Gilbert M. Grosvenor is chairman of the National Geographic Society's board of trustees and its Education Foundation. He retired June 1, 1996, as president of the Society, the fifth generation of his family to serve in that position.



Grosvenor was born May 5, 1931, in Washington, D.C. He graduated from Yale University in 1954 and joined the Society staff that year as a picture editor. He was editor of National Geographic magazine from 1970 to 1980, when he became the Society's 14th president. A member of the board of trustees since 1966, he was elected chairman in 1987.



Grosvenor is a director or trustee of numerous foundations and corporations, including The Conservation Fund; Chevy Chase Bank; Ethyl Corp.; The Jason Foundation; Marriott International Inc.; Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International; Wildlife Conservation Society; National Wildflower Research Center, and Federal City Council (Washington). He also is a member of the board of visitors of Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment; chairman emeritus of the foundation board of the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf; former vice chairman, President's Commission on Americans Outdoors; and former member of The President's Commission on Environmental Quality.