963

1963 :
| Title | Date | Author | Photographer/artist | Images |
| Expeditions of the National Geographic Society 1888–1963 | January 1963 | Melvin M. Payne | Tom Lovell | Explorer I |
| Burma – Gentle Neighbor of India and Red China | February 1963 | W. Robert Moore | W. Robert Moore | A Burmese woman dancing |
| Arizona: Booming Youngster of the West | March 1963 | Robert De Roos | Robert F. Sisson | Navajo Herder in Arizona |
| Ships Through the Ages: A Saga of the Seas | April 1963 | Alan Villiers | Willem van de Velde | HMS Resolution |
| India: Subcontinent in Crisis | May 1963 | John Scofield | John Scofield | Rajasthan woman |
| Italian Riviera, Land that Winter Forgot | June 1963 | Howell Walker | Howell Walker | Portofino, Italy |
| Athens: Golden Past and Busy Present | July 1963 | Kenneth F. Weaver | Phillip Harrington | Parthenon |
| The Magic Worlds of Walt Disney | August 1963 | Robert De Roos | Thomas Nebbia | Girls at Disneyland |
| Australia: Vigorous Young Nation in the South Seas | September 1963 | Alan Villiers | Robert B. Goodman | Australian boat and swimmers |
| Six to the Summit | October 1963 | Norman Dyhrenfurth | Barry C. Bishop | Mount Everest |
| The Parks in Your Backyard | November 1963 | Conrad L. Wirth | Albert Moldvay | Deer at a national park |
| Triumph of the First Crusade to the Holy land: The Capture of Jerusalem | December 1963 | Franc Shor | Thomas Nebbia | Nicaea under siege |

## 1964

1964 :
| Title | Date | Author | Photographer/artist | Images |
| The Nation's Capital Revealed as Never Before | January 1964 | Senator Carl Hayden | George F. Mobley | U.S. Capitol |
| The Five Worlds of Peru | February 1964 | Kenneth F. Weaver | Bates Littlehales | Native Peruvian baby |
| How We Plan to Put Men on the Moon | March 1964 | Hugh Latimer Dryden | David Weltzer | Gemini spacecraft |
| At Home in the Sea | April 1964 | Capt. Jacques-Yves Cousteau | Robert B. Goodman | Undersea village Red Sea |
| President Johnson Dedicates the Society's New Headquarters | May 1964 | Staff writer | Bates Littlehales | Lyndon B. Johnson at National Geographic Headquarters |
| Exploring America Underground | June 1964 | Charles H. Mohr | David S. Boyer Adrian R. Wiker | Carlsbad Caverns |
| World's Tallest Tree Discovered | July 1964 | Melville Bell Grosvenor | George F. Mobley | Redwood |
| Para-Explorers Challenge Peru's Unknown Vilcabamba | August 1964 | G. Brooks Baekeland | Peter Gimbel | Parachuteer |
| Ambassadors of Good Will, the Peace Corps: Ecuador | September 1964 | Rhoda and Earle Brooks | David S. Boyer | Peace Corps in Ecuador |
| Cambodia, Indochina's "Neutral" Corner | October 1964 | Thomas J. Abercrombie | Thomas J. Abercrombie | Cambodian dancer with mask in front of Angkor Wat |
| This is the China I Saw | November 1964 | Jorgen Bisch | Jorgen Bisch | woman at Peking opera |
| Jerusalem, My Home | December 1964 | Bertha Spafford Vester | Photographer | Doves in Jerusalem |

