By Kristy McCaffrey
Established in 1830, the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) is
the United Kingdom’s professional body for geography and the advancement of geographical
sciences. It began as a dining club in London, where select members held
informal dinner debates on current scientific issues and ideas. It was long
associated with the ‘colonial’ exploration of Africa, the Indian subcontinent,
the polar regions, and especially central Asia.
The Society was a supporter of many notable explorers. Here
are a few.
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| Charles Darwin |
Charles Darwin (1809-1882) was a naturalist, geologist and
biologist, and is best known for his theories on the science of evolution,
specifically that all species of life have descended over time from common
ancestors and natural selection.
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| Richard Francis Burton |
Richard Francis Burton (1821-1890) was an explorer,
geographer, translator, writer, soldier, orientalist, cartographer,
ethnologist, spy, linguist, poet, fencer, and diplomat. The RGS contracted him
to explore the east coast of Africa, and he was one of the first Europeans to
search for the source of the Nile River.
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| David Livingstone |
David Livingstone (1813-1873) was a Scottish physician, Congregationalist,
a pioneer Christian missionary, and African explorer. Taking up where Burton
left off, he also attempted to locate the source of the Nile, although he too
never pinpointed it. His meeting with Henry Morton Stanley was the source of
the famous phrase, “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?”
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| Sir Ernest Shackleton |
Sir Ernest Shackleton (1874-1922) was a polar explorer who
led three expeditions to the Antarctic. He lost the race to the South Pole to
Roald Amundsen, so he focused on a sea-to-sea crossing of Antarctica, which he
unfortunately never achieved. He is most famous for a daring ocean crossing in
lifeboats after his ship, the Endurance, became trapped in ice.
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| Percy Fawcett |
Percy Fawcett (1867-disappeared 1925) was a geographer,
artillery officer, cartographer, archaeologist, and explorer of South America.
At the age of 39, he was contracted by the RGS to map a border area of Brazil
and Bolivia. After seven expeditions to South America, he became certain that a
great city lay lost in the jungle. In 1925, he made his last attempt to find
the Lost City of Z, but disappeared, along with his son and a family friend.
Theories abound that local Indians killed them or that they died from natural
causes.
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| Sir Edmund Hillary |
Sir Edmund Hillary (1919-2008) was a New Zealand
mountaineer, explorer, and philanthropist. In 1953, he became the first
climber, along with the Nepalese Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, to reach the summit of
Mount Everest.
Today the Society has over 16,500 members and its work reaches
millions of people each year through publications, research groups and
lectures.
Kristy, this is fascinating. I have heard of most of these men, but I didn't know about the Royal Geographic Society! So many discoveries, and all because of the idea of getting people to go exploring the different things on our planet. I love this!
ReplyDeleteIt's great fodder for stories!
DeleteA selection of my personal heroes.
ReplyDelete"...to boldly go where no one has gone before..." Explorers had to have a combination of personality traits: wanderlust/adventure, insatiable curiosity, and determination along with the tendency to look death in the eye and laugh.
ReplyDeleteThis is probably why I love Star Trek so much!! And I've spent many hours/days/months trying to figure out the mindset of an explorer, so that I can imbue my characters with those traits.
DeleteIt takes a person with grit, personality and determination to do what people like those mentioned in this blog. Thank you for for helping to keep their stories alive. Doris
ReplyDeleteStudying them has always fascinated me, and it has certainly given me ideas for stories and characters.
DeleteIt's so interesting to read about this society which had so many famous members. I can't even begin to imagine the courage it took to explore the jungles and the Arctic. I remember being caught up with the explorations of David Livingstone in school, but never heard about Percy Fawcett and his unknown fate. I wonder if his explorations inspired Edward Rice Burroughs to write Tarzan and the City of Gold. I read and reread that book when I was a kid. Thanks for bringing these gentlemen back into our thoughts, Kristy.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that Burroughs was aware of many of these men. They were icons, legends, and a little bit crazed too LOL.
DeleteFascinating. Burton was a particularly interesting and complex character. Livingston's house in Scotland had an authentic African hut in his garden. I know the police officer who recovered it, in a local theif's garden, using it as a garden shed.
ReplyDeleteOoo, great tidbits of info. I love it. Burton was quite a character. There's an excellent 1990 movie made about him and Speke (his friend, partner, and nemesis) called 'Mountains of the Moon.' It's a favorite of mine.
DeleteI did not know about the Royal Geographical Society. What a bunch of riveting members each with their own individual explorations, findings, and experiences. Now I want to know what happened to Percy Fawcett, his son, and friend who disappeared on an expedition to South America.
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting blog loaded with juicy bits of info, Kristy. I loved it!