Royal Geographical Society

The Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 with the name Geographical Society of London for the advancement of geographical sciences, under the patronage of King William IV. It absorbed the 'Association for Promoting the Discovery of the Interior Parts of Africa'--also known as the African Association--(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.

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Founding 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:

• Charles Darwin
• Ernest Shackleton
• James Kingston Tuckey
• David Livingstone
• William Ogilvie
• Scott of the Antarctic
• Richard Francis Burton
• John Hanning Speke
• George W. Hayward
• Henry Morton Stanley
• Sir Edmund Hillary
• Filipe Moura

[ http://www.rgs.org/ ][ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Geographical_Society ]