AGS Fliers' and Explorers' Globe
Pictures - May 2004 Signers Ceremony, Atlanta
Pictures - March 2004 Globe Signers Ceremony, New York
Pictures (pp 20-22) of the May 2004 Atlanta Globe signing (In Ubique)
Last Updated 2/14/2008
AGS Fliers' and Explorers' Globe
The American Geographical Society acquired its Fliers’ & Explorers’ Globe in 1929 as a gift from AGS President John H. Finley. In his position as Editor-in-Chief of the New York Times, Finley invited early heroes of exploration and aviation to draw their routes and sign their names on his 18-inch globe. The Society has continued the custom and, in so doing, has created a remarkable and unique symbol of humanity’s unquenchable drive to explore the universe.
Signers of the Fliers’ & Explorers’ Globe over the years are men and women who have explored certain places on earth for the first time in recorded history, reached new extremes of height or depth, pioneered new means of travel, or set aviation records. Their accomplishments have been made at great personal physical risk. Among them are such people as Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart, Sir Edmund Hillary, William Beebe, and the Apollo 13 astronauts.
Signers of the Fliers’ & Explorers’ Globe are proposed by AGS’ Exploration Committee for approval by the AGS Honors Committee and confirmation by the AGS Council. New signatures were added to the globe most recently in May 2004 at the invitation-only Atlanta ceremony convened at the Atlanta History Center, and in March 2004 at the invitation-only New York ceremony convened in The Powerhouse at the Museum of Natural History in New York. Previous signing ceremonies were held in December 2000, at a reception held at the Wings Club in New York City. On that occasion, the globe was signed by around-the-world balloonists Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones, deep-sea explorers Walter Pitman and Bill Ryan, deep-sea explorer Don Walsh, and astronaut Neil Armstrong.
The annotated list of all 70 individuals who have signed the Fliers’ & Explorers’ Globe to date can be viewed on the Globe Signers page (just click on this link).
To view a Powerpoint Show of the Globe signing, click on: Globe Signing Show.
The 2008 AGS Globe Signing Event
The AGS Announces Corporate Sponsorship
Full details of the AGS Fliers' and Explorers' Globe Corporate Sponsorship can be accessed here.
AGS Globe-Signing Ceremony
To launch the 2001 Sesquicentennial celebrations. the AGS held a globe-signing ceremony in New York in December, 2000. Honored at the ceremony were Walter Pittman, Bill Ryan, Brian Jones, Bertrand Piccard, Don Walsh and Neil Armstrong.
Read Dr. Jerry Dobson's article in GeoWorld magazine on the December 2000 Globe signing ceremony.