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64-656: In 1835, under the aegis of the Royal Geographical Society , Schomburgk was sent on a trip of botanical and geographical exploration to British Guiana, which resulted in a sketch of the territory with a line marking what he believed to be the western boundary claimed by the Dutch. As a result of this in 1840 he was commissioned by the British Government to carry out a survey of Guiana's boundaries. This survey resulted in what came to be known as

128-540: 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. 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

192-783: 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). 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. The society also presents awards to geographers that have contributed to

256-491: A history of the modern Arctic voyages of discovery (1846), as well as his autobiography, published in 1847. He died suddenly on 23 November 1848. The Sir John Barrow monument was built in his honour on Hoad Hill overlooking his home town of Ulverston in 1850, though locally it is more commonly called Hoad Monument. Mount Barrow and Barrow Island in Australia are believed to have been named after him. Barrow's Goldeneye

320-667: A house in 1800 in Cape Town . However, the surrender of the colony at the peace of Amiens (1802) upset this plan. During his travels through South Africa, Barrow compiled copious notes and sketches of the countryside that he was traversing. The outcome of his journeys was a map which, despite its numerous errors, was the first published modern map of the southern parts of the Cape Colony . Barrow's descriptions of South Africa greatly influenced Europeans' understanding of South Africa and its peoples. William John Burchell (1781–1863)

384-693: 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 . The Society has been a key associate and supporter of many famous explorers and expeditions , including those of: A new impetus

448-417: A short period in 1806–1807 when there was a Whig government in power. Lord Grey took office as Prime Minister in 1830, and Barrow was especially requested to remain in his post, starting the principle that senior civil servants stay in office on change of government and serve in a non-partisan manner. Indeed, it was during his occupancy of the post that it was renamed Permanent Secretary . Barrow enjoyed

512-419: A species of duck from North America and Iceland is also named after him. Barrow's legacy has been met with a mixed analysis. Some historians regard Barrow as an instrument of imperialism who portrayed Africa as a resource rich land devoid of any human or civilized elements. Other historians consider Barrow to have promoted humanitarianism and rights for South Africans. His renewal of Arctic voyages in search of

576-525: A trial of an enhanced moving map that featured Hidden Journeys content. Developed in partnership between Hidden Journeys and the IFE software company Airborne Interactive, the enhanced map is available for the Singapore-London route on the airline's brand new Boeing 777-300ER (flight number SQ308 and SQ319), and features a range of geographical facts and highlights, photography and maps, all curated by

640-469: A wide variety of sporting, scientific and youth expeditions from 1965 to the present day. The society holds one of the largest private map collections in the world which is continuously increasing. It includes one million sheets of maps and charts, 3000 atlases, 40 globes and 1000 gazetteers. The earliest printed item in the Collection dates back to 1482. The RGS-IBG also holds manuscript materials from

704-590: Is available by application from postgraduate students or those within five years of graduating from their first degree. 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

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768-497: 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

832-429: 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 1831 and from 1855, accounts of meetings and other matters were published in the society proceedings. In 1893, this was replaced by The Geographical Journal which

896-613: Is still published today. 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 . 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

960-642: The Arctic and its people. In 1902 they awarded khan Bahadur Sher Jang a Sword of Honour (the Black Memorial) in recognition of his valuable services to geography In total the society awards 17 medals and awards including honorary membership and fellowship. Some of the other awards given by the RGS include: The society's collections consist of over two million documents, maps, photographs, paintings, periodicals, artefacts and books, and span 500 years of geography, travel and exploration. The society preserves

1024-607: The Canadian Arctic , as well as Point Barrow and the former city of Barrow in Alaska are named after him. He is reputed to have been the initial proposer of Saint Helena as the new place of exile for Napoleon Bonaparte following the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. He is also remembered for infamously declaring the newly invented electrical telegraph as being "wholly unnecessary" and greatly delaying its proposed adoption by

1088-688: The Northwest Passage and the Open Polar Sea has also been criticized, with author Fergus Fleming remarking that "perhaps no other man in the history of exploration has expended so much money and so many lives in so desperately pointless a dream". Barrow married Anna Maria Truter (1777–1857), a botanical artist from the Cape, in South Africa on 26 August 1799. The couple had four sons and two daughters, one of whom, Johanna, married

