Herbert Adams Gibbons

Herbert Adams Gibbons (April 8, 1880 – August 7, 1934) was an American journalist who wrote about international politics and European colonialism during the early 20th century. He is best known for his books, The New Map of Asia, The New Map of Africa, and The New Map of Europe.

Between 1908 and 1934, Gibbons was a foreign correspondent for several large New York newspapers. He was stationed in Greece, Spain, Turkey, Africa and China. His writings were syndicated in eighty newspapers in the United States.

Both Gibbons and his wife both saw the effects of the pre-World War I Armenian Genocide and Greek genocide events and are credited with saving many lives in 1909.

During the course of his career, Gibbons wrote more than two dozen books on international affairs and the shifting borders of the early 20th century. He lectured frequently about international politics, and was widely quoted in the media. Several of Gibbons' books are still in print today.

Gibbons spent his early career in Turkey, which was then part of the Ottoman Empire. He initially visited Turkey as a missionary. However, he was soon hired by the New York Herald Tribune, to serve as a correspondent.

In April 1909, Gibbons personally observed the Turkish attacks on Greeks and Armenians. He wrote a book about the Armenian Genocide entitled The Blackest Page in Modern History. His wife, Helen, also wrote about their experiences in Tarsus and Adana, and published a book, The Red Rugs of Tarsus, in 1917. From 1910 to 1913, while he was in Turkey, Gibbons also served as the Professor of History and Political Economy at Robert College in Istanbul.

Between 1917 and 1918, Gibbons served with the American Expeditionary Forces in France.

Between 1920 and 1931, he was a correspondent for various American magazines, sending dispatches from Europe, Asia, and Africa. In 1930, Gibbons was special correspondent for the New York Times in China and Manchuria.

In 1931, as part of a world tour, Gibbons was the first person to cross the continent of Africa—from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean—by means of rail. While in the Belgian Congo, Gibbons learned that a new rail line had just opened through Portuguese Angola. Gibbons was told that he was the first traveler to make the through trip. Gibbons made the complete trip across Africa – 3,500 miles – in nine days.

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