## 1965

1965 :
| Title | Date | Author | Photographer/artist | Images |
| Americans in Action in Vietnam | January 1965 | Howard Sochurek | Howard Sochurek | soldiers walking in Vietnam War |
| Four-Ocean Navy in the Nuclear Age | February 1965 | Thomas W. Mcknew | Winfield Parks | USS Enterprise |
| The Changing Face of Old Spain | March 1965 | Bart McDowell | Albert Moldvay | Flamenco dancer |
| Ethiopian Adventure | April 1965 | Nathaniel T. Kenny | James P. Blair | Holyman of Ethiopia holding cross |
| Yankee Cruises the Stored Nile | May 1965 | Irving and Electa Johnson | Winfield Parks | sailboat going by Abu Simbel |
| Moths that Behave Like Hummingbirds | June 1965 | Treat Davidson | Treat Davidson | Sphinx moth |
| Down the Danube by Canoe | July 1965 | William Slade Backer | R. S. Durrance C. G. Knight | kayakers in front of Budapest building |
| The Churchill I Knew | August 1965 | Dwight D. Eisenhower | George W. Harris | Winston Churchill giving victory symobol |
| United States Air Force: Power for Peace | September 1965 | Curtis LeMay | Albert Moldvay | F-105 Thunderchief |
| Mustang, Nepal's Lost Kingdom | October 1965 | Michel Peissel | Michel Peissel | People of Nepal |
| I Joined a Sahara Salt Caravan | November 1965 | Victor Englebert | Victor Englebert | Veiled Tuareg noble |
| New Discoveries Among Africa's Chimpanzees | December 1965 | Jane Goodall | Hugo van Lawick | Jane Goodall with chimpanzees |

## 1966

1966 :
| Title | Date | Author | Photographer/artist | Images |
| Saudi Arabia | January 1966 | Thomas J. Abercrombie | Thomas J. Abercrombie | Bedouin on a camel |
| Flamboyant is the World for Bolivia | February 1966 | Loren McIntyre | Loren McIntyre | Bolivian woman collecting food |
| An American in Moscow | March 1966 | Thomas S. Hammond | Dean Conger | Saint Basil's Cathedral |
| Working for Weeks on the Sea Floor | April 1966 | Jacques Cousteau | Philippe Cousteau | Scuba divers in the Medieirtian Sea |
| California, The Golden Magnet: Natures North | May 1966 | William Graves | Jonathan Blair | Sailboats Golden Gate Bridge |
| One Man's London | June 1966 | Allan C. Fisher Jr. | James P. Blair | Life Guards (UK) |
| Today and Tomorrow in Our National Parks | July 1966 | Melville Bell Grosvenor | Emory Kristof | Woman at Cape Hatteras |
| 900 Years Ago: The Norman Conquest | August 1966 | Kenneth M. Setton | George F. Mobley | Norman warrior |
| The Philippines | September 1966 | Robert D. Roos | Ted Spiegel | Bandurria player in Philippines |
| To Gilbert Grosvenor: A Monthly Monument 25 Miles High | October 1966 | Frederick G. Vosburgh | Staff photographer | Gilbert Grosvenor with binoculars |
| Marvels of a Coral Realm | November 1966 | Walter A. Starck II | Walter A. Starck II | Queen angelfish |
| Abraham, the Friend of God | December 1966 | Kenneth McLeish | Dean Conger | Arab tending sheep |

## 1967

1967 :
| Title | Date | Author | Photographer/artist | Images |
| Pakistan: Problems of a two-part land | January 1967 | Bern Keating | Albert Moldvay | Pakistani women on a swing |
| Behind the Headlines in Viet Nam | February 1967 | Peter T. White | Winfield Parks | Vietnamese woman |
| Snowflake, the World's First White Gorilla | March 1967 | Arthur J. Riopelle | Paul A. Zahl | Snowflake (gorilla) |
| The Rhine: Europe's River of Legend | April 1967 | William Graves | Bruce Dale | The Rhine |
| Micronesia-The Americanization of Eden | May 1967 | David S. Boyer | Staff photographer | Micronesian maiden |
| Illinois: The City and the Plain | June 1967 | Robert Paull Jordan | Bruce Dale | Apartment buildings in Chicago |
| Lake Powell, Waterway to Desert Wonders | July 1967 | Walter Meayers Edwards | Walter Meayers Edwards | Lake Powell |
| Ancient Aphrodisias and it's Marble Treasures | August 1967 | Kenan T. Erim | Jonathan S. Blair | Apollo Marble Head |
| Kayak Odyssey: From the Inland Sea to Tokyo | September 1967 | Dan Dimancescu | Christopher G. knight | Deer on Island in Japan |
| Re-creating Madagascar's Giant Extinct Bird | October 1967 | Alexander Wetmore | Staff photographer | Madagascar statue |
| Dry-land Fleet Sails the Sahara | November 1967 | Jean Du Boucher | Jonathan S. Blair | Land yachts in Sahara Desert |
| Where Jesus Walked | December 1967 | Howard LaFay | Charles Harbutt | Christian followers |

