The Explorers Club

The Explorers Club is an American-based international multidisciplinary professional society with the goal of promoting scientific exploration and field study. The club was founded in New York City 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 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, Donaldson Smith, Carl Lumholtz, 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 and Kathryn Sullivan. Famous honorary members have included Theodore Roosevelt, John Glenn, Jim Fowler, Walter Cronkite, Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh, Sir Edmund Hillary, Buzz Aldrin and Albert I Prince of Monaco.
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 (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
Frederick Cook (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 (1902)
Herschel Clifford Parker (1867–1931: Professor of Physics, Columbia University; mountaineer; author; founding member of the American Alpine Club (1902)
Marshall Howard Saville (1867–1935): Professor of American Archaeology, Columbia University; Curator of Archaeology, American Museum of Natural History
Henry Collins Walsh (1863–1927): Journalist; historian; explorer of Central America and Greenland; founding member of Arctic Club of America (1894); nominal "Founder" of The Explorers Club (1904)
Caspar Whitney (1862–1929): War correspondent, explorer of North and South America, outdoorsman, sports journalist, member of the International Olympic Committee (1900–1905), author; Editor, Outing 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 (honorary membership in 1912) & Matthew Henson
First to the South Pole (1911) – Roald Amundsen, honorary membership in 1912
First to the summit of Mt. Everest (1953) – Sir Edmund Hillary & Tenzing Norgay, elected honorary members 1953
First to the deepest point in the ocean (1960) – Don Walsh (honorary member 1997) & Jacques Piccard
First to the surface of the Moon (1969) – Neil Armstrong & Buzz Aldrin
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, the club purchased its current headquarters on the Upper East Side, 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 formed a partnership to produce a series called Tales from The Explorers Club, which is hosted by Explorers Club member Josh Gates. The series covered stories about other famous Explorers Club members such as Ernest Shackleton, Sir Edmund Hillary, Gertrude Bell, Jim Lovell and Jeff Bezos.
The Explorers Club flag
The Explorers Club flag has been carried on hundreds of expeditions by club members since 1918. To carry the club flag is an honor and a privilege. It has flown at both poles, from the highest peaks of the greatest mountain ranges, traveled to the depths of the ocean, to the lunar surface, and outer space. A flag expedition must further the cause of exploration and field science.
Use of the flag is governed by stringent standards. 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.
Today there are 202 numbered flags, each with its own history. Many of the older flags have been retired. The Explorers Club flag has been carried on such expeditions as:
Flag #2 – Roy Chapman Andrews – the Gobi Desert 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 and André Borschberg – Solar Impulse 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 and Patrick Lahey – the Five Deeps expedition
Flag #105 – L. Ron Hubbard – The Alaska Radio Experimental Expedition
Flag #123 – Thor Heyerdahl – the Kon-Tiki expedition
Flag #132 – David Concannon for Jeff Bezos and Bezos Expeditions – 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 – collecting soil samples from the Darvaza gas crater
Flag #161 – James Cameron – the Deepsea Challenger expedition
Flag #163 – L. Ron Hubbard – The Oceanographic-Archeological Expedition (1961) and the Hubbard Geological Survey Expedition (1966)
Flag #193 – Naomi Uemura – first solo North Pole expedition
NASA missions Apollo 8, Apollo 11, Apollo 13 and Apollo 15 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 – Robert E. Peary
1917 – William Curtis Farabee
1918 – Vilhjalmur Stefansson
1919 – Cândido Mariano da Silva Rondon
1923 – Adolphus W. Greely
1925 – Lowell H. Smith
1926 – Knud Rasmussen
1927 – Roald Amundsen
1927 - Robert Bartlett
1927 - Fridtjof Nansen
1929 - David L. Brainard
1932 - Roy Chapman Andrews
1936 - Lincoln Ellsworth
1937 – Richard E. Byrd
1940 - Sir Hubert Wilkins
1950 - Isaiah Bowman
1951 - Bernt Balchen
1953 - James Chapin
1953 - Donald B. MacMillan
1954 - Lord John Hunt
1954 – Auguste Piccard
1957 - Laurence McKinley Gould
1959 - Sir Vivian Fuchs for the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition
1961 – President Herbert Hoover
1962 - Alexander Wetmore
1963 - William H. Phelps, Jr.
1964 – Gilbert H. Grosvenor
1965 - James H. Doolittle
1966 - Robert Cushman Murphy
1967 - Charles B. Hitchcock
1968 - Finn Ronne
1968 – Lowell Thomas
1969 - William B.O. Field, Jr.
1970 - Julius M. Amberson
1971 - Michael J. Leahy
1971 – Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins for NASA
1972 - Walter A. Wood
1973 - Serge A. Korff
1974 - Roger Tory Peterson
1975 - Junius B. Bird
1976 - Edward M. Weyer, Jr.
1977 - Lewis N. Cotlow
1978 - Leigh Wade
1979 – Thor Heyerdahl
1980 – Willard N. Bascom
1981 - Carl von Hoffman
1982 - Virgil Kauffman
1983 – Sir Ranulph Fiennes for Transglobe Expedition
1984 - H. Bradford Washburn, Jr.
1985 - Sir Wally Herbert
1986 – Sir Edmund P. Hillary
1987 - Barry C. Bishop
1988 - Gilbert M. Grosvenor for National Geographic Society
1989 – Mary Leakey for the Leakey Family
1990 - George B. Schaller
1991 - William J. L. Sladen
1992 - Heinrich Harrer
1993 – Dame Jane Goodall
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 - Don Walsh
2002 - Johan Reinhard
2003 - Steve Fossett
2004 - David K. Hempleman-Adams
2005 – Burt Rutan, Brian Binnie and Michael Melvill for SpaceShipOne
2006 - J. Michael Fay
2007 - Kathryn D. Sullivan
2008 – Eugenie Clark
2009 – Lee M. Talbot
2009 – Edward O. Wilson
2010 - Donald C. Johanson
2011 – Wade Davis
2012 - Philip J. Currie
2012 - Alfred S. McLaren
2013 – James Cameron
2014 – Walter Munk
2015 – Neil deGrasse Tyson
2016 – Frederick Roots
2017 - André Borschberg, Bertrand Piccard and Nainoa Thompson
2018 - James A. Lovell
2019 – Kenneth Lacovara
2020 – Victor Vescovo
2021 – Derek and Beverly Joubert
2022 – Rick Ridgeway
2023 – Margaret D. Lowman
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
2013 – John Glenn
2020 – Dame Jane Goodall
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 Lowell Thomas Award, The Finn Ronne Memorial Award, The Buzz Aldrin Space Exploration Award, The Tenzing Norgay Award, The William Beebe 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.
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
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