The Royal Danish Geographical Society (RDGS, da, Det Kongelige Danske Geografiske Selskab) is a

scientific society A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and science. Membership may ...

aimed at furthering the knowledge of the

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

and its inhabitants and to disseminate interest in the science of

geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, an ...

. It was founded 18 November 1876 on the initiative of Professor E. D. Erslev. The society is based in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

. The society awards the Hans Egede Medal in silver 'preferably for geographical studies and researches in the Arctic countries'. It was established in 1916 and named after

Hans Egede Hans Poulsen Egede (31 January 1686 – 5 November 1758) was a Dano-Norwegian Lutheran missionary who launched mission efforts to Greenland, which led him to be styled the Apostle of Greenland. He established a successful mission among the Inui ...

, who was a Danish missionary in Greenland.

External links

Royal Danish Geographical Society website
Geographic societies Scientific organizations based in Denmark Organizations based in Copenhagen Scientific organizations established in 1876 1876 establishments in Denmark {{Denmark-org-stub