## 1968

1968 :
| Title | Date | Author | Photographer/artist | Images |
| In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great | January 1968 | Helen and Frank Schreider | Helen and Frank Schreider | Equestrianism in Afghanstian |
| Sharks: Wolves of the Sea | February 1968 | Nathaniel T. Kenney | Jerry Greenberg | Whitetip shark |
| The Highlands of Scotland | March 1968 | Author | Winfield Parks | Highland girl |
| Viet Nam's Montagnard | April 1968 | Howard Sochurek | Howard Sochurek | Montagnard biting fish |
| New National Park Proposed: The Spectacular North Cascades | May 1968 | Nathaniel T. Kenney | James P. Blair | North Cascades |
| Trek by Mule Among Morocco's Berbers | June 1968 | Victor Englebert | Victor Englebert | Children leapfrogging in Morccao |
| Lombardy's Lakes, Blue Jewels in Italy's Crown | July 1968 | Franc Shor | Joseph J. Scherschel | Lake Como |
| South to Mexico City | August 1968 | W. E. Garrett | W. E. Garrett | Day of the Dead |
| Afghanistan: Crossroads of Conquerors | September 1968 | Thomas J. Abercrombie | Thomas J. Abercrombie | Afghan mother and baby |
| A Teenager Sails the World Alone | October 1968 | Robin Lee Graham | Robin Lee Graham | Robin Lee Graham |
| Queensland: Young Titan of Australia's Tropic North | November 1968 | Kenneth MacLeish | Winfield Parks | Australian family on a ranch |
| The Melong: River of Terror and Hope | December 1968 | Peter T. White | W. E. Garrett | Vietnamese children praying |

## 1969

1969 :
| Title | Date | Author | Photographer/artist | Images |
| Taiwan: The Watchful Dragon | January 1969 | Helen and Frank Schreider | Helen and Frank Schreider | Taiwanese rice farmer with water buffalo |
| Kenya Says: Harambee! | February 1969 | Allan C. Fisher Jr. | Bruce Dale | Kenya Elephant |
| The Magic Lure of Shellfish | March 1969 | Paul A. Zahl | Robert F. Sisson | Scallops |
| World-roaming Teen-ager Sails On | April 1969 | Robin Lee Graham | Robin Lee Graham | Robin Lee Graham showering |
| Abu Simbel's Ancient Temples Reborn | May 1969 | Georg Gerster | Georg Gerster | Abu Simbel statue with crane |
| Deerfield Keeps a Truce With Time | June 1969 | Bart McDowell | Robert W. Madden | American boy clapping |
| Feeding Time for a Cormorant in a San Diego Aquarium | July 1969 | Allan C. Fisher Jr. | James L. Amos | Diver at SeaWorld feeding a cormorant |
| Colorado: The Rockies' Pot of Gold | August 1969 | Edward J. Linehan | James L. Amos | Maroon Bells in Colorado |
| The Friendly Irish | September 1969 | John Scofield | James A. Sugar | Irish girl teenager |
| Adventures With South Africa's Black Eagles | October 1969 | Jeanne Cowden | Arthur Bowland | Jeanne Bowland ducking from Black eagle diving |
| Bali By the Back Roads | November 1969 | Donna K. Grosvenor Gilbert M. Grosvenor | Gilbert M. Grosvenor | Indonesian worshipers |
| First Explorers on the Moon | December 1969 | Neil A. Armstrong Edwin E. Aldrin Michael Collins | Neil A. Armstrong | Buzz Aldrin on the Moon |