The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences, the society has 16,000 members, with its work reaching the public through publications, research groups and lectures.
The RGS was founded in 1830 under the name Geographical Society of London as an institution to promote the 'advancement of geographical science'. It later absorbed the older African Association, which had been founded by Sir Joseph Banks in 1788, as well as the Raleigh Club and the Palestine Association. In 1995 it merged with the Institute of British Geographers, a body for academic geographers, to become officially the Royal Geographical Society with IBG.
The society is governed by its council, which is chaired by the society's president, according to a set of statutes and standing orders. The members of council and the president are elected from and by its fellows, who are allowed to use the postnominal title FRGS. As a chartered body, the RGS holds the Register of Chartered Geographers in the public interest, a source of qualified, practising and experienced professional geographers. Fellows may apply for chartership if they fulfil the criteria.
History
The RGS was founded on 16 July 1830 under the name Geographical Society of London as an institution to promote the 'advancement of geographical science'. The seven founding members of the society were Sir John Barrow (geographer), Sir Roderick Murchison (geologist), Robert Brown (botanist), Lord Broughton (politician), Mountstuart Elphinstone (colonial administrator), Bartholomew Frere (diplomat), and William Henry Smyth (admiral). The first president of the society was the former prime minister Viscount Goderich and the first secretary was Alexander Maconochie (who became the first professor of Geography at the University College London), with another notable council member being Sir Francis Beaufort. Like many learned societies, it had started as a dining club in London, where select members held informal dinner debates on current scientific issues and ideas. It later absorbed the older African Association, which had been founded by Sir Joseph Banks in 1788, as well as the Raleigh Club and the Palestine Association.
From 1830 to 1840 the RGS met in the rooms of the Horticultural Society in Regent Street, London, and from 1854 to 1870 at 15 Whitehall Place, London. In 1870, the society finally found a home when it moved to 1 Savile Row, London. The society also used briefly a lecture theatre in Burlington Gardens, London which was lent to it by the Civil Service Commission.
Under the patronage of King William IV it later became known as the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) and was granted its royal charter under Queen Victoria in 1859. Another notable early member was Sir John Franklin.
A new impetus was given to society's affairs in 1911, with the election of Earl Curzon, the former viceroy of India, as the society's President (1911–1914). The premises in Savile Row (once described by Curzon as "cramped and rather squalid") were sold and the present site, Lowther Lodge in Kensington Gore, was purchased for £100,000 and opened for use in April 1913. In the same year the society's ban on women fellows was lifted.
Lowther Lodge was built in 1874 for the William Lowther by Norman Shaw, one of the most outstanding domestic architects of his day. Extensions to the east wing were added in 1929, and included the New Map Room and the 750 seat Lecture Theatre. The extension was formally opened by the Duke of York (later King George VI) at the RGS centenary celebrations on 21 October 1930.
The history of the society was closely allied for many of its earlier years with 'colonial' exploration in Africa, the Indian subcontinent, the polar regions, and central Asia especially.Sir Roderick Impey Murchison. Cultural Legacy Details. Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery. University College London.
It has been a key associate and supporter of many notable explorers and expeditions, including those of Darwin, Livingstone, Stanley, Scott, Shackleton, Hunt and Hillary.Lunn, Emily. (22 April 2020). Explore: Collections at the Royal Geographical Society. Habitats & Heritage.The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. Royal Geographical Society. Encyclopedia Britannica.
The early history of the society is inter-linked with the history of British geography, exploration and discovery. Information, maps, charts and knowledge gathered on expeditions was sent to the RGS, making up its now unique geographical collections. The society published its first journal in 1831The Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London. Online Books Page, University of Pennsylvania. and from 1855, accounts of meetings and other matters were published in the society proceedings.Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of London. Online Books Page, University of Pennsylvania. In 1893, this was replaced by The Geographical Journal which is still published today.The Geographical Journal. Edited By: Darren Smith, Ben Anderson, Parvati Raghuram and Rob Wilby. . Wiley (publisher).
