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Royal Geographical Society

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: British History

   CAPTION: Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British
   Geographers)

   Image:Rgs-ibg_logo.gif
   Established  1830
   Abbreviation RGS-IBG
      Patron    Queen Elizabeth II
    President   Sir Neil Cossons
     Location   Kensington, London, United Kingdom
     Members    13,300
      Income    £3.3 million
     Homepage   RGS IBG homepage

   The Royal Geographical Society is a 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:
   Statue of Shackleton outside the society headquarters
   Enlarge
   Statue of Shackleton outside the society headquarters
     * Charles Darwin
     * David Livingstone
     * Scott of the Antarctic
     * Richard Francis Burton
     * John Hanning Speke
     * Henry Morton Stanley
     * Ernest Shackleton

   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 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 Committe
     * Finance Committe

Fellows

   Fellows of the Society are conferred to anyone over the age of 21 who
   have served the society for five previous years and have an involvement
   with geography (through research, publication, profession etc) and must
   be proposed and second by existing Fellows. Fellows are granted the use
   of the post-nominal FRGS.

Chartered Geographer

   In recent years the Society has been granted the power to award the
   status of Chartered Geographer. The status of chartered geographer can
   only be obtained by present Fellows of the society who apply for the
   award and meet the criteria. Being awarded the status of Chartered
   Geographer allows the use of the post-nominal letters C.Geog.

   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

Selected List of Past Presidents

     * Viscount Goderich The Earl of Ripon (1830-1833)
     * Sir Roderick Murchison (1851-1853)
     * Sir Henry Creswicke Rawlinson (1871-1873 and 1874-1876)
     * Sir Clements Robert Markham (1893-1905)
     * Sir George Taubman Goldie (1905-1908)
     * Major Leonard Darwin (1905-1911)
     * Colonel Sir Thomas Hungerford Holdich (1919-1922)
     * Sir James Wordie
     * Lord Shackleton (1971-1974)
     * Sir Crispin Tickell (1989-1993)
     * Earl of Selborne (1997-2000)

Research Group

   The society is not only a learned body but also carries out research in
   the following research groups.
   Research Groups
   Biogeography Research Group British Geomorphic Research Group
   Climate Change Research Group Contract Research and Teaching Forum
   Developing Areas Research Group Economic geography Research Group
   Geographical Information Science Research Group Geography of Health
   Research Group
   Geography of Lesiure and Tourism Research Group Higher Education
   Research Group
   Historical Geography Research Group History and Philosophy of Geography
   Research Group
   Mountain Research Group Participatory Geographies Working Group
   Planning and Environment Research Group political Geography Research
   Group
   Population geography Research Group Postgraduate Forum
   The Post-Socialist Geographies Research Group Quantitative Methods
   Research Group
   Rural Geography Research Group Social and Cultural Geography Research
   Group
   Transport Geography Research Group Urban geography Research Group
   Women and Geography Research Group

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) and
   Alfred Russel Wallace (1892) 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.

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