Manchester Geographical Society

Last updated

Manchester Geographical Society
Formation15 October 1884;137 years ago (1884-10-15)
Type Learned Society
Registration no.1134626
Legal status Charity
PurposeFurther pursuit of geographical knowledge
Encourage/publish geographical research on/relevant to North-West England
Headquarters Manchester, UK
Official language
English
Activities
  • Research
  • Publications
  • Lectures
  • Events
Collections
  • Library (Books, Atlases, Maps)
  • Archives
Chairman
Colin Harrison
Website www.mangeogsoc.org.uk

The Manchester Geographical Society (founded 1884) is a learned society and a registered charity (No. 1134626) based in Manchester, England.

Contents

History

When it was founded, by a group of Manchester businessmen, it was addressed by Sir Henry Morton Stanley, the African explorer. [1] The society's original interest was in commercial and political geography, and it later contributed to creation of the first Lecturership (Henry Yule Oldham) in Geography at Owen’s College, Manchester (1891) and the first Chair in Geography (Herbert John Fleure) at the University of Manchester (1930). The Society’s Museum (1901–73) was later dispersed. [2]

Notable individuals involved in the Society’s early years have included Spencer, 8th Duke of Devonshire (President 1885–92), George V (President 1892–1936) and Louis Charles Casaertelli. Among the society's founders was Eli Sowerbutts who was its Secretary (1884–1904), whose sons also became Secretary, Harry Sowerbutts (1904–19) and Thomas William Sowerbutts (1919–33). [3] The Society became a registered charity in 1963, [4] and was later incorporated as a Charitable Trust in 2010. [5]

Lunchtime Lecture Series

Throughout its history the Society has organised an annual lecture series providing free public talks on a range of topics from September to June. [6]

Research Fund

The Society’s Research Fund provides North-West England university lecturers with funds for small projects. [7]

Bursaries and Prizes

Each year, the Society provides Bursaries to enable postgraduate Geography Students to attend conferences. It also awards Prizes for the best Geography Undergraduate Finals Performance Students at the University of Manchester. [8]

Journal

Library (and Atlas and Map) and Archive Collections

The Society’s Library (1884–1970) has been on permanent loan to the University of Manchester Library since 1970: it contains books on Britain (especially North-West England), nineteenth and twentieth century exploration, and travel and geography in Europe, Oceania, Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Its Map Collection (totalling over 2,000) from the eighteenth to twentieth centuries covers Africa, various continents as well as admiralty charts and other ephemera. The Society’s Atlas Collection (on loan to the John Rylands Library, Manchester) dates from 1701. The Society’s Archives (1884–2010) have been deposited at Manchester Archives, Manchester Central Library. [10]

Footnotes

  1. Stanley, H. M. (1884) To the new geographical society of Manchester
  2. Leigh, M. D., (1980) "The Manchester Geographical Society, 1884–1979: An Historical Summary", in: The Manchester Geographer; vol. 1(1), pp. 7–14.
  3. Geography: notices and notes...; no. 93-94. Manchester Geographical Society, July 1904
  4. "Charity Commission of England and Wales". Charity Commission of England and Wales. 22 July 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  5. "Charity Commission of England and Wales". Charity Commission of England and Wales. 22 July 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  6. "Lecture Series – Manchester Geographical Society" . Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  7. "About – Manchester Geographical Society" . Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  8. "About – Manchester Geographical Society" . Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  9. "Publications – Manchester Geographical Society" . Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  10. The Manchester Geographical Society

Further reading

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlas</span> Collection of maps

An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heinrich Kiepert</span> German geographer

Heinrich Kiepert was a German geographer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Copley Christie</span> British philanthropist (1830–1901)

Richard Copley Christie was an English lawyer, university teacher, philanthropist and bibliophile.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Rylands Research Institute and Library</span> Research library building on Deansgate in Manchester, England

The John Rylands Research Institute and Library is a late-Victorian neo-Gothic building on Deansgate in Manchester, England. It is part of the University of Manchester. The library, which opened to the public in 1900, was founded by Enriqueta Augustina Rylands in memory of her husband, John Rylands. It became part of the university in 1972, and now houses the majority of the Special Collections of The University of Manchester Library, the third largest academic library in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer</span> British government minister (1758–1834)

