The Explorers Club is an American-based international multidisciplinary professional society with the goal of promoting scientific exploration and field study. The club was founded in New York City in 1904 and has served as a meeting point for explorers and scientists worldwide.
The Explorers Club hosts an annual dinner to honor accomplishments in exploration, which is known for its exotic, "adventurous" cuisine.
In 2023, the club reported total revenue of $5,352,688 and total assets of $17,108,895. In 2023 it also reported total giving of $750,479.
History In 1904, a group of men active in exploration met at the request of noted journalist, historian and explorer Henry Collins Walsh to form an organization to unite explorers in the bonds of good fellowship and to promote the work of exploration by every means in its power. Joining Walsh were Adolphus Greely, Donaldson Smith, Carl Lumholtz, Marshall Saville, Frederick Dellenbaugh and David Brainard. After several further informal meetings, the Explorers Club was incorporated on October 25, 1905. Women were first admitted in 1981, with a class including Sylvia Earle and Kathryn Sullivan. Famous honorary members have included Theodore Roosevelt, John Glenn, Jim Fowler, Walter Cronkite, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Sir Edmund Hillary, Buzz Aldrin and Albert I, Prince of Monaco.
The Explorers Club has 34 chapters in the United States and around the world, which serve as local contact points for explorers, scientists and students. Many chapters hold monthly dinners, lectures and seminars, award field-research grants to students, publish newsletters and organize expeditions, field trips and educational events.
Charter members David Legge Brainard (1856–1946): U.S. Army Lieutenant-Colonel: Sioux, Bannock, and Nez Perce Campaigns; Survivor, Lady Franklin Bay Expedition (1881–1884); in 1882 claimed Farthest North at 83º24’30” North latitude Frank Chapman (1864–1945): Curator of Birds and Mammals, American Museum of Natural History Frederick Cook (1865–1940): Surgeon and ethnologist to the first Peary Expedition to Greenland (1892); leader of the SS Miranda Expedition (1894); surgeon on the Belgica Expedition (1897–1898), the first ship to winter over in the Antarctic; founding member of the American Alpine Club (1902) Herschel Clifford Parker (1867–1931): Professor of Physics, Columbia University; mountaineer; author; founding member of the American Alpine Club (1902) Marshall Howard Saville (1867–1935): Professor of American Archaeology, Columbia University; Curator of Archaeology, American Museum of Natural History Henry Collins Walsh (1863–1927): Journalist; historian; explorer of Central America and Greenland; founding member of Arctic Club of America (1894); nominal "founder" of the Explorers Club (1904) Caspar Whitney (1862–1929): War correspondent; explorer of North and South America; outdoorsman; sports journalist; member of the International Olympic Committee (1900–1905); author; Editor, Outing magazine F. S. Dellenbaugh (1853–1935): Artist, topographer and explorer of the American West; discoverer of the Escalante River and the Henry Mountains William H. Furness (1866–1920): Physician, ethnographer and writer; among the first to study and photograph the Kayan people of Borneo and the Wa'ab people on the island of Yap; Curator of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology's general ethnology section
Fellows and members The Explorers Club has approximately 3,500 members worldwide, with members from every continent and in more than 60 countries. The club differentiates exploration for field science from exploratory travel for tourism. Individuals eligible for membership are those who engage in or support field science expeditions aimed at exploring unfamiliar or poorly understood locations or phenomena, with the goal of acquiring knowledge for the benefit of humanity. The focus is on individuals who have gained practical experience by actively participating in fieldwork as participants in one or more documented scientific expeditions. The club has made it a priority to expand its membership to include qualified explorers from across a range of diversities, including race, culture, gender, age, sexual orientation, geography and socio-economic level, as well as explorers with disabilities.
Membership and affiliation of the club is divided into several categories. Fellows have made documented contributions to scientific knowledge through field expeditions. Such accomplishments are often evidenced by regular scientific publication, but may also be documented in books, popular media, or broadcast media. Members have evidenced a sustained interest and participation in some aspect of field exploration and have contributed in broad terms to the cause of exploration and the furthering of scientific knowledge. Term memberships are open to full-time graduate students and teaching instructors that meet the same standards/qualifications that exist for regular Members. "Friends of the Club" are individuals who wish to associate with The Explorers Club and support its mission. Student Members are full-time students, between the ages of 16 and 30, who are enrolled in accredited institutions and are interested in pursuing exploration or field science as a future career or avocation.
Famous firsts The Explorers Club is renowned for various "Famous Firsts" accomplished by its members, including:
First to the North Pole (1909) – Robert E. Peary (honorary membership in 1912) & Matthew Henson. Robert Peary's claim to have been the first to the North Pole has been disputed and current consensus does not support his claim. However, in 1968 Ralph Plaisted became the first undisputed person to reach the North Pole over land. First to the South Pole (1911) – Roald Amundsen, honorary membership in 1912 First to the summit of Mt. Everest (1953) – Sir Edmund Hillary & Tenzing Norgay, elected honorary members 1953 First to the deepest point in the ocean (1960) – Don Walsh (honorary member 1997) & Jacques Piccard First to the surface of the Moon (1969) – Neil Armstrong & Buzz Aldrin
Headquarters
The Explorers Club held its first regular meeting at its original headquarters in the Studio Building at 23 West 67th Street in New York City. The club finished construction on its next headquarters at 544 Cathedral Parkway in 1928 and there the club continued to expand its extensive collection of artifacts, trophies and books on exploration.
