The Royal Geographical Society

After the Napoleonic wars, the peoples of western Europe rose up to discover those unknown regions of the continents and the seas. Soldiers, sailors, officials, and merchants took part in this work, each seeking a new source of livelihood or a market for his goods. Before long, scholars and researchers entered the field as well, possessed by that spirit of inquiry and investigation which marked this century.

The result was that a desire appeared in London to establish a place set apart for common meetings, where the information brought back by travelers could be gathered, and where maps and geographical documents could be consulted.

Thus in 1730 the Royal Geographical Society was founded, and many men of varied inclinations and interests took part in its creation.

The Society made an auspicious beginning, with four hundred joining its membership in its first year.

The general purpose of founding this Society, as was declared, was to advance geography and to spread it as the most important and the most delightful of the branches of knowledge. The chief aims toward which the Society directed itself were these: first, geographical intelligence and its printing; second, the creation of a library and a collection of maps; third, the offering of advice and guidance to those intending to travel; and fourth, the strengthening of relations with other similar societies in Britain and abroad. From that time these aims, with a little development, have defined the Society's work.

Most of its activity during the first fifty years of its existence was directed toward the encouragement of exploration, and its ties with the African Geographical Society are probably part of the reason why Africa became the chief field of its activity. The beginning of its flourishing era coincided with the great journeys undertaken by David Livingstone, and the Society's stamp appeared on many of these journeys. Nor were its activity and interest confined to the African field alone; it encouraged many of the explorers and travelers who penetrated the unknown wilds of Asia, Australia, South America, and the polar regions.

In 1901 the Geographical Society, in cooperation with the government, organized the British national expedition to the polar regions under the command of Captain R. Scott — an expedition that had brilliant results in the recording of much splendid scientific information. Scott completed this work on his second expedition, but on it he met his death, together with his companions, on their return from the South Pole.

The Society depends entirely on the assistance of its members to carry out its mission. Among them are men and women of various nationalities, each with differing views and interests, bound together by nothing but the common desire for the advancement of the science of geography. In 1939 the number of members reached six thousand.