{{Short description|American conservationist (1890-1987)}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Horace M. Albright | image = Horace M. Albright.jpg | office = 2nd [[Director of the National Park Service]] | president = [[Calvin Coolidge]]<br />[[Herbert Hoover]]<br />[[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] | term_start = January 12, 1929 | term_end = August 9, 1933 | predecessor = [[Stephen Mather]] | successor = [[Arno B. Cammerer]] | birth_date = {{birth date|1890|1|6}} | birth_place = [[Bishop, California]], U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|1987|3|28|1890|1|6}} | death_place = [[Van Nuys, California]], U.S. | occupation = Conservationist | spouse = Grace Noble | parents = | children = 2 | awards = {{ubl|Audubon Medal|Berkeley Citation<ref>{{cite web | url=https://awards.berkeley.edu/berkeley-citation/recipients | title=Berkeley Citation – Past Recipients | Berkeley Awards}}</ref>|[[Presidential Medal of Freedom]]}} }}
[[Image:Horace colorized.png|thumb|Albright enjoys a "bear dinner", [[Yellowstone National Park]], 1922|259x259px]] '''Horace Marden Albright''' (January 6, 1890 – March 28, 1987) was an American [[Conservation movement|conservationist]] and the second [[director of the National Park Service]]. He played a key role in shaping the early National Park System and expanding its mission to include the preservation of historic sites.
== Early life and education == Horace Albright was born in 1890 in [[Bishop, California]], the son of George Albright, a miner. He graduated from the [[University of California, Berkeley]] in 1912, and earned a law degree from [[Georgetown University]] in 1914.<ref name=":4" /> Albright married his college classmate Grace Noble and they had two children.
== Early career == After graduation, he worked for the [[Department of the Interior]] in [[Washington, D.C.]] Albright worked as a lawyer until being introduced to [[Stephen Mather]] who took him on as an assistant.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3">Bearss, Edwin C. (1987). "The National Park Service and Its History Program: 1864-1986: An Overview". ''The Public Historian''. '''9''' (2): 10–18. {{doi|10.2307/3377327}} {{ISSN|0272-3433}}.</ref> When Mather became Assistant Secretary in charge of the national parks, Albright assisted Mather when the [[National Park Service]] (NPS) was established in 1916.<ref name=":1" /> 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 by [[Franklin Knight Lane|Franklin Lane]] in what is called the "Lane Letter". When [[Stephen Mather|Mather]] suffered a nervous breakdown in 1917, Albright served as acting director of the [[National Park Service|NPS]] and managed its operations during his recovery.<ref name=":22">Sellars, Richard West (2009). ''Preserving nature in the national parks: a history: with a new preface and epilogue''(New ed.). New Haven: Yale University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-300-15414-6}}</ref><ref name=":12">{{Cite web |title=Stephen Tyng Mather (U.S. National Park Service) |url=https://www.nps.gov/people/stephen-tyng-mather.htm |access-date=2025-11-07 |website=www.nps.gov |language=en}}</ref>
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.<ref name=":0">Keiter, Robert B. (2013). ''To conserve unimpaired: the evolution of the national park idea''. Washington: Island press. {{ISBN|978-1-59726-659-8}}.</ref><ref name=":1" /> Together, they also pushed for expanded park boundaries to accommodate more wildlife habitat and, in the case of [[Yellowstone National Park]], added the Grand Teton mountain range as a visitor attraction to complement [[Yellowstone National Park]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />
He later served as superintendent of [[Yellowstone National Park]] from 1919 to 1929. He viewed Yellowstone as the flagship of the [[National 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 the [[National 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 of [[John D. Rockefeller Jr.]] who bought land around the Teton Mountain range to preserve it and eventually make a park.<ref name=":1">Runte, Alfred (2022). ''National parks: the American experience'' (Fifth edition ed.). Guilford, Connecticut: Lyons Press. {{ISBN|978-1-4930-6182-2}}. {{OCLC|1225067711}}.</ref> 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.<ref name=":1" /> [[File:Yellowstone Superintendent Horace Albright (7e029ce55a7b4dcb9cc37917dbf9a022).jpg|thumb|Horace Albright as Superintendent of Yellowstone ]] For a short time he served as superintendent of [[Yosemite National Park]]. On October 18, 1922, he was elected Associate Member of the [[Boone and Crockett Club]], a wildlife conservation organization founded by [[Theodore Roosevelt]] and [[George Bird Grinnell]], in 1887. [[File:Haynes new guide and motorists' complete road log of Yellowstone National Park (1922) (14594714147).jpg|left|thumb|Horace M. Albright, Superintendent of Yellowstone, 1922|260x260px]]
