The Father of Photojournalism
In 1899 Amherst professor Edwin Grosvenor received a letter that would change the way millions of people see the world. The letter was a job offer of sorts from Alexander Graham Bell, president of the National Geographic Society, who asked if either of the professor’s twin sons would like to be managing editor of the society’s magazine.
With no editorial experience, one of those twins, Gilbert H. Grosvenor, class of 1897, became the only paid employee of National Geographic, according to a profile in the Amherst Graduates’ Quarterly. Before mailing his first issue, he addressed it by hand himself.