George F. Pierrot was born January 11, 1898, in Chicago Illinois. The family moved to Ballard, Washington, a suburb of Seattle. His father, a physician and surgeon kept him out of school until he was eight years of age, although he was taught to read at five. He entered public school in the third grade, skipped another grade, and entered high school at twelve. There he debated for three years, leading the state team in his senior year. He was also class president, and editor of the school paper for two terms. He finished at the head of his class, and was chosen valedictorian. He took a year off before entering the University of Washington in Seattle, where he majored in Journalism, with English as a minor. His grades were of Phi-Beta-Kappa average until the middle of his junior year, when he started to cover the campus for the Seattle Times, and had his study time broken. His summers were spent working in salmon canneries in Alaska. After the summer following his junior year in 1918, he joined the Army, and was sent to officers training School. The Armistice came six weeks before he was to receive his commission. Not wanting to return home so soon, he and a friend embarked on a "Work your way around America expedition", ending up in Washington D.C. There they applied for a job on the Coast and Geodetic Survey's flagship "Surveyor". The ship sailed out of Norfolk, Virginia, for Alaska via the Panama Canal. He left the ship in Seattle in late June, 1919. That fall he returned to the University of Washington to receive his degree the following year. He subsequently worked at many writing jobs. In May of 1922 he accepted a position in Detroit, Michigan, as assistant managing editor of the American Boy Magazine. He later became managing editor. In 1933, while still editor of American Boy, he organized the World Adventure Series, a civic non profit illustrated lecture series at the Detroit Institute of Arts. This brought to Detroit the world's leading explorers, adventurers, and travelers. He thus built an enormous circle of friends in the travel-adventure field. In 1948 he was asked to present the World Adventure Series on TV, launching another facet of his career. He became very active in civic activities, various fraternities, and f clubs. He was instrumental in forming the Michigan Chapter of the Circumnavigators Club. His TV presentations ended in 1978. He retired from the World Adventure Series in 1979, and died February 16, 1980.
From the description of George F. Pierrot papers, 1898-1980 (Detroit Public Library). WorldCat record id: 645453182