== Director of NPS == 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.<ref name=":2">Sellars, Richard West (2009). ''Preserving nature in the national parks: a history: with a new preface and epilogue''(New ed.). New Haven: Yale University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-300-15414-6}}</ref> This view was opposed by many biologists such as [[George Melendez Wright]] at [[Yellowstone 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.<ref name=":2" /> 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.<ref name=":2" />
Albright was instrumental in transferring historical sites and military parks from the [[United States Department of War|War Department]] to the [[United States Department of the Interior|Interior Department]] with the [[National Park Service]].<ref name=":32">Bearss, Edwin C. (1987). "The National Park Service and Its History Program: 1864-1986: An Overview". ''The Public Historian''. '''9''' (2): 10–18. [[Doi (identifier)|doi]]:10.2307/3377327. [[ISSN (identifier)|ISSN]] 0272-3433.</ref> 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.<ref name=":32" /> This move broadened the agency's mission to include cultural and historical preservation alongside natural conservation.<ref name="AWCbio" /> Along with adding historical military sites, Albright also helped create and develop a history program for the [[National Park Service]].<ref name=":34">Bearss, Edwin C. (1987). "The National Park Service and Its History Program: 1864-1986: An Overview". ''The Public Historian''. '''9''' (2): 10–18. {{doi|10.2307/3377327}} {{ISSN|0272-3433}}.</ref> He appointed Verne E. Chatelain as the service's first Chief Historian, and one of their early achievements was establishing 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.<ref name=":0" /> In 1931, Albright decided to place a limit on overnight visitors to facilities located in the Giant Forest in [[Sequoia National Park]] which added preservation concerns alongside the tourism concerns.<ref name=":0" />
During his time as Director of the National Parks, Albright was instrumental in adding new national parks such as the [[Everglades National Park|Everglades]], [[Great Smoky Mountains National Park|Great Smoky Mountains]], and the [[Grand Teton National Park|Grand Tetons]].<ref name=":4" /> 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.<ref name=":1" />
== Late Life == After leaving the National Park Service in 1933, he next worked for the [[U.S. Potash Corporation]] and [[U.S. Borax|U.S. Borax and Chemical Corporation]], serving variously as director, vice president, and general manager.<ref name=":4" /> During this time, the Albrights lived in [[New Rochelle, New York]]. In 1937, Albright's portrait was painted by artist [[Herbert A. Collins]].<ref name="AWCbio">Biography of Herbert Alexander Collins, by Alfred W. Collins, February 1975, 4 pages typed, in the possession of Collins' great-great grand-daughter, D. Dahl of Tacoma, WA.</ref> Albright retired from the U.S Potash Corporation in 1965, but continued to engage in both conservation and national parks issues.<ref name=":4" /> [[File:HFCA 1607 NPS 1972 Centennial, NBC Today Show 043.jpg (c2794782f76e4763b986d35fb4bf57f3).jpg|thumb|264x264px|Horace Albright on the 1972 Centennial NBC Today Show]] Albright was friends with many [[U.S. presidents|U.S presidents.]] He worked to expedite the signing of the 1916 National Park Service Act by President [[Woodrow Wilson]]. In 1985, President [[Ronald Reagan]] sent Albright a congratulatory cable for his contributions to conservation and the [[National Park Service|National Parks Service]]<ref name=":02">{{Cite news |last=Sidey |first=H |title=The Presidency Present at the Preservation |url=https://research.ebsco.com/c/pnqjwk/viewer/html/7ry7erk7ln |access-date= |work=TIME Magazine |pages=}}</ref>
Albright died of heart failure at age 97 in [[Van Nuys, California]], in 1987.<ref name=":4">{{cite news |title=Horace Albright Dies. Founded Park Service |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/03/29/obituaries/horace-albright-dies-founded-park-service.html |quote=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. |work=[[New York Times]] |date=March 29, 1987 |access-date=2009-09-30 }}</ref><ref>Schaffer, Jeffrey (Spring 1987). "National Park Service Co-founder Dies" (PDF). ''[[Yosemite]]''. '''49''' (2): 4. https://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/yosemite/49-2.pdf</ref> At the time of his death, he was the last surviving member of the group that first founded the [[National Park Service]].<ref name=":42">{{cite news |date=March 29, 1987 |title=Horace Albright Dies. Founded Park Service |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/03/29/obituaries/horace-albright-dies-founded-park-service.html |access-date=2009-09-30 |work=[[New York Times]] |quote=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.}}</ref>
