National Geographic
monthly geography, history, nature, and science magazine
National Geographic (formerly The National Geographic Magazine, sometimes branded as Nat Geo) is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners and is based in Washington, DC. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine months after the establishment of the society, but is now a popular magazine. In 1905, it began including pictures, a style for which it became well known. Its first color photos appeared in the 1910s. During the Cold War, the magazine committed itself to presenting a balanced view of the physical and human geography of countries beyond the Iron Curtain. Later, the magazine became outspoken on environmental issues.
Until 2015, the magazine was completely owned and managed by the National Geographic Society. Since 2015, controlling interest has been held by National Geographic Partners. Topics of features generally concern geography, history, nature, science, and world culture. The magazine is well known for its distinctive appearance: a thick square-bound glossy format with a yellow rectangular border. Map supplements from National Geographic Maps are included with subscriptions, and it is available in a traditional printed edition and an interactive online edition.
The public source identifies “National Geographic” as monthly geography, history, nature, and science magazine. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around National, Geographic and monthly.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “National Geographic”, the useful work is to connect “monthly geography, history, nature, and science magazine” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5973845. VIAF identifies the subject as 186682798. The Library of Congress control number is n00047605. 9 of 12 selected statements include explicit references; 9 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1888, 1905 and 2015.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
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Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “National Geographic”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow National Geographic primary sources, National Geographic archive and National research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “National Geographic” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.