National Geographic Boosts Geography

The National Geographic Society launched its 100th anniversary celebration today with a birthday gift to the nation--a $20-million educational foundation to combat “geographic illiteracy” among schoolchildren.

“There is no more fitting way to begin our second century than by providing a permanent base of support for our geography education activities,” said Gilbert Grosvenor, the president of the society.

A 1987 CBS affiliates survey of 5,000 high school seniors in seven major U.S. cities revealed that 25% of the students tested could not identify Mexico, America’s neighbor to the south, on a map.

A society spokeswoman said the survey showed that in Boston, 39% of the students surveyed could not name six New England states, and in Minneapolis-St. Paul, 53% of the youngsters surveyed could not name the planet’s continents.