Historical highlights

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Historical highlights
First written mention of The Explorers Club
April 1904
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The Club is incorporated 1905
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The Club officially takes onto its rolls all members of the Arctic Club of America 1913
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Ladies' Night Lectures begin with an evening hosted by Mabel Cook Cole

Image Copyright: The Field Museum
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The first Club Flag is carried on expedition to Venezuela by Theodore de Booy 1918
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First publication of The Explorers Journal 1921
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An early draft of what would become The Explorers Club Flag 1925
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The Club moves to its current Headquarters 1965
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Women are admitted as Members of the Club following an impassioned letter from Carl Sagan 1981
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The Famous Firsts

Among countless notable achievements in exploration, five firsts achieved by our members define the legacy of The Explorers Club.
The Famous Firsts
1909 North Pole
On April 6, 1909 Robert Peary, Matthew Henson, their Inuit guide Ootah, and three other Inuit named Ooqueah, Seegloo, and Egigingwah, reached the North Pole—or at least came close.
Matthew Henson & Robert Peary
The Famous Firsts
1911 South Pole
On December 14, 1911, Amundsen and his team became the first to reach the South Pole. At approximately 3 o’clock in the afternoon, the team simultaneously shouted “Halt!” and raised the Norwegian Flag. To ensure they had actually crossed the Pole, team members set off twelve miles in opposite directions for good measure.
Roald Amundsen, Olav Bjaaland, Helmer Hanssen, Sverre Hassel, Oscar Wisting
The Famous Firsts
1953 Highest Point on Earth The Summit of Mt. Everest
At 11:30 in the morning on May 29, 1953, Nepalese Sherpa Tenzing Norgay and New Zealander Edmund P. Hillary reached the summit of Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak. The two men smiled and shook hands as they stood upon the highest ground on Earth, more than 29,000 feet above sea level.
Edmund P. Hillary & Tenzing Norgay
The Famous Firsts
1960 Deepest Point on Earth Mariana Trench
On January 23, 1960, US Navy lieutenant Don Walsh and Swiss engineer Jacques Piccard set a record for the deepest descent below the ocean’s surface aboard the bathyscaphe Trieste.
Jacques Piccard & Don Walsh
The Famous Firsts
1969 Surface of the Moon Apollo 11
On July 20, 1969, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin walked on the Moon while Columbia command module pilot Michael Collins orbited.
Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong & Michael Collins