Horace M. Albright | |
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| 2ndDirector of the National Park Service | |
| In office January 12, 1929 – August 9, 1933 | |
| President | Calvin Coolidge Herbert Hoover Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| Preceded by | Stephen Mather |
| Succeeded by | Arno B. Cammerer |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1890-01-06)January 6, 1890 Bishop, California, U.S. |
| Died | March 28, 1987(1987-03-28) (aged 97) Van Nuys, California, U.S. |
| Spouse | Grace Noble |
| Children | 2 |
| Occupation | Conservationist |
| Awards |
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Horace Marden Albright (January 6, 1890 – March 28, 1987) was an Americanconservationist and the seconddirector of the National Park Service.
Horace Albright was born in 1890 inBishop, California, the son of George Albright, a miner. He graduated from theUniversity of California, Berkeley in 1912, and earned a law degree fromGeorgetown University in 1914.[2] Albright married his college classmate Grace Noble and they had two children.
After graduation, he worked for theDepartment of the Interior inWashington, D.C. Albright worked as a lawyer until being introduced toStephen Mather who took him on as an assistant.[3][4] When Mather became Assistant Secretary in charge of the national parks, Albright assisted Mather when theNational Park Service (NPS) was established in 1916.[3] As legal assistant, he helped acquire land for several new national parks in the east. After the first year and a half of being a part of the newly created park service, Albright created a list of management polices that were looked over by a wide group of people including conservationists which was sent to NPS director Mather byFranklin Lane in what is called the "Lane Letter".When Mather became ill, Albright managed the NPS as acting director.[5]
In the early years of the national parks idea, Horace Albright and Stephen Mather focused on getting people to come to the parks which influenced Albright's policies related to the preservation and use of the parks.[6][3] Together, they also pushed for expanded park boundaries to accommodate more wildlife habitat and, in the case ofYellowstone National Park, added the Grand Teton mountain range as a visitor attraction to complementYellowstone National Park.[6][3]
He later served as superintendent ofYellowstone National Park from 1919 to 1929. He viewed Yellowstone as the flagship of theNational Park Service and worked to make it a model for park management. During his tenure, he established visitor services and park museums, which became foundational elements of theNational Park Service. His leadership in Yellowstone set standards that influenced the management of other national parks. In the early years of being superintendent, Albright would get the support ofJohn D. Rockefeller Jr. who bought land around the Teton Mountain range to preserve it and eventually make a park.[3] He would also be a key person who helped preserve the culture and lands of Jackson Hole town which helped the community support the creation of the Grand Teton park idea.[3]
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For a short time he served as superintendent ofYosemite National Park. On October 18, 1922, he was elected Associate Member of theBoone and Crockett Club, a wildlife conservation organization founded byTheodore Roosevelt andGeorge Bird Grinnell, in 1887.
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On January 12, 1929, Albright succeeded Mather as the second director of the NPS and held the post until August 9, 1933. As the new director of the NPS, Albright advocated that the preservation of animals should still have ways in which to make interactions with the visitors possible.[5] This view was opposed by many biologists such asGeorge Melendez Wright atYellowstone National Park, where this practice had animals such as bison being seen as more of a tourist attraction compared to the other wildlife at the park.[5] Albright would continue to put visitor use over biological concerns when they came up as he saw the parks being more for the people rather than the animals both during his time as director and after.[5]
Albright was instrumental in transferring historical sites and military parks from theWar Department to theInterior Department with theNational Park Service.[7] He did this by saying that the NPS had more administrative freedom than the War Department and that they were more accustomed to doing interpretation and educational work.[7] This move broadened the agency's mission to include cultural and historical preservation alongside natural conservation.[8]
Along with adding historical military sites, Albright also helped create and develop a history program for the National Park Service.[4] Starting with Verne. E. Chatelain, one of the achievements being the creation of the national historical park at Morristown. Additionally, the first Branch of Research and Education was created under Albright to help collect data about the various wildlife and natural resources in order to develop facilities to educate visitors and expand the known knowledge of the park.[6] In 1931, Albright decided to place a limit on overnight visitors to facilities located in the Giant Forest inSequoia National Park which added preservation concerns alongside the tourism concerns.[6]
During his time as Director of the National Parks, Albright was instrumental in adding new national parks such as theEverglades,Great Smoky Mountains, and theGrand Tetons.[2] When Albright was invited in 1930 to the Everglades to see the place that different groups of people wanted to either preserve or destroy, he decided at the end of the trip to put forth the concept of it becoming a national park although it would take a few years.[3]
After leaving the National Park Service in 1933, he next worked for theU.S. Potash Corporation andU.S. Borax and Chemical Corporation, serving variously as director, vice president, and general manager.[2] During this time, the Albrights lived inNew Rochelle, New York. In 1937, Albright's portrait was painted by artistHerbert A. Collins.[8] Albright retired from the U.S Potash Corporation in 1965, but continued to engage in both conservation and national parks issues.[2]
Albright died of heart failure at age 97 inVan Nuys, California, in 1987.[2][9]
In 1969, Albright received theNational Audubon Society's highest honor, the Audubon Medal.[10]
On the 64th anniversary of the National Park Service, Albright was honored with the nation's highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. PresidentJimmy Carter announced the award in August 1980, and Assistant Secretary of the Interior Robert L. Herbst presented it during a ceremony held in Van Nuys, California, on December 8th of that year.[11]
Albright Grove, a grove of old-growth hemlocks and tulip poplars located in theGreat Smoky Mountains National Park, was named in Albright's honor.[12] The Albright Training Center atGrand Canyon National Park, the Albright Visitor Center atYellowstone National Park, andAlbright Peak inGrand Teton National Park also bear his name.
Horace Marden Albright, a conservationist who was a co-founder and second director of the National Park Service, died of heart failure early yesterday at a convalescent home in Los Angeles. He was 97 years old.
| Government offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Director of the National Park Service 1929–1933 | Succeeded by |
Yellowstone National Park – history and people | ||
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Historic events and personalities fromYellowstone National Park | ||
| Expeditions |  | |
| Explorers | ||
| Photographers, artists and illustrators | ||
| Park management | ||
| Military administration | ||
| Events | ||
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| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
