Stephen Mather (1867–1930) was manic-depressive, self-made American millionaire who took it upon himself to build the National Parks system.
… Beginning in 1913, when Mather wrote to the Secretary of the Interior, Franklin K. Lane, and deplored the state of the parks, he began building support for better management of the system by the federal government. In 1915, Lane appointed Mather as his assistant to work on the parks issues …
In fact, Lane told him that if he didn’t like the parks, to come to Washington and fix them himself.
Mather did, originally agreeing to stay only 1yr.
It became his life’s work.
Though he’s celebrated in every Park, I only learned of Mather in The National Parks: America’s Best Idea by Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns.
That’s the book, not the DVDs.
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