These 20 women were trailblazing explorers—why did history forget them?
Exploring the photo archives in the basement of National Geographic is one of Mallory’s favorite parts of working at National Geographic. To commemorate International Women’s Month 2020, Mallory explored stories of some of National Geographic’s early women explorers, often overlooked in history, together with writer Nina Strochlic and Senior Photo Archivist Sara Manco. Combing through photos, letters, and ephemera, the story team wanted to honor the truly pioneering women in National Geographic’s history, and the modern women explorers blazing new trails today.
This story had many arms. Mallory, Sara and Nina wanted to unpack many of the narratives unearthed from the National Geographic basements for what was coined as the “Year of the Woman.”
The magazine feature published during Women’s Month (March) 2020 along with four additional digital sidebars further unpacking a few of these women’s stories even further.
“A 40,000-mile journey was nothing for this 19th-century female explorer”
“These women unlocked the mysteries of the deep sea”
“She was a record-breaking aviator—but her husband overshadowed her feats”
“Who mapped the Grand Canyon? This forgotten female mountaineer”
Nina and Sara also sat down in conversation for an intimate discussion on the making of this story for a National Geographic Society Live event for their Into the Archives series.
Full Story Team
Writer: Nina Strochlic
Photo Archivist: Sara Manco
Text Editor: Debra Adams Simmons
Designer: Hannah Tak
Mobile Producer: Cosima Amelang
Researcher: Michelle Harris