1152-643: The United States to intervene, citing the Monroe Doctrine as justification. The United States expressed concern but did little in the way of resolving the situation, until Venezuela's hiring of William L. Scruggs as a lobbyist in Washington, D.C. brought the dispute to a head in the shape of the Venezuelan crisis of 1895 . The key issue in the crisis became Britain's refusal to include in

1216-550: 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

1280-562: The Antarctic adventures of Scott and Shackleton to the pioneering journeys of Livingstone, Baker, Speke and Burton. The RGS-IBG provides funding for geographical research and scientific expeditions. The society offers a number of grants to researchers, students, teachers and independent travellers. More than 70 projects are supported each year and in excess of £180,000 is awarded annually. Research has been conducted in more than 120 countries, from Namibia to Brazil to Greenland. Every year

1344-565: 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

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1408-567: 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 . In 2004, the RGS's historical collections relating to scientific exploration and research, which are of national and international importance, were opened to

1472-628: The Patron's. The award has been given to notable geographers including David Livingstone (1855), Nain Singh Rawat (1876), Baron Ferdinand von Richthofen (1878), Alfred Russel Wallace (1892), and Frederick Courtney Selous (1893) to more recent winners including Percy Harrison Fawcett (1916), Professor William Morris Davis (1919), Sir Halford John Mackinder (1945), Professor L. Dudley Stamp (1949), Professor Richard Chorley (1987) and Professor David Harvey (1995). In 2004 Harish Kapadia

1536-426: 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

1600-688: The RGS-IBG helps teams of students and researchers to get into the field with Geographical Fieldwork Grants, the society's longest running grant scheme. The newest initiative is the RGS-IBG International Field Centre Grants, for work in international field centres in developing nations. Independent travel grants support geographical expeditions. Each year, the society supports more than 50 student fieldwork projects, from PhD students collecting data for their dissertation to groups of undergraduates looking to get out into

1664-496: The Royal Geographical Society (with IBG). Information is delivered in real time, with content changing as the flight progresses, so for example, while a passenger is passing over the United Kingdom, they'll be met with a pop-up that explains the origins and importance of the English Channel. The RGS-IBG education department offers courses, resources, accreditation, grants, awards, competitions and school membership, all for

1728-572: The Schomburgk Line. Schomburgk's initial sketch, which had been published in 1840, was the only version of the "Schomburgk Line" published until 1886, which led to later accusations by Grover Cleveland that the line had been extended "in some mysterious way". The Line went well beyond the area of British occupation, and gave British Guiana control of the mouth of the Orinoco River. Venezuela disputed Schomburgk's survey, claiming that

1792-628: The Society was the former Prime Minister Viscount Goderich and the first Secretary 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

1856-427: The Society, consisting mainly of cultural objects from around the world, ranging from Inuit boots (from Canadian Arctic) to ceremonial leopard's claws (from the then Belgian Congo), paraphernalia of exploration, for example oxygen sets used in the various attempts on Everest, and personal items belonging to explorers, such as Shackleton's Burberry helmet. Artefacts from the collection have been loaned to exhibitions around

1920-554: The South Pole in 1912. 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

1984-712: The United Kingdom had illegally acquired an extra 30,000 square miles (80,000 km) of territory. Venezuela claimed its borders extended as far east as the Essequibo River , citing Pope Alexander VI and his Treaty of Tordesillas which led to the Captaincy General of Venezuela in 1777. In October 1886 Britain declared the Line to be the provisional frontier of British Guiana, and in February 1887 Venezuela severed diplomatic relations. Venezuela appealed to

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2048-602: The admiralty. Barrow was a fellow of the Royal Society and received the degree of LL.D from the University of Edinburgh in 1821. A baronetcy was conferred on him by Sir Robert Peel in 1835. He was also a member of the Raleigh Club , a forerunner of the Royal Geographical Society . Barrow was subsequently one of the seven founding members of the Royal Geographical Society on 16 July 1830. Barrow retired from public life in 1845 and devoted himself to writing

2112-667: The advancement of geography. The most prestigious of these awards are the Founder's Medal and the Patron's Medal . The award is given for "the encouragement and promotion of geographical science and discovery", and are approved by King Charles III . 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

