Gilbert M. Grosvenor

2017 Frances K. Hutchinson Medal

For his distinguished service to conservation, education, and journalism through the National Geographic magazine, Kids magazine, and the Geographic Educational Program; and for his lifetime advocacy for planet Earth.

Proposed by: Garden Club of Chevy Chase, Zone VI

For over fifty years, Gilbert M. Grosvenor guided the National Geographic Society and the Society’s magazine to be the preeminent leader in conservation, exploration, education, and adventure by presenting the beauty, wonder, and fragility of planet Earth to the world’s peoples. He spotlighted the accomplishments of explorers, scientists, and conservationists, and inspired an appreciation for and the protection of the diversity of plants, animals, peoples, and cultures. In the 1980s, recognizing the dearth of geography classes, Gil created Kids and Traveler magazines. He networked with educators nationwide promoting state-mandated geography studies, and he founded the National Geographic Education Program. Under his leadership, National Geographic collaborated with others, including The Garden Club of America, to establish the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail, the first water-based national trail in the United States. Gil received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2004. He has served on national and international boards and has been awarded 14 honorary doctorates.

The Frances K. Hutchinson Medal is awarded to figures of national importance for distinguished service to conservation.

The Francis K. Hutchinson Medal was endowed by the Lake Geneva Garden Club, Zone XI, in memory of its founder, Francis Kinsley Hutchinson (Mrs. Charles Lawrence Hutchinson: 1857–1936) who was an avid horticulturist, naturalist, and conservationist. At her home, Wychwood, Frances created a 73-acre woodland sanctuary, which she donated to the University of Chicago and which served as a resource for scientific study for faculty and students until the trust ended and the property was subsequently subdivided. She was the author of the Wychwood country home trilogy on the natural history of the Lake Geneva region. She was president of the Wildflower Preservation Society, Illinois Chapter. The medal was designed by Spaulding-Gorham, Inc. in 1940.

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