== Legacy == In 1969, Albright received the [[National Audubon Society]]'s highest honor, the Audubon Medal,<ref>{{Cite web|date=2015-01-09|title=Previous Audubon Medal Awardees|url=https://www.audubon.org/previous-audubon-medal-awardees|access-date=2020-07-12|website=Audubon|language=en}}</ref> which recognized his lifelong contribution to conservation and the National Park Movement<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-01-09 |title=Previous Audubon Medal Awardees |url=https://www.audubon.org/previous-audubon-medal-awardees |access-date=2020-07-12 |website=Audubon |language=en}}</ref>
On the 64th anniversary of the National Park Service, Albright was honored with the nation's highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. President [[Jimmy 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.<ref>{{cite web |title=About Horace M. Albright |url=https://nature.berkeley.edu/albright/lecture-archive |access-date=2020-12-02 |website=UC Berkeley Rausser College of Natural Resources}}</ref> [[File:Albert Bierstadt - Laramie Peak - 1976-3 - Albright–Knox Art Gallery.tiff|thumb|Albright Peak Grand Tetons National Park ]] Albright Grove, a grove of old-growth hemlocks and tulip poplars located in the [[Great Smoky Mountains National Park]], was named in Albright's honor.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mysmokymountainvacation.com/albright-grove-trail.html |title=Albright Grove Trail - Maddron Bald Loop Trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park |publisher=Mysmokymountainvacation.com |access-date=2013-06-19}}</ref> The Albright Training Center at [[Grand Canyon National Park]], the Albright Visitor Center at [[Yellowstone National Park]], and [[Albright Peak]] in [[Grand Teton National Park]] also bear his name.
== References == {{reflist}}
==Further reading== * Becher, Anne, and Joseph Richey, ''American Environmental Leaders: From Colonial Times to the Present'' (2 vol, 2nd ed. 2008) [https://archive.org/details/americanenvironm0001bech vol 1 online] p. 15. * [[Donald C. Swain|Swain, Donald C.]] "Harold Ickes, Horace Albright, and the Hundred Days: A Study in Conservation Administration." ''Pacific Historical Review'' 34.4 (1965): 455–465. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/3636355 online] * [[Donald C. Swain|Swain, Donald C.]] "The Passage of the National Park Service Act of 1916." ''Wisconsin Magazine of History'' (1966): 4–17. [http://www.jstor.org/stable/4634200 online] * [[Donald C. Swain|Swain, Donald C.]] ''Wilderness defender; Horace M. Albright and conservation'' (U of Chicago Press, 1970) [https://archive.org/details/wildernessdefend0000swai/page/n8/mode/1up online] * [[Donald C. Swain|Swain, Donald C.]] "The National Park Service and the New Deal, 1933-1940." ''Pacific Historical Review'' 41.3 (1972): 312–332. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/3637861 online] ===Primary sources===
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20031026231327/http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/albright2/ ''Creating the National Park Service: The Missing Years'' by Horace M. Albright and Marian Albright Schenck (Univ. of Oklahoma Press, 1999)] Memoirs about creating the NPS written with the assistance of Albright's daughter *Albright, Horace M. as told to Robert Cahn; ''The Birth of the National Park Service; The Founding Years, 1913–33''; Howe Brothers, Salt Lake City, Utah; 1985.
== External links == * {{Internet Archive author |sname=Horace M. Albright}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070513011930/http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/sontag/albright.htm National Park Service Biography] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20060309092048/http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/albright3/ ''"Oh, Ranger!"'' by Horace M. Albright and Frank J. Taylor (1928, 1929, 1934, 1972)]. Whimsical look at managing the National parks *[https://archive.org/stream/mininglawyerexec00albrrich/mininglawyerexec00albrrich_djvu.txt Horace M. Albright, Mining Lawyer and Executive]. 1986 interview, Oral History Office, University of California, Berkeley. Accessed 8/16/2017
{{s-start}} {{s-gov}} {{succession box|before=[[Stephen Mather]]|title=[[Director of the National Park Service]]|years=1929–1933|after=[[Arno B. Cammerer]]}} {{s-end}} {{Directors of the National Park Service}} {{Yellowstone history}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Albright, Horace M.}} [[Category:1890 births]] [[Category:1987 deaths]] [[Category:People from Bishop, California]] [[Category:Activists from New Rochelle, New York]] [[Category:Directors of the National Park Service]] [[Category:Georgetown University Law Center alumni]] [[Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni]] [[Category:Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients]] [[Category:Sierra Club awardees]] [[Category:20th-century American people]]