2176-465: The air. Since launching, online guides have been published for more than 25 flight paths, including London to Johannesburg , New York City to Los Angeles, Sydney to Singapore, Madrid to Rio de Janeiro . The Hidden Journeys project is also integrating its content with the moving maps aboard airliners , as a new form of in-flight entertainment (IFE) that has been termed geo-entertainment or geotainment. In December 2013, Singapore Airlines began

2240-571: The artist Robert Batty . His son George succeeded to his title. His second son, John Barrow (28 June 1808 – 9 December 1898), was appointed head of the Admiralty Records Office as a reward for developing a system for recording naval correspondence, and for rescuing documents dating back to the Elizabethan period. He published ten volumes of his travels, wrote biographies of Francis Drake and others and edited

2304-690: The benefit of teachers, students and parents. It also runs the Geography Ambassador scheme. The society produces cases studies, lesson plans and activity ideas for an all levels of learning, from KS1 up to post-GCSE. The Geography in the News website is available for student members and young geographers. It has more than 300 topical case studies. Many of the society's other resources are free to use. Sir John Barrow, 1st Baronet Sir John Barrow, 1st Baronet , FRS , FRGS , FSA (19 June 1764 – 23 November 1848)

2368-470: The big issues likely to affect our lives and society in the coming years. The talks are held at the society's headquarters with all talks available to watch online along with additional information. Discovering Britain is a website featuring a series of self-led geographical walks that help explain the stories behind the UK's built and natural landscapes. Each walk explores a particular landscape, finding out about

2432-653: The border between British Guiana and Venezuela. The first deviation from the Schomburgk line was that Venezuela's territory included Barima Point at the mouth of the Orinoco, giving it undisputed control of the river, and thus the ability to levy duties on Venezuelan commerce. The second was drawing the border at the Wenamu River rather than the Cuyuni River , giving Venezuela a substantial territory east of

2496-475: The collections for the benefit of future generations, while providing public access and promoting collections-related educational programmes for schools and lifelong learners. The Foyle Reading Room acts as a consultation space for using the society's collections, and hosts showcases and workshops as well as the Be Inspired series of talks. The artefacts collection includes over a thousand items brought to

2560-661: The council. 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. There are four categories of individual membership: Anyone with an interest in geography is eligible to apply to become a member of the RGS-IBG. Students who are studying geography (or an allied subject) at GCSE, A Level or as an undergraduate (or at equivalent levels). This status

2624-492: The criteria. 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

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2688-421: The development of geographical knowledge and the historical development of geography. Since 1994, the society has recorded the majority of its Monday night lectures. Society members and fellows can watch selected lectures from 2006 onward online. The society's picture library holds over half a million photographs, artworks, negatives, lantern slides and albums dating from around 1830. Historic images range from

2752-439: The discipline. The society supports innovation in teaching geography at secondary and higher education level, offering several awards for school teachers to work alongside researchers in geographical research, so to develop educational resources for the classroom, and to create teaching materials. 21st Century Challenges is the society's discussion series that aims to improve public understanding of, and engagement with, some of

2816-553: The esteem and confidence of all the eleven chief lords who successively presided at the Admiralty board during that period, and more especially of King William IV while lord high admiral, who honoured him with tokens of his personal regard. In his position at the Admiralty, Barrow was a great promoter of Arctic voyages of discovery, including those of John Ross , William Edward Parry , James Clark Ross and John Franklin . Barrow Strait , Cape Barrow , and Cape John Barrow in

2880-507: The field for the first time. Grants are available for both human and physical geography projects, in any area of the world. The society supports a range of field and desk-based research by academic geographers, from established researchers undertaking fieldwork to early career academics working on smaller projects. The RGS-IBG also supports academics attending geographical conferences around the world. Some awards focus on particular geographical regions or topics, with others open to any aspect of

2944-469: The government of the newly acquired colony of the Cape of Good Hope . Barrow was entrusted with the task of reconciling the Boer settlers and the native Black population and of reporting on the country in the interior. In the course of the trip, he visited all parts of the colony; when he returned, he was appointed auditor-general of public accounts. He then decided to settle in South Africa, married, and bought

3008-519: The household to Lord Macartney . He soon acquired a good knowledge of the Chinese language, on which he subsequently contributed articles to the Quarterly Review ; and the account of the embassy published by Sir George Staunton records many of Barrow's valuable contributions to literature and science connected with China. Barrow ceased to be officially connected with Chinese affairs after

