Short answers, pulled from the story.
The first issue of The National Geographic Magazine appeared on the 22nd of September 1888. Gardiner Greene Hubbard wrote an introductory address for that initial release and only 165 charter members received the scholarly journal at its launch.
Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor served as editor-in-chief from February 1903 until January 1920. He championed the use of illustrations despite criticism from board members who called such additions unscientific.
Newsstand sales ended in 2023 after one hundred ten years of existence. The company announced it would stop U.S. newsstand sales beginning in 2024 and subscribers received the January 2024 issue as the first edition available only by subscription.
April 1995 marked the start of Japanese language editions, the first local version published outside English. The magazine currently operates twenty-nine local editions across the globe including 3.5 million within the United States.
Circulation dropped from twelve million subscribers in the late 1980s to roughly 1.65 million as of the 30th of June 2024. Newsstand sales had existed since 1998 but ceased entirely that same year.