Stephen Tyng Mather
American businessman and conservationist (1867-1930) · United States · On the map · Journalists · Died at 62
Stephen Tyng Mather was an American industrialist and conservationist who was the first director of the National Park Service. As president and owner of Thorkildsen-Mather Borax Company he became a millionaire.
Stephen Tyng Mather is read about 34 times a day, in 8 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 9 October 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 120 days, one point a day.
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Photos 3
Mather Mountain Party, 1915
Mather Memorial Plaque at Zion National Park - "He laid the foundation of the National Park Service, defining and establishing the policies under which its areas shall be developed and conserved unimpaired for future generations. There will never come an end to the good that he has done." (Other plaques located at many NPS sites.)Awards
About this person
Along with journalist Robert Sterling Yard, Mather led a publicity campaign known as the Mather Mountain Party to promote the creation of a unified federal agency to oversee National Parks administration, which was established in 1916. In 1917, Mather was appointed to lead the NPS, the new agency created within the Department of the Interior. He served until 1929, during which time Mather created a professional civil service organization, increased the numbers of parks and national monuments, and established systematic criteria for adding new properties to the federal system.
