It was the declaration of war in 1917 that initiated Lowell Thomas’s travels across the globe. He would document what was happening on the war front and report back to his fellow Americans to aid in the war effort. Though after a short period of time filming the war efforts, Thomas felt his work would be better suited elsewhere and after given the opportunity to capture the British war in Arabia, he gladly accepted. While on this trip he met General Edmund Allenby and T.E. Lawrence. He spent days with Lawrence, photographing and filming him - materials that would later be used in one of Thomas’s travelogues.

Afterwards, Thomas continued his travels to Burma, India, Malaya, Europe and Russia. All the while filming, and documenting each journey. Many of these trips were presented to the public via travelogue productions and books that Thomas wrote. In 1930 Thomas became a radio broadcaster, presenting ‘Lowell Thomas and the News’ for 46 years on NBC and CBS radio.

Later, in 1954, Thomas along with a group of investors purchased majority control of the Hudson Valley Broadcasting Company. In just a few short years the company became known as Capital Cities Communications. With the purchase of a television station in Albany, New York and several radio stations Capital Cities became a national company. During his time with Cap Cities, as it came to be known, Thomas produced a series of travelogues under the name of ‘High Adventures with Lowell Thomas’. Places such as Russia, Nepal, New Guinea and Africa were just some of the areas of focus.

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