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
Needles (Black Hills) location was rejected by the sculptor Gutzon Borglum owing to the poor quality of the granite and the fact that they were too thin to support the sculptures. The Needles attract approximately 300,000 people annually. The area has a rich history of bold climbing by greatest climbers of their era, and has long been known for its purist ethics. In 1936 Fritz Wiessner climbed the "Totem Pole" and in 1937 "Khayyam Spire" with Bill House and Lawrence Coveney. In 1947 Jan and Herb Conn moved to the area and over the next couple decades put up over 220 first ascents.