Artists and Writers

Ansel Adams (1902–1984)

Episode(s): 5

With his breathtaking photographs and his work with the Sierra Club, Ansel Adams, a celebrated photographer from San Francisco, became an influential force in the designation of Kings Canyon as a national park.

Adams' 1938 book, Sierra Nevada: The John Muir Trail, captivated President Franklin Roosevelt after Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes showed it to the president. Roosevelt would not only designate Kings Canyon as a national park in 1940, but as a roadless park, leaving it completely undeveloped. Due to his handicap, Roosevelt's only access to the splendor of Kings Canyon would be through Adams' photography.

Adams' influence on the national parks was not limited to his efforts in Kings Canyon. His relationship with Ickes led to a contract with the Department of the Interior in 1941. Over the course of eight years, Adams traveled to every national park except the Everglades, capturing thousands of spectacular images for prominent display in Washington.

Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936)

Episode(s): 2
Associated Park(s): Yellowstone

British author Rudyard Kipling visited Yellowstone National Park in 1889. As a young writer on his first trip to the United States, Kipling played the tourist, traveling into the park on a guided tour with other visitors excited to see the park many referred to as "The Wonderland."

Kipling would later write popular poetry and such famed books as Jungle Book and Captains Courageous. In 1907, Kipling was the first English-speaking author to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.