George John Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer,, styled Viscount Althorp from 1765 to 1783, was a British Whig politician. He served as Home Secretary from 1806 to 1807 in the Ministry of All the Talents. He was also the father of The Venerable Father Ignatius Spencer, a Roman Catholic convert to the priesthood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Boyd Dawkins</span> Welsh geologist, paleontologist and archaeologist (1838–1929)

Sir William Boyd Dawkins was a British geologist and archaeologist. He was a member of the Geological Survey of Great Britain, Curator of the Manchester Museum and Professor of Geology at Owens College, Manchester. He is noted for his research on fossils and the antiquity of man. He was involved in many projects including a tunnel under the Humber, a Channel Tunnel attempt and the proving of coal under Kent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Keith Johnston (1804–1871)</span> Scottish geographer and cartographer

Alexander Keith Johnston FRSE FRGS FGS FEGS LLD was a Scottish geographer and cartographer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Holdich</span>

Colonel Sir Thomas Hungerford Holdich was an English geographer and president of the Royal Geographical Society. He is best known as Superintendent of Frontier Surveys in British India and author of numerous books, including The Gates of India, The Countries of the King's Award and Political Frontiers and Boundary Making.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Scottish Geographical Society</span> Educational charity to advance the study of geography

The Royal Scottish Geographical Society (RSGS) is an educational charity based in Perth, Scotland founded in 1884. The purpose of the society is to advance the subject of geography worldwide, inspire people to learn more about the world around them, and provide a source of reliable and impartial geographical information.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">School of Medical Sciences, University of Manchester</span>

The School of Medical Sciences at the University of Manchester is one of the largest in the United Kingdom with around 6,000 undergraduates, 3,000 postgraduates and 2,000 staff. It is the third oldest medical school in England and the largest medical school in the United Kingdom. The Faculty is a member of the Manchester Academic Health Science Centre and has four affiliated teaching hospitals at Manchester Royal Infirmary, Wythenshawe Hospital, Salford Royal Hospital and the Royal Preston Hospital.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John George Bartholomew</span> Scottish cartographer and geographer

John George Bartholomew was a Scottish cartographer and geographer. As a holder of a royal warrant, he used the title "Cartographer to the King"; for this reason he was sometimes known by the epithet "the Prince of Cartography".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Jefferys</span>

Thomas Jefferys, "Geographer to King George III", was an English cartographer who was the leading map supplier of his day. He engraved and printed maps for government and other official bodies and produced a wide range of commercial maps and atlases, especially of North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Ling Roth</span>

Henry Ling Roth was an English-born anthropologist and museum curator, active in Australia.

Edward Gordon Duff, known as Gordon Duff, was a British bibliographer and librarian known for his works on early English printing.

The Chetham Society "for the publication of remains historic and literary connected with the Palatine Counties of Lancaster and Chester" is a text publication society and registered charity established on 23 March 1843.

The Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society is a historical society and registered charity founded, on 21 March 1883, for the study of any aspects of the area covered by the Palatine Counties of Lancashire and Cheshire from antiquity to the twenty-first century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Manchester Library</span> Academic library system of the University of Manchester

The University of Manchester Library is the library system and information service of the University of Manchester. The main library is on the Oxford Road campus of the university, with its entrance on Burlington Street. There are also ten other library sites, eight spread out across the university's campus, plus The John Rylands Library on Deansgate and the Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Race Relations Resource Centre situated inside Manchester Central Library.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Leigh and Bedford railway station</span>

The West Leigh and Bedford railway station served the hamlet of Crankwood, the village of Abram, and the Plank Lane area of Leigh, England. Like many railways, the line passed between rather than through communities, with branches off to serve the key driver - goods, and in this area - coal.

Edward Robertson was a Scottish academic, Professor of Semitic Studies at the Victoria University of Manchester and afterwards Librarian of the John Rylands Library, Manchester.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Francon Williams</span> Welsh writer, geographer, historian, journalist, cartographer and inventor

John Francon Williams was a Welsh writer, geographer, historian, journalist, cartographer, and inventor, born in Llanllechid, Caernarvonshire. His seminal work was The Geography of the Oceans.