George Goudie Chisholm
FRSE
Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...
FRSGS
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 ...
LLD
Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...
(1 May 1850 – 9 February 1930) was a Scottish
geographer
A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...
. He authored the first English-language textbook on
economic geography
Economic geography is the subfield of human geography which studies economic activity and factors affecting them. It can also be considered a subfield or method in economics.
There are four branches of economic geography.
There is,
primary sect ...
: ''Handbook on Commercial Geography'' (1889) and the ''World Gazetteer,'' later to become known as ''The Times Gazetteer.
''
Life
Chisolm was born in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
on 1 May 1850, the son of an
actuary
An actuary is a business professional who deals with the measurement and management of risk and uncertainty. The name of the corresponding field is actuarial science. These risks can affect both sides of the balance sheet and require asset man ...
.
He was educated at the
Royal High School in Edinburgh, and then the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1 ...
, graduating in 1870.
He lectured on Geography in London from 1883 to 1908 and then returned to the University of Edinburgh where he lectured until 1923.
He served as Secretary to the Scottish Geographical Society for 15 years.
In 1923 he received an honorary doctorate (LLD) from the University, and elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Edinburgh
The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...
in 1924.
He authored the first English-language textbook on
economic geography
Economic geography is the subfield of human geography which studies economic activity and factors affecting them. It can also be considered a subfield or method in economics.
There are four branches of economic geography.
There is,
primary sect ...
: ''Handbook on Commercial Geography'' (1889). It was later revised by Kenneth Stamp. (). He authored a review of
Friedrich Naumann's Pan-German work on Central Europe which appeared in
The Scottish Geographical Magazine issue 33, which condemned the aggressively militaristic overtones of Naumann's nationalistic work. His ''World Gazetteer'' of 1895, a huge project, later became commonly known as The Times Gazetteer.
On Sunday 9 February 1930 he died quietly on a tram in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
.
He was 79.
Publications
*''The Two Hemispheres: A Popular Account of Peoples and Countries of the World'' (1882)
*''A Pronouncing Vocabulary of Modern Geographical Names'' (1885)
*''Handbook of Commercial Geography'' (1889)+ (1908)
*''Longman's School Geography for South Africa'' (1891)
*
Gazetteer of the World' (1895) published by Longman
*''Europe'' (2 vols) (1899)
*''Junior School Geography''
*''Longman's School Geography for India and Ceylon''
*''The World As It Is: A Popular Account of Peoples and Countries of the Earth''
*''A Smaller Commercial Geography''
*''Longman's School Geography for Australasia''
Family
He married Florence Jones in 1884.
Recognition
In 1917, he was awarded the
Charles P. Daly Medal of the
American Geographical Society
The American Geographical Society (AGS) is an organization of professional geographers, founded in 1851 in New York City. Most fellows of the society are Americans, but among them have always been a significant number of fellows from around the ...
.
References
External links
*
*
1850 births
1930 deaths
Scottish geographers
Academics from Edinburgh
Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
Academics of the University of Edinburgh
Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
Fellows of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society
Scientists from Edinburgh
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