This photo of the Dalai Lama’s palace was part of the first stand-alone photographic series in the Geographic. The 11-image tour of Lhasa, Tibet, was published in 1905.
Photograph by Tsybikoff, Buriat, and Norzunoff, Kalmuck
In July 1906 National Geographic published wildlife photographs for the first time. George Shiras’ images of deer, birds, and other animals were the start of a long tradition at the magazine.
Photograph by George Shiras
Robert Peary’s 1909 Arctic expedition likely came within ten miles of the North Pole—closer than any explorers before them.
Photograph by Robert E. Peary
National Geographic funded Robert E. Peary’s 1909 attempt to reach the North Pole. Although he claimed that his team made it, questions remain about whether they actually reached the correct geographic location.
Photograph by Robert E. Peary
From 1912 to 1915 National Geographic supported Hiram Bingham’s expeditions to excavate Machu Picchu. His photos were among the first ever published of the ancient Inca city.
Photograph by Hiram Bingham
This image of a flower garden in Ghent, Belgium, published in 1914, was the magazine’s first natural (not hand-tinted) color photograph.
Photograph by Paul G. Guillumette
Equipped with cameras encased in waterproof housing and pounds of highly explosive magnesium flash powder for underwater illumination, William Longley and National Geographic photographer Charles Martin made the first underwater color photographs. Their 1926 reef scenes included this hogfish.
Photograph by W.H. Longley and Charles Martin
National Geographic assistant editor Melville Bell Grosvenor made the first aerial color photograph in 1930. He used the Finlay process, then the newest way to take color photographs.
Photograph by Melville B. Grosvenor, National Geographic
In 1935 the aeronauts aboard the National Geographic-Army Air Corps Explorer II balloon set a new altitude record for manned flight: 72,395 feet. From that altitude Albert Stevens took the first photograph showing the curve of the Earth and the first color photographs taken from the stratosphere.
Photograph by Richard Hewitt Stewart, National Geographic
The July 1943 issue of National Geographic was the first to feature a photograph on the cover: the American flag.
Photograph by B. Anthony Stewart, National Geographic
In the 1960s National Geographic photographer Bates Littlehales, with the help of marine biologist Walter Starck, designed OceanEye, a Plexiglas bubble-encased housing, to allow photographers to use Nikon cameras underwater.
Photograph by Bates Littlehales, National Geographic
National Geographic was there when the first American team summited Mount Everest in 1963. Two members of the team were also the first to traverse Everest by ascending the difficult western slope and descending the established South Col route.
Photograph by Barry Bishop, National Geographic
National Geographic’s Barry Bishop was part of the first American expedition to reach Everest’s peak. His story and photographs—including this one of teammate Tom Hornbein on the summit—were published in the October 1963 issue of the magazine.
Photograph by Barry Bishop, National Geographic
When naturalist George Schaller found snow leopard tracks in the mountains of Pakistan he knew he was onto something special. In 1971 National Geographic was the first to publish photographs of the “ghost cat of the Himalaya.” Later, National Geographic funded the first thorough study of the snow leopard.
Photograph by George B. Schaller, National Geographic
Inspired by a remora clinging to the side of a shark, Greg Marshall invented the National Geographic Crittercam in 1986. The remote, lightweight video cameras have been placed on sharks, penguins, and lions to reveal glimpses of wild behavior. Here, Marshall attaches a Crittercam to a Steller sea lion in 1991.
Photograph by Joel Sartore, National Geographic
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