Melville Bell Grosvenor Editor, National Geographic and grandson of Alexander Graham Bell
Melville Bell Grosvenor (November 26, 1901-April 22, 1982) was the president of the National Geographic Society and editor of National Geographic Magazine from 1957 to 1969. He was the son of the magazine's first editor Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor, and the grandson of telephone inventor Alexander Graham Bell. Gilbert Grosvenor had been hired by Bell as an editorial assistant for the National Geographic Society’s magazine and later married Bell’s daughter Elsie May Bell.
A photography enthusiast, he increased the size of printed photographs in the magazine, and initiated the practice, that continues to this day, of opening articles with a two-page photo feature. He reduced the name of the publication from The National Geographic Magazine to National Geographic. Under Melville's tenure, National Geographic also began to branch out from land expeditions to cover investigations into space and the deep sea. The National Geographic Society began in 1888, with its founding as a small association of professional geographers and interested laymen. The Bell family helped the society to become the world's largest private scientific and educational institution.
Melville expanded the scope of the society's operations, branching into the production of documentaries bearing the National Geographic name, which began airing on television. Four of these were produced per year. Among the features produced during Melville's presidency, were documentaries covering the first American expedition to Mount Everest and Jacques Cousteau's underwater exploits.