In 1965, spurred by Lowell Thomas, the club purchased its current headquarters on the Upper East Side, a six-story Jacobean revival mansion on East 70th Street, where it houses the James B. Ford Exploration Library, the Sir Edmund Hillary Map Room and a collection of artifacts from more than a century of exploration. The building was previously the home of Stephen C. Clark. Certain designated rooms of the club are open to the general public.
In 2018, the Explorers Club hosted the Squirrel Census, a citizen science project to count the squirrels of Central Park.
Lectures and publications In the 1920s, the club began to invite both explorers returning from the field and visiting scientists to relate their experiences and findings. By the 1930s these informal gatherings developed into academic lectures and illustrated talks. The club continues to provide weekly lectures and programs, which are often open to the public at its headquarters. In November 1921, the Explorers Club published the first edition of The Explorers Journal to share news from the field, remarks from headquarters, recent acquisitions, obituaries and book reviews. The Explorers Journal is still published quarterly, with articles and photography from Explorers Club members in the field.
Television series
In 2022, the Explorers Club and Discovery Channel formed a partnership to produce a series called Tales from the Explorers Club, which is hosted by Explorers Club member Josh Gates. The series covered stories about other famous Explorers Club members such as Ernest Shackleton, Sir Edmund Hillary, Gertrude Bell, Jim Lovell and Jeff Bezos.
Engagement with United Nations system The Explorers Club is formally associated with the United Nations Department of Global Communications and, since 2023, has had a Partnership Agreement with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). In 2026, it was granted Special Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
The Explorers Club flag
The Explorers Club flag has been carried on hundreds of expeditions by club members since 1918. To obtain permission to carry the flag, a club member must show that the expedition holds the promise of scientific results. The flag must be exhibited at every suitable opportunity on the expedition, and must be returned to the club along with a written record of the expedition, called the Flag Report. The club's Research Collections is the repository for these unique reports, including the original "Flag Book" – a bound journal of hand-written reports, vintage prints, clippings and assorted records submitted by the explorers who first carried the Explorers Club flag on expeditions.
There are currently 242 numbered flags. Many of the older flags have been retired. The Explorers Club flag has been carried on such expeditions as: Flag #2 – Roy Chapman Andrews – the Gobi Desert expeditions Flag #7 – Sir George Hubert Wilkins – the first trans-Arctic flights Flag #32 – Capt. Robert A. "Bob" Bartlett – the Effie M. Morrissey expeditions Flag #50 – Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg – Solar Impulse across America Flag #61 – Luc Hardy – the Pax Arctica expedition (Canadian Arctic) Flag #71 – Raphaël Domjan – PlanetSolar the first around the world with solar energy Flag #80 – Tim Taylor FN’04, Citation of Merit Laureate 2008 – Discovery of three lost US WWII submarines: Expedition R-12, Expedition S-26, Expedition S-28 Flag #81 – Victor Vescovo and Patrick Lahey – the Five Deeps expedition Flag #105 – L. Ron Hubbard – The Alaska Radio Experimental Expedition Flag #123 – Thor Heyerdahl – the Kon-Tiki expedition Flag #132 – David Concannon for Jeff Bezos and Bezos Expeditions – the Saturn V F-1 engine search and recovery expedition Flag #134 – Gino Caspari – Discovery of Royal Scythian Tomb Tunnug 1 Flag #150 – George Kourounis – collecting soil samples from the Darvaza gas crater Flag #161 – James Cameron – the Deepsea Challenger expedition Flag #163 – L. Ron Hubbard – The Oceanographic-Archeological Expedition (1961) and the Hubbard Geological Survey Expedition (1966) Flag #179 – David Isserman – introducing the endangered Sorraia horses to the Alentejo as a rewilding initiative Flag #193 – Naomi Uemura – first solo North Pole expedition NASA missions Apollo 8, Apollo 11, Apollo 13 and Apollo 15 each carried miniature club flags on board.
Honors and grants Honors The Explorers Club Medal, the highest honor that can be bestowed by the Club, is awarded for "extraordinary contributions directly in the field of exploration, scientific research, or to the welfare of humanity". Past recipients include:
1914 – Robert E. Peary 1917 – William Curtis Farabee 1918 – Vilhjalmur Stefansson 1919 – Cândido Mariano da Silva Rondon 1923 – Adolphus W. Greely 1925 – Lowell H. Smith 1926 – Knud Rasmussen 1927 – Roald Amundsen 1927 – Robert Bartlett 1927 – Fridtjof Nansen 1929 – David L. Brainard 1932 – Roy Chapman Andrews 1936 – Lincoln Ellsworth 1937 – Richard E. Byrd 1940 – Sir Hubert Wilkins 1950 – Isaiah Bowman 1951 – Bernt Balchen 1953 – James Chapin 1953 – Donald B. MacMillan 1954 – Lord John Hunt 1954 – Auguste Piccard 1957 – Laurence McKinley Gould 1959 – Sir Vivian Fuchs for the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition 1961 – President Herbert Hoover 1962 – Alexander Wetmore 1963 – William H. Phelps, Jr. 1964 – Gilbert H. Grosvenor 1965 – James H. Doolittle