The society was also pivotal in establishing geography as a teaching and research discipline in British universities, and funded the first geography positions in the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge.A brief history of the early years of the Department 1888-1960. Department of Geography. University of Cambridge.
With the advent of a more systematic study of geography, the Institute of British Geographers (IBG) was formed in 1933, by thirteen geographers including Hilda Ormsby, Andrew Charles O'Dell, as the RGS was seen as too focused on exploration. IBG activities included organising conferences, field trips, seminars, and specialist research groups and publishing a journal, Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers. The RGS and IBG co-existed for 60 years until 1992 when a merger was discussed. In 1994, members were balloted and the merger agreed. In January 1995, the new Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers) was formed.
The society also works together with other existing bodies serving the geographical community, in particular the Geographical Association and the Royal Scottish Geographical Society.Royal Scottish Geographical Society. rgs.org official site.
In 2004, the RGS's historical collections relating to scientific exploration and research, which are of national and international importance, were opened to the public for the first time. In the same year, a new category of membership was introduced to widen access for people with a general interest in geography. The new Foyle Reading Room and glass Pavilion exhibition space were also opened to the public in 2004. For example, in 2012 the RGS held an exhibition, in the glass Pavilion, of photographs taken by Herbert Ponting on Captain Robert Falcon Scott's expedition to the South Pole in 1912.
Governance
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 36 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.The Duke of Kent > Search Patronages>Filter results by>Charity or Patronage name>'Royal Geographical Society'.
The society has five specialist committees that it derives advice from: the Education Committee, Research Committee, Expedition and Fieldwork Committee, Information Resources Committee, and the Finance Committee.Committees of Council. rgs.org official site.
Presidents
Membership There are four categories of individual membership:
Membership Anyone with an interest in geography is eligible to apply to become a member of the RGS-IBG.
Student Membership Students who are studying geography (or an allied subject) at GCSE, A Level or as an undergraduate (or at equivalent levels).
Associate Fellowship This status is available by application from postgraduate students or those within five years of graduating from their first degree.
Fellowship Fellows of the RGS come from a wide range of professional backgrounds. They must either be proposed by an existing fellow or an individual may submit evidence of his or her own work and academic publications in the field of geography and closely related subjects such as international development, climate change and expedition medicine. Applicants must be of at least 21 years of age and provide evidence of a body of relevant work; alternatively, a previous five-year commitment at the regular member level (less, at the council's discretion) is also considered for eligibility. Fellows may use the post-nominal designation FRGS after their names.
Chartered geographer
Since 2002 the society has been granted the power to award the status of chartered geographer. The status can be obtained only 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 allows the use of the post-nominal letters "CGeog".
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).
Research groups The society's research and study groups bring together active researchers and professional geographers in particular areas of geography. There are 27 active research groups, with each group organising their own seminars, conferences, workshops and other activities.
Research groupsBiogeography Research Group British Society for GeomorphologyCarceral Geography Research Group Climate Change Research GroupContract Research and Teaching Forum Digital Geographies Research GroupDeveloping Areas Research Group Economic geography Research GroupGeographical Information Science Research Group Geography of Health and Wellbeing Research GroupGeography of Leisure and Tourism Research Group Higher Education Research GroupGeographies of Justice Research Group Coastal and Marine Research GroupHistorical Geography Research Group History and Philosophy of Geography Research GroupMountain Research Group Participatory Geographies Working GroupPlanning and Environment Research Group Political geography Research GroupPopulation geography Research Group Postgraduate Forum The Post-Socialist Geographies Research Group Quantitative Methods Research GroupRural Geography Research Group Social and Cultural Geography Research Group Space, Sexualities and Queer Research Group Transport Geography Research GroupUrban geography Research Group Women and Geography Research Group
Medals and awards The society also presents awards to geographers that have contributed to the advancement of geography.