John Oliver La Gorce facts for kids
John Oliver La Gorce (born in 1880, died in 1959) was an American writer and explorer. He was famous for his long career at the National Geographic Society. He worked there for over 50 years! He started as an editor, then became a vice president, and finally served as the president of the Society from 1954 to 1957. He retired when he was 77 years old.
Early Life and Interests
John Oliver La Gorce was born on September 22, 1880, in Scranton, Pennsylvania. When he was young, he became very interested in Morse code. His mother taught him how to use it. He even went to the US Capitol building to practice sending messages with telegraphs.
But his biggest passion was exploring and learning about geography. In 1905, he was hired by Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor. Gilbert was the third president of the National Geographic Society and became a very close friend to John. John quickly became well-known at the Society. In 1914, a special photo of him in his office was even published in the National Geographic Magazine.
A Career of Exploration and Discovery
La Gorce worked at the National Geographic Society for 54 years, from 1905 until he passed away in 1959. He loved taking pictures and traveled all over the world. He captured many amazing photos, like sailboats in Lisbon harbor and seabirds eating sardines. He also photographed El Capitan in Yosemite National Park.
He wrote many articles for the Magazine. His favorite topic was fish. In 1919, he helped catch a huge 22-foot manta ray. At the time, it was the biggest one ever found! He also helped create the world's first underwater photographs in 1926. He even edited all the versions of National Geographic's book called The Book of Fishes.
La Gorce was married to actress Betty Brice and had a son named Gilbert Grosvenor La Gorce. His son was named after John's good friend, Gilbert Grosvenor. Sadly, his son passed away early in 1959. This made La Gorce very sad. Even so, he kept working at the Society until his own death later that year.
He was the President of the Society for less than three years, from May 1954 to January 1957. He retired mostly because of health problems. Some people thought he didn't change the magazine enough. His successor, Melville Bell Grosvenor, who was Gilbert's son, later changed the Magazine's name to National Geographic in March 1960. La Gorce had chosen not to do this.
John Oliver La Gorce was very important in his work for the Magazine and his world travels. Because of his influence, many places are named after him. These include the La Gorce Mountains in Antarctica and the La Gorce Arch in Utah. Besides his work with National Geographic, he was also a US Delegate in the 1925 Pan American Scientific Congress. In 1948, he received the Henry Grier Bryant Medal for his "outstanding service to geography." Then, in 1955, Columbia University chose him as a top journalist. He received the Maria Moors Cabot Award for helping different nations in the Americas understand each other better.
John Oliver La Gorce passed away on December 23, 1959, when he was 79 years old. At the National Geographic Society, they lowered their flag to half-mast to honor him.