3072-442: The landscape, and shaping, preserving and exploiting the landscape. Hidden Journeys is a public engagement project of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) that started in 2010. The Hidden Journeys website combines images, stories and maps (many from the Society's geographical collections) into a series of interactive guides of popular flight paths, enabling people to explore the incredible places they fly over and might see from

3136-421: The latest geographical academic literature in addition to the journals published by the RGS-IBG itself. The RGS-IBG houses a collection of 4,500 expedition reports. These documents contain details of the achievements and research results of expeditions to almost every country of the world. The catalogue of these reports, and over 8,500 planned and past expeditions, is held on a database which provides contact with

3200-490: The line – territory which Britain had originally refused to include in the arbitration. However, Britain received most of the disputed territory, and all of the gold mines. On a related issue the southern boundary between British Guiana and Brazil was settled after arbitration by the King of Italy in 1904, where Schomburgk's survey also played a role. Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with

3264-499: The mid sixteenth century onwards, aerial photography from 1919 and contemporary satellite images. The manuscript archive collection consists of material arising out of the conduct of society business and manuscripts relating to persons or subjects of special interest. The document collection includes a few papers from before the society's founding in 1830, and is particularly useful to biographers of nineteenth and early twentieth century travellers and geographers, as well as research into

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3328-551: 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 -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

3392-504: The proposed international arbitration the territory east of the Schomburgk Line. The crisis ultimately saw Britain accept the United States' intervention in the dispute to force arbitration of the entire disputed territory, and tacitly accept the United States' right to intervene under the Monroe Doctrine . An international arbitration panel resolved the dispute in 1899. The Schomburgk Line was, with small deviations, re-established as

3456-493: 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

3520-475: The return of the embassy in 1794, but he always took much interest in them, and on critical occasions was frequently consulted by the British government . Some historians attribute the 'stagnation thesis' to Barrow; that China was an extremely civilized nation that was in a process of decay by the time of European contact. In 1797, Barrow accompanied Lord Macartney as private secretary in his mission to settle

3584-507: 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. 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 . The early history of the society

3648-470: The way in which the forces of nature, people, events and the economy have created and shaped the area. There are now more than 120 walks on the Discovering Britain website, covering all regions of the United Kingdom. Walks are themed according to the landscape in which they are located, including built, prehistoric, historic, working, hidden and changing landscapes. Walks also look at people in

3712-578: The world and are in continual demand. The library collection holds more than 150,000 bound volumes that focus on the history and geography of places worldwide. Example volumes include information on European migration, a 19th-century guidebook to Berlin, and David Livingstone's account of his search for the source of the Nile . It currently receives around 800 journal titles, as well as many more journal titles that are either not currently subscribed to, or have ceased publication, allowing society members access to

3776-497: Was an English geographer , linguist , writer and civil servant best known for serving as the Second Secretary to the Admiralty from 1804 until 1845. Barrow was born the only child of Roger Barrow, a tanner in the village of Dragley Beck , in the parish of Ulverston , Lancashire. He was a pupil at Town Bank Grammar School , Ulverston, but left at the age of 13 to found a Sunday school for poor local children. Barrow

3840-520: 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 Shackleton for his research in the field of Quaternary Palaeoclimatology and the Patron's Medal was awarded to Professor Jean Malaurie for a lifelong study of

3904-502: Was employed as superintending clerk of an iron foundry at Liverpool . At only 16, he went on a whaling expedition to Greenland . By his twenties, he was teaching mathematics , in which he had always excelled, at a private school in Greenwich . Barrow taught mathematics to the son of Sir George Leonard Staunton ; through Staunton's interest, he was attached on the first British embassy to China from 1792 to 1794 as comptroller of

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3968-595: Was given to the 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

4032-590: 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

4096-403: Was particularly scathing: "As to the miserable thing called a map, which has been prefixed to Mr. Barrow’s quarto, I perfectly agree with Professor Lichtenstein , that it is so defective that it can seldom be found of any use." Barrow returned to Britain in 1804 and was appointed Second Secretary to the Admiralty by Viscount Melville , a post which he held for forty years  – apart from

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