John Heminway

John Hylan Heminway, Jr. (born 1944) is an American filmmaker, author, and conservationist who traveled the globe for his films, photography, and novels, many of which focus on the natural world.

Early life John Heminway was born in 1944 in New York City to John Hyland Heminway, Sr. and Jane Johnson, where he attended the Buckley School until age 9. He then spent three years at le Rosey in Switzerland and returned to the United States to complete his schooling at St. Mark’s School. Following his graduation, Heminway made his way to Africa, a continent he loved from his first journey on through the rest of his life. Since 1960, he has returned nearly every year to Africa.

Film Heminway began his film career in 1968 writing for the ABC program The American Sportsman, a popular sports broadcast that covered “movie stars and celebrated athletes hunting and fishing around the world." In 1990, African Journeys: A Personal Guidebook was published and reflects Heminway's research on the continent. One of his more prominent books, In Full Flight, which covers the history of famed "flying doctor" Anne Spoerry and her wartime activities in Nazi Germany, was covered by CNN.

Heminway has also written for a variety of newspapers and magazines, including New York Times, Reader's Digest, Condé Nast Traveler, Travel & Leisure and National Geographic Adventure.

Work in conservation Heminway served on the boards of Trout Unlimited, White Oak Conservation Center, Tusk USA, Elephant Family USA, the American Prairie Foundation, and the African Wildlife Foundation, where he was chairman for nine years,

Personal life In 1999, John married Kathryn Wilmerding, The International Wildlife Film Festival gave him a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015 for “his contributions to wildlife filmmaking.

Hemingway earned “two Emmys, [two of] the George F. Peabody Award and Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University Award for Broadcast Journalism, as well as a Telly, a Ciné Golden Eagle, [and] a Christopher” as well as several awards at the International Wildlife Film festival s. “Battle for the Elephants” won Best Conservation Film at the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival, and “Warlords of Ivory” was honored in a special ceremony at the United Nations.

In 2020, Archives and Special Collections at Montana State University Library received Heminway’s papers.

Later years Heminway and his family moved to Bozeman, Montana in 2005, where they currently live. He serves as an adjunct lecturer with Montana State University’s School of Film and Photography and supports MSU’s chapter of Engineers Without Borders. He is also a member of the Directors Guild of America, the Writers Guild of America, the Explorers’ Club and the Royal Geographical Society.

Publications Heminway, John Hylan. The Imminent Rains; a Visit among the Last Pioneers of Africa. 1st Ed.]. ed. Boston: Little, Brown, 1968. Heminway, John Hylan. 1984. No man's land: the last of white Africa. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. Heminway, John Hylan. Winold Reiss. S.l.]: Smithsonian Magazine, 1989. Heminway, John Hylan. 1990. African journeys: a personal guidebook. New York, NY: Warner Books. Heminway, John Hylan. Yonder : A Place in Montana. Washington, D.C.: Adventure Press/National Geographic, 2000. Heminway, John Hylan. 2006. Disney magic: the launching of a dream. New York: Disney Editions. Heminway, John Hylan. In Full Flight : A Story of Africa and Atonement, 2018.