The Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 with the name Geographical Society of London for the advancement
of geographical science, under the patronage of King William IV. It
absorbed the 'Association for Promoting the Discovery of the Interior Parts of Africa' (founded by Sir Joseph Banks in 1788), the Raleigh Club and the Palestine Association. It was given a Royal charter by Queen Victoria in 1859.
History
Founder members of the Society include Sir John Barrow, Sir
John Franklin and Francis Beaufort. It has been
a key associate and supporter of many famous explorers and expeditions, including those of:
From the middle of the 19th Century until the end of World War I, expeditions sponsored by the Royal Geographical Society were
frequently front page news, and the opinions of its president and board members would be avidly sought by journalists and
editors.
Today the Society is a leading world centre for geographical learning - supporting education, teaching, research and
scientific expeditions, as well as promoting public understanding and enjoyment of geography. It is a member of the
Science Council. The society has merged with the Institute of British Geographers and is
properly known as the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers). The main offices of the Society are
at Lowther Lodge in Kensington, in London.
Governance and Past Presidents
Council
The Society is governed by its Board of trustees called the Council, which is chaired by its
President. The members of Council and the President are elected from its Fellowship. The
council consists of 25 members, 22 of which are elected by Fellows and serve for a three year
term. In addition to the elected trustees there are Honorary Members (who include the
Duke of Kent as Honorary President) who sit on the council.
Committees
The society has five specialist committees that it derives advice from
- Education Committee
- Research Committee
- Expedition and Fieldwork Committee
- Information Resources Committee
- Finance Committee
Selected List of Past Presidents
Membership
There are four categories of individual membership:
Ordinary Membership
Anyone with an interest in Geography is eligible to apply to become a member of the RGS.
Young Geographer
People aged between 14 and 24 currently studying, a recent graduate of geography or a related subject.
Fellowship
Fellowship of the Society is conferred to anyone over the age of 21 who has been an Ordinary member of the society for five
previous years and/or has an involvement with geography (through research, publication, profession etc) and must be proposed and
seconded by existing Fellows. Fellows are granted the use of the post-nominal
FRGS.
Postgraduate Fellow of the Society
Is open to anyone who is a postgraduate student in Geography or an allied subject at a United Kingdom university.
Chartered Geographer
Since 2002 the Society has been granted the power to award the status of Chartered Geographer. The status of Chartered
Geographer can only be obtained by those who have a degree in geography or related subject and at least 6 years geographical
experience, or 15 years geographical work experience for those without a degree. Being awarded the status of Chartered Geographer
allows the use of the post-nominal letters C Geog and is evidence of a commitment to continuing professional development and the
highest professional standards. For further details on how to apply please visit[1]
Chartered Geographer (Teacher) is a professional accreditation available to teachers who can demonstrate competence,
experience and professionalism in the use of geographical knowledge or skills in and out of the classroom, and who are committed
to maintaining their professional standards through ongoing continuing professional development (CPD). For more information visit
[2]
Research Group
The society is not only a learned body but also carries out research in the following research groups.
Awards and Grants
The society also presents many awards to geographers that have contributed to the
advancement of geography.
The most prestigious of these awards are the Gold Medals (Founder's Medal
1830 and the Patron's Medal 1838). The award is given for "the
encouragement and promotion of geographical science and discovery", and are approved by Queen Elizabeth II. The awards originated as an annual gift of fifty guineas from King William IV, first made
in 1831, "to constitute a premium for the encouragement and promotion of geographical science and
discovery". The Society decided in 1839 to change this monetary award into two gold medals:
Founder’s Medal and the Patron’s. The award has been given to notable geographers including David Livingstone (1855), Baron Ferdinand von
Richthofen (1878), Alfred Russel Wallace (1892), and Frederick Courtney Selous (1893) to more recent winners including Professor William Morris Davis (1919), Sir Halford John
Mackinder (1945), Professor Richard Chorley (1987) and Professor David Harvey (1995). In 2004 Harish Kapadia was awarded the
Patron's Medal for contributions to geographical discovery and mountaineering in the Himalayas, making him the second Indian to
receive the award in its history. In 2005 the Founder's Medal was awarded to Professor Sir Nicholas
Shakleton for his research in the field of Quaternary Paleoclimatology and the Patron's Medal was awarded to Professor Jean Malaurie for a lifelong study of
the Arctic and its people.
In total the society awards 17 medals and awards including
Honorary Membership and Fellowships. Some of the other awards given by the Society include:
- The Victoria Medal (1902) for "conspicuous merit in research in Geography"
- The Murchsion Award (1882) for the "publication judged to contribute most to geographical science in preceding recent
years"
- The Cuthbert Peak Award (1883) for "those advancing geographical knowledge of human impact on the environment through the
application of contemporary methods, including those of earth observation and mapping"
- The Edward Heath Award (1984) for "for geographical research in either Europe or the
developing world"
The society also offers 16 grants for various purposes ranging from established
researcher grants to expedition and fieldwork teams to photography and media grants. The Ralph Brown and the Gilchrist Fieldwork grants are the largest grants
awarded by the society each worth £15,000.
See also
|
Presidents of the Royal Geographical
Society |
19th Century: Viscount Goderich · George Murray · Sir John Barrow, 1st Baronet · William Richard Hamilton · George Bellas Greenough · Roderick Murchison · Lord Colchester · W. J. Hamilton · William Henry Smyth · Roderick Murchison · Earl of Ellesmere · Frederick William Beechey · Roderick Murchison · Baron Ashburton · Roderick Murchison · Sir Henry Rawlinson, 1st
Baronet · Henry Bartle
Frere · Sir Henry
Rawlinson, 1st Baronet · Rutherford
Alcock · Thomas
Baring, 1st Earl of Northbrook · Henry Bruce, 1st Baron Aberdare ·
Marquis of Lorne ·
Richard Strachey · Mountstuart Elphinstone Grant Duff ·
Sir Clements Robert Markham ·
20th Century: George Taubman Goldie · Leonard Darwin · George Curzon, 1st Marquess
Curzon of Kedleston · Douglas
Freshfield · Leonard
Darwin · Thomas Holdich · Francis Younghusband · Earl of
Ronaldshay · David George
Hogarth · Charles Close · William Goodenough · Percy Zachariah Cox · Henry Balfour ·
Philip Chetwode, 1st Baron Chetwode · George Clark ·
Francis Rodd, 2nd Baron Rennell · Harry Lindsay ·
James Wordie · James
Marshall-Cornwall · Lord Nathan · Raymond Priestley · Dudley Stamp ·
Gilbert Laithwaite · Edmund
Irving · Edward
Shackleton, Baron Shackleton · Duncan
Cumming · Lord Hunt · Michael Wise · Vivian Fuchs · George Bishop ·
Roger Chorley, 2nd Baron Chorley · Crispin Tickell · George Jellicoe, 2nd Earl
Jellicoe · John Palmer,
4th Earl of Selborne ·
21st Century: Ronald Urwick Cooke ·
Neil Cossons · Gordon Conway ·
|
Further reading
- Royal Geographical Society Expedition Handbook. Profile Books Ltd, 2004. ISBN 1-86197-044-7
- To the Ends of the Earth: Visions of a Changing World. 175 Years of the Royal Geographical Society. Bloomsbury, 2005.
ISBN 0-7475-8138-X
External links
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