Herbert Adams Gibbons Peary, and Gutzon Borglum (the sculptor of Mt. Rushmore). Gibbons attended the 17th annual dinner of the group in 1920. Gibbons is an important eyewitness to the Armenian Genocide and the Greek Genocide. Both events occurred in isolated regions at a time when few western observers were present. The contemporaneous reports that Gibbons made to western news organizations concerning these massacres helped corroborate and document these events for present-day scholars. According to the "New York Times", "the career of Dr. Gibbons was one of high adventure. He traveled to remote corners of the world to gain first hand information on
Gutzon Borglum Rushmore project, 1927–1941, was the brainchild of South Dakota state historian Doane Robinson. His first attempt with the face of Thomas Jefferson was blown up after two years. Dynamite was also used to remove large areas of rock from under Washington's brow. The initial pair of presidents, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson was soon joined by Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. Ivan Houser, father of John Sherrill Houser, was assistant sculptor to Gutzon Borglum in the early years of carving; he began working with Borglum shortly after the inception of the monument and was with Borglum for a total of