1001 People Who Made America - Alan Axelrod [51]
Greenough, Horatio (1805–1852) Greenough contributed two things to American art and culture. The first was his monumental neoclassical sculpture of George Washington—the first work of art commissioned by the federal government (1832)—which is now at the National Museum of Art in Washington, D.C. The second was his groundbreaking writing on aesthetic theory, in which he set out the relationship between architecture and decoration, proposing that “form follows function.” Although articulated before the mid 19th century, this became the basis of Functionalism, the ideal on which so much modern architecture and industrial design is based.
Gregory, Dick (1932– ) Born Richard Claxton in St. Louis, Gregory rose from the ghetto to become a nationally successful comic in the 1960s, who delivered biting satire targeted against racial prejudice. His comedy added a new dimension to the Civil Rights movement, raising the consciousness of black as well as white Americans. By the 1980s, Gregory had left the comic stage and became an entrepreneur in the field of nutrition.
Griffith, D. W. (1875–1948) Often judged the first great genius of American film direction, Griffith pioneered many of the staple techniques of modern film making, including the use of dramatic camera angles, camera movement, lighting effects, and, most of all, effective pacing and storytelling through skillful editing. His masterpiece, the 1915 epic Birth of a Nation, was both praised for its ambition and artistry and condemned for its racist vision of the Civil War and its aftermath.
Grimké, Sarah and Angelina (1792–1873 and 1805–1879) The Grimké sisters were born in South Carolina and knew the evils of slavery first hand. They left the South, settled in Philadelphia, became Quakers, and worked with abolitionist leader William Lloyd Garrison in the campaign against slavery. Angelina Grimké wrote an Appeal to the Christian Women of the South in 1836, urging southern women to help persuade their men to end slavery. Soon after, Sarah Grimké wrote An Epistle to the Clergy of the Southern States. The sisters lectured nationwide and attempted to unite the cause of women’s rights with the struggle against slavery.
Grinnell, George Bird (1849–1938) In its obituary, The New York Times called Grinnell the “father of American conservation.” Born in Brooklyn and educated at Yale (from which he earned a Ph.D. in paleontology), he served as a naturalist on a number of western expeditions and was the natural history editor, then publisher-owner, of Field and Stream, which he used to conduct a series of pioneering conservation campaigns that promoted the protection of Yellowstone National Park and moved Congress to create Glacier National Park. Grinnell founded the first Audubon Society and was a founder (with Theodore Roosevelt and others) of the Boone and Crockett Club. Grinnell was also a renowned student and historian of the Plains Indians.
Grosvenor, Gilbert H. (1875–1966) Hired by Alexander Graham Bell as an editorial assistant on the magazine of the National Geographic Society (of which Bell was president), Grosvenor became its editor, transforming it from a modest scholarly journal (circulation 900) into a popular illustrated magazine that reached some 2,000,000 subscribers. Elected president of the Society in 1920, Grosvenor was responsible for mounting many major geographical expeditions throughout the world. The National Geographic Society and its magazine became celebrated American institutions.
Groves, Leslie R. (1896–1970) Groves was an officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In 1940, he was put in charge of building the Pentagon,