Horace Marden Albright

Horace Marden Albright (January 6, 1890 – March 28, 1987) was an American 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. When Mather became Assistant Secretary in charge of the national parks, Albright assisted Mather when the National Park Service (NPS) was established in 1916.

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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Albright retired from the U.S Potash Corporation in 1965, but continued to engage in both conservation and national parks issues.

Albright died of heart failure at age 97 in Van Nuys, California, in 1987. At the time of his death, he was the last surviving member of the group that first founded the National Park Service.

Legacy In 1969, Albright received the National Audubon Society's highest honor, the Audubon Medal, which recognized his lifelong contribution to conservation and the National Park Movement

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.

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. 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.