The National Geographic Magazine, Vol. I., No. 2, April, 1889

In Short

This work is the second issue of the initial journal volume published by the National Geographic Society, presenting an expansive collection of geographic lectures and official organization reports. It opens with a sweeping historical and physical examination of the African continent, moves into technical vice-presidential summaries of marine hydrography, atmospheric phenomena, and biological distribution, and concludes with the formal corporate business of the Society itself. It has endured as a primary historical record capturing late nineteenth-century scientific methodology, imperial territorial ambitions, and the foundational moment when American geographic research formalized its public institutional presence.

The Story

The text begins with a broad historical and environmental examination of Africa, framing the landmass as both the ancient cradle of human civilization and the final frontier of modern European exploration. It details the continent's distinct geographic belts, contrasting the central equatorial region of heavy rainfall and dense population against the arid, burning expanse of the Sahara and the southern Kalahari Desert. The narrative examines how vast rivers like the Congo and the Nile dictate access to the interior, requiring future infrastructure such as transcontinental railroads to bypass hazardous waterfalls. It also directly addresses the tragic, systemic impact of internal and transatlantic slave trading, explicitly calling out European complicity in fostering a destructive cycle of anarchy across native tribes. From there, the text surveys European colonial claims—spanning Belgian, German, English, and French footholds—and considers whether foreign powers will ever truly colonize the interior or merely remain transient rulers over resistant populations.

Transitioning from continental landmasses to global systems, the narrative broadens its scope to include the physical sciences. It touches upon diplomatic developments in Central America regarding proposed interoceanic canal routes through Panama and Nicaragua, alongside updates on Arctic and Antarctic polar expeditions. The focus then narrows to the specific scientific disciplines governed by the Society's leadership. The summary of oceanic geography traces marine investigation from eighteenth-century depth soundings to late nineteenth-century wind-driven current theories, providing precise measurements of submarine trenches in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans.

Following the hydrographic analysis, the text turns upward to the atmosphere, cataloging recent international research on thunderstorm mechanics, barometric pressure variations, and cloud classification. This is followed by a candid reflection on biological geography, acknowledging a temporary pause in distinct literature while defining the precise boundaries of how living organisms should be mapped across the globe. Finally, the arc closes by shifting from external scientific observation to internal corporate reality. It presents the formal administrative record of the National Geographic Society, detailing its foundational meeting in Washington, D.C., its certificate of incorporation, its financial standing, its active membership roster, and its enduring mandate to collect and diffuse geographic knowledge.

How It Unfolds

The continental survey The work opens by framing Africa as an ancient geographic entity whose northern monuments predated Greek and Roman civilization. It outlines the physical geography of the continent, detailing its rain belts, vast desert expanses, and seasonal lake overflows.

The impact of commerce and exploitation The focus shifts to human institutions, explicitly analyzing the devastations of the slave trade on tribal structures. It weighs the economic potential of mineral deposits, including gold, copper, and diamonds, alongside the necessity of constructing interior railway lines.

Global developments and oceanic depths The scope widens to international engineering projects like the Panama Canal and polar exploration attempts. It then transitions into marine science, detailing historic soundings and listing the deepest known ocean trenches across the globe.

Atmospheric systems and biological boundaries The narrative moves through physical weather dynamics, summarizing international studies on barometric pressure and cloud types. It then establishes the organizational boundaries required for mapping the distribution of plant and animal life.

Institutional founding and membership The final section documents the official establishment of the National Geographic Society. It prints the secretarial reports, financial audits, corporate charter, by-laws, and the complete directory of founding members.

The People

• Gardiner G. Hubbard — The Society's President who delivers the opening address on Africa. He seeks to map the continent's vast economic, physical, and historical landscape while evaluating whether European powers can successfully establish lasting colonies in its interior.
• George L. Dyer — The U.S. Navy Hydrographer serving as Vice-President, who seeks to consolidate global marine data. He tracks deep-sea soundings, ocean currents, and underwater topography to advance the scientific understanding of the oceans.
• A. W. Greely — Chief Signal Officer of the U.S. Army and Vice-President, who aims to systematize atmospheric science. He analyzes global weather patterns, thunderstorm mechanics, and international barometric data.
• C. Hart Merriam — Vice-President overseeing the Geography of Life, who works to establish strict jurisdictional boundaries for biological mapping to prevent the field from becoming overwhelmed by general natural history literature.

In Its Own Voice

"Think what a vast abyss of time separates us from the days of Romulus and Remus! And yet the pyramids of Egypt were then older by a thousand years than all the centuries that have passed since then."

Gardiner G. Hubbard emphasizes the immense historical depth of the African continent during his presidential address.

"The great ocean is so large a factor in the operations of Nature, that the attempt to describe one of its features speedily involves the consideration of others lying more or less in that shadowy region which may be claimed with equal force by other sections of the Society."

George L. Dyer explains the interconnected nature of marine science in his hydrographic report.

"It is gratifying to American pride to know that in this international task of outlining the geography of the air, the United States has liberally provided the labor and means for presenting these ten years' meteorological data in such tabular and geographical forms as to render them available for study by all."

A. W. Greely highlights the national contribution to global weather mapping in his atmospheric summary.

What It's Really About

Underneath its technical reports and regional descriptions, the volume is an argument for the systematic organization of human knowledge. It tackles the fundamental question of how raw environmental observation—whether the depth of an ocean trench, the movement of a typhoon, or the flow of an African river—can be unified into a cohesive scientific discipline. The text wrestles with the ethics and mechanics of global expansion, examining imperial claims and commercial exploitation alongside genuine scientific curiosity. At its core, it is about institutionalization: taking disparate fields of geology, hydrography, meteorology, and biology, and anchoring them within a structured, professional American society dedicated to mapping the known world.

Why Read It Today

This issue appeals to readers interested in the history of science, nineteenth-century imperialism, and the origins of modern geographical institutions. Reading it feels like stepping directly into an administrative lecture hall in 1889; the prose is formal, measured, and meticulously detailed. The text offers a compelling window into how late Victorian scholars viewed the globe, combining genuine scientific rigor with the unabashed geopolitical assumptions of their era.

The reader must navigate period difficulties, including dense strings of hydrographic coordinates, dry institutional accounting, and outdated racial terminology used when discussing colonial expansion and indigenous populations. Yet what stays with you is the striking contrast between the vastness of the physical subjects explored—thousands of fathoms of ocean depth, broad continental desert belts, global atmospheric shifts—and the intimate, localized birth of the Society itself, captured down to the street addresses of its initial two hundred members.