The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is a charity devoted to the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats. It was founded in 1826. Since 1828, it has maintained London Zoo, and since 1931 Whipsnade Zoo.
Sir Joseph Banks' house was the initial meeting place for the Zoological SocietyZoological Society of London (ZSL), Main Building by John Belcher and John James JoassZoological Society of London (ZSL), Main Building, Entrance
On 29 November 1822, the birthday of John Ray, "the father of modern zoology", a meeting held in the Linnean Society in Soho Square led by Rev. William Kirby, resolved to form a "Zoological Club of the Linnean Society of London". Between 1816 and 1826, discussions between Stamford Raffles, Humphry Davy, Joseph Banks and others led to the idea that London should have an establishment similar to the Jardin des Plantes in Paris. It would house a zoological collection "which should interest and amuse the public."[1]
Plan of the Zoological Society of London (1829)
The society was founded in April 1826 by Sir Stamford Raffles, the Marquess of Lansdowne, Lord Auckland, Sir Humphry Davy, Robert Peel, Joseph Sabine, Nicholas Aylward Vigors along with various other nobility, clergy, and naturalists.[1][2] Raffles was the first chairman and president, but died after only a few months in office, in July 1826. He was succeeded by the Marquess of Lansdowne who supervised the building of the first animal houses, a parcel of land in Regent's Park having already been obtained from the Crown at the inaugural meeting. It received a royal charter from George IV on 27 March 1829.[1]
Punch illustration of a meeting of the zoologists
The purpose of the society was to create a collection of animals for study at leisure, an associated museum and library. In April 1828, the Zoological Gardens were opened to members. In 1831 William IV presented the Royal Menagerie to the Zoological Society, and in 1847 the public was admitted to aid funding, and Londoners soon christened the Zoological Gardens the "Zoo". London Zoo soon had the most extensive collection of animals in the world.
A History of the ZSL, written by Henry Scherren (FZS), was published in 1905.[1] The History was criticised as inadequately researched by Peter Chalmers Mitchell in 1929; both histories were labelled inaccurate by John Bastin in 1970.[3]
Former ZSL logo
As the twentieth century began, the need to maintain and research large animals in a more natural environment became clear. Peter Chalmers Mitchell (ZSL Secretary 1903–35) conceived the vision of a new park no more than 70 miles (110km) away from London and thus accessible to the public, and at least 200 acres (0.81km2) in extent. In 1926, profiting from the agricultural depression, the ideal place was found: Hall Farm, near Whipsnade village, was derelict, and held almost 600 acres (2.4km2) on the Chiltern Hills. ZSL bought the farm in December 1926 for £13,480 12s 10d. In 1928 the first animals arrived at the new Whipsnade Park—two Amherst pheasants, a golden pheasant and five red jungle fowl. Others soon followed, including muntjac deer, llamas, wombats and skunks. In 1931 Whipsnade Park was opened to the public as the world's first open zoological park.
In 1960–61, Lord Zuckerman, then Secretary of ZSL, raised funds from two medical foundations to found laboratories as an Institute of Zoology where scientists would be employed by ZSL and undertake research.
The Institute of Zoology is the scientific research division of the ZSL. It is a government-funded research institute, which specialises in scientific issues relevant to the conservation of species and their habitats. The Institute of Zoology focuses its research on five areas: evolutionary biology, genetics, ecology, reproductive biology and wildlife epidemiology. The Institute of Zoology was graded 4 in the 1997–2001 UK Research Assessment Exercise, and publishes reports annually. From the late 1980s the Institute of Zoology had been affiliated to the University of London. However, in 2000 this was replaced with a partnership with the University of Cambridge.
The council is the governing body of the ZSL. There are 15 council members, led by the president and served by the secretary and treasurer. Council members are the trustees of the society and serve for up to five years at a time.[8]
Presidents
The Presidency is a voluntary position, with the role of leading the ZSL Council. The Society's Presidents and their dates in office are:[9]
The post of secretary is honorary and under the society's constitution carries the responsibility for the day-to-day management of the affairs of the ZSL. The secretaries and their dates in office are:[10][11]
↑ "Zoological Society". The Times. No.12956. London. 2 May 1826. col C, p.3.
↑ John Bastin (1970). "The first prospectus of the Zoological Society of London: new light on the Society's origins". Archives of Natural History. 5 (5): 369–388. doi:10.3366/jsbnh.1970.5.5.369.
London Zoo, previously known as ZSL London Zoo or London Zoological Gardens and sometimes called Regent's Park Zoo, is the world's oldest scientific zoo. It was opened in London on 27 April 1828, and was originally intended to be used as a collection for scientific study. In 1831 or 1832, the animals of the Tower of London menagerie were transferred to the zoo's collection. It was opened to the public in 1847. As of December 2022, it houses a collection of 14,926 individuals, making it one of the largest collections in the United Kingdom.
Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles was a British colonial official who served as the governor of the Dutch East Indies between 1811 and 1816 and lieutenant-governor of Bencoolen between 1818 and 1824. Raffles was heavily involved in the capture of the Indonesian island of Java from the Dutch during the Napoleonic Wars. It was subsequently returned under the Anglo–Dutch Treaty of 1814. He also wrote The History of Java in 1817, describing the history of the island from ancient times.
Whipsnade Zoo, formerly known as ZSL Whipsnade Zoo and Whipsnade Wild Animal Park, is a zoo and safari park located at Whipsnade, near Dunstable in Bedfordshire, England. It is one of two zoos that are owned by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), a charity devoted to the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats.
Colonel Arthur Hay, 9th Marquess of Tweeddale,, known before 1862 as Lord Arthur Hay and between 1862 and 1876 as Viscount Walden, was a Scottish soldier and ornithologist.
Sir Paul Patrick Gordon Bateson, was an English biologist with interests in ethology and phenotypic plasticity. Bateson was a professor at the University of Cambridge and served as president of the Zoological Society of London from 2004 to 2014.
The Institute of Zoology (IoZ) is the research division of the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) in England. It is a government-funded research institute specialising in scientific issues relevant to the conservation of animal species and their habitats. The Institute is based alongside London Zoo at ZSL's Regent's Park site in the City of Westminster.
William John Broderip FRS was an English lawyer and naturalist.
A zoo is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes.
Sir Peter Chalmers Mitchell was a Scottish zoologist who was Secretary of the Zoological Society of London from 1903 to 1935. During this time, he directed the policy of the Zoological Gardens of London and created the world's first open zoological park, Whipsnade Zoo.
World War Zoo gardens is a research project and recreation of a wartime "dig for victory" garden, created at Newquay Zoo in 2009 based on those created in many a zoo and botanic garden throughout Britain and Europe during and after World War II. The gardens project won a BIAZA national zoo award in November 2011.
The Stamford Raffles Award is an award of the Zoological Society of London. It is "For distinguished contributions to zoology by amateur zoologists or professional zoologists in recognition of contributions which are outside the scope of their professional activities." The first awards were sculptures by Henry Moore called 'Animal Form', followed later by sculptures called 'Young Hippo' by Anita Mandl.
Henry James Wilson Scherren, usually known as Henry Scherren or in encyclopaedia articles as H. Sc. was the author of various books on natural history for adults and children, with notable illustrations including some in colour, and a contributor to the Encyclopædia Britannica on natural history topics. He was a fellow of the Zoological Society of London, of which he wrote a magnificent but inaccurate history.
Joan Beauchamp Procter was a notable British zoologist, internationally recognised as an outstanding herpetologist. She worked initially at the British Museum and later for the Zoological Society of London, as the first female Curator of Reptiles at London Zoo. Her short life was afflicted by chronic ill-health, but she undertook substantial taxonomic work and made significant innovative contributions to veterinary practice and zoo displays. She also wrote scientific and popular zoological articles, including early accounts of the behaviour of captive Komodo dragons.
The Marsh Award for Conservation Biology, established 1991, is an award run in partnership between the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and the Marsh Charitable Trust that recognises an individual for his or her "contributions of fundamental science to the conservation of animal species and habitats".
Edward HindleFRS FRSE FIB FRGS FRPSG was a British biologist and entomologist who was Regius Professor of Zoology at the University of Glasgow from 1935 to 1943. He specialised in the study of parasites.
William James Sutherland is the Miriam Rothschild Professor of Conservation Biology at the University of Cambridge. He has been the president of the British Ecological Society. He has been a Fellow of St Catharine's College, Cambridge since 2008.
Sophia, Lady Raffles was the second wife of Sir Stamford Raffles, who was a botanist and known as the founder of modern Singapore.
Michael William Bruford was a Welsh molecular ecologist, conservation biologist and a professor at Cardiff University's School of Biosciences. His area of research spanned from animal wildlife genetics to the management of captive populations and livestock breeds to animal biobanking. After earning his B.Sc. from the University of Portsmouth and his PhD from the University of Leicester, Bruford worked at the Zoological Society of London where he became Head of Conservation Genetics before joining Cardiff University as reader in 1999 and professor in 2001. In addition to his research activities at Cardiff University, he was also director of the Frozen Ark project, which seeks to preserve threatened animal species by means of cryopreservation.
Jane Katharine Hill Hon.FRES is British ecologist, and professor of ecology at the University of York and is the current President of the Royal Entomological Society; research includes the effects of climate change and habitat degradation on insects.
The Penguin Pool at London Zoo, Regent's Park is a penguin enclosure designed in the International Modernist style by Berthold Lubetkin and the Tecton Group. Constructed in 1934, Historic England describe it as "a key symbol of British Modern Movement architecture". The pool housed the zoo's collection of penguins for 70 years. Changing attitudes to keeping animals in captivity, and concerns regarding the suitability of the structure for penguin well-being, saw the pool's closure in 2004 and its subsequent replacement by Penguin Beach. After a period of non-use, during which Lubetkin's daughter called for the structure to be "blown to smithereens", the pool was converted into a water feature. It is a Grade I listed building.
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