''Geographical'' (formerly ''The Geographical Magazine'') is the magazine of the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), a key associate and supporter of many famous expeditions, including those of

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...

Robert Falcon Scott Captain Robert Falcon Scott (6 June 1868 – ) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the Discovery Expedition, ''Discovery'' expedition of 1901–04 and the Terra Nova Expedition ...

and

Ernest Shackleton Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (15 February 1874 – 5 January 1922) was an Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic. He was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarcti ...

. The publishers pay a licence fee to the Society, which is used to fund the advancement of

exploration Exploration is the process of exploring, an activity which has some Expectation (epistemic), expectation of Discovery (observation), discovery. Organised exploration is largely a human activity, but exploratory activity is common to most organis ...

and research and the promotion of

geographical Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

knowledge. The

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

is published monthly, and is sold in retail outlets and on subscription in both print and digital. It contains illustrated articles on

people The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...

, places,

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...

travel Travel is the movement of people between distant geographical Location (geography), locations. Travel can be done by Pedestrian, foot, bicycle, automobile, train, boat, bus, airplane, ship or other means, with or without Baggage, luggage, a ...

, and environmental issues, as well as summarising the latest

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

research and discoveries in

geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

. ''Geographical'' also reports news of the Society's latest work and activities to members and the public.

History

''The Geographical Magazine'' was founded by English diplomat Michael Huxley in May 1935. Huxley’s editorial policy was centred on presenting “an understanding of the world that no other periodicals can give”. The original print release of the magazine in 1935 sold out, and a total of 50,000 copies of the first issue were printed. During the first few months of publication the magazine brought its readers stories from

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian language, Tahitian , ; ) is the largest island of the Windward Islands (Society Islands), Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France. It is located in the central part of t ...

and

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

, examining different regions in a way that offered both analysis and the traveller’s impression. “There is nothing about this magazine that is not first-rate,” read the issue's review in ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...

'', “and if the standard of the first number can be maintained, it should establish itself both as the most interesting English monthly magazine being published and as an educational factor of considerable importance”. It also noted that ''The Geographical Magazine'' contained “illustrations of the kind that can provoke only an astonished rhapsody”. ''The Geographical Magazine'' continued to publish throughout the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, under the editorship of Ivy Davison, despite facing shortages of

paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, Textile, rags, poaceae, grasses, Feces#Other uses, herbivore dung, or other vegetable sources in water. Once the water is dra ...

and government censorship. The post-war period saw it expand to accommodate the interpretation of geography as done by geographers into the original founder’s editorial policy. Publishing of the magazine was taken over by

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

in 1956, and then by

Odhams Odhams Press was a British publishing company, operating from 1920 to 1968. Originally a magazine publisher, Odhams later expanded into book publishing and then children's comics. The company was acquired by Fleetway Publications in 1961 and the ...

in 1965. Eventually the magazine became part of the

International Publishing Corporation TI Media Ltd. (formerly International Publishing Company, IPC Magazines Ltd, IPC Media and Time Inc. UK) was a consumer magazine and digital publisher in the United Kingdom, with a portfolio selling over 350 million copies each year. Most of it ...

, and in 1968 the magazine underwent a substantial re-design. In 1981 the publisher changed hands again, with

United Newspapers UBM plc was a British business-to-business (B2B) events organiser headquartered in London, England, before its acquisition by Informa in 2018. It had a long history as a multinational media company. Its main focus was on B2B events, but its pr ...

taking control of the magazine, and then by Hyde Park Publications in 1988, when the title was changed from ''The Geographical Magazine'' to simply ''Geographical''.

Staff and Contributors

The current editor is Katie Burton. Publishing of the magazine was taken over in 2005 by ''Syon Publishing'' which was set up by Graeme Gourlay in 1995. Notable recent writers have included Nicholas Crane,

Christopher Ondaatje Sir Philip Christopher Ondaatje (; born 22 February 1933) between 2004 and 2024 The Earl of Rothes, Lord of Leslie and Sheriff of Fife, is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian-English businessman, philanthropist, adventurer, writer and bob-sledding Olympi ...

Nick Danziger Nick Danziger HonFRPS CF (born 22 April 1958) is a British photographer, film maker and travel writer. Early life Danziger was born in Marylebone, London but grew up in Monaco and Switzerland. Work Danziger attended The Chelsea School of A ...

Nick Middleton Nick Middleton (born 1963 Jun 4) is a British physical geographer and supernumerary fellow of St Anne's College, Oxford. He specialises in desertification. Middleton was born in London, England. As a geographer, he has travelled to more than 70 ...

and

Vitali Vitaliev Vitali Vitaliev (; born 1954) is a Ukrainian-born journalist and writer who has worked in Russia, the United Kingdom, Australia and Ireland. Biography Vitaliev was born in 1954 in Kharkiv, USSR (present-day Ukraine). He graduated from Kharkiv ...

, while the magazine has also interviewed numerous significant figures from the world of geography and travel, such as

David Attenborough Sir David Frederick Attenborough (; born 8 May 1926) is an English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and writer. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Studios Natural History Unit, the nine nature d ...

Jane Goodall Dame Jane Morris Goodall (; born Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall; 3 April 1934), formerly Baroness Jane van Lawick-Goodall, is an English zoologist, Primatology, primatologist and Anthropology, anthropologist. She is considered the world's foremo ...

Edmund Hillary Sir Edmund Percival Hillary (20 July 1919 – 11 January 2008) was a New Zealand mountaineering, mountaineer, explorer, and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953, Hillary and Sherpa people, Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the Timeline of M ...

Paul Theroux Paul Edward Theroux ( ; born April 10, 1941) is an American novelist and travel writer who has written numerous books, including the travelogue '' The Great Railway Bazaar'' (1975). Some of his works of fiction have been adapted as feature films ...

and

Michael Palin Sir Michael Edward Palin (; born 5 May 1943) is an English actor, comedian, writer, and television presenter. He was a member of the Monty Python comedy group. He received the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award, BAFTA Fellowship in 2013 and was knig ...

Reception

Robin Hanbury-Tenison Airling Robin Hanbury-Tenison (born 7 May 1936) is an explorer based in Cornwall. He is President of the charity Survival International and was previously Chief Executive of The Countryside Alliance. Early life and education The youngest of fi ...

said “I have watched ''Geographical'' through many incarnations over the years. It goes from strength to strength and has never been in better heart.” Sir Ranulph Fiennes praised the magazine, stating “This magazine is a valuable resource as well as an enjoyable read. I really like the balance of interest, serious articles and brilliant photography.”

Spin-offs

In the summer of 2016, ''Geographical'' launched a quarterly spin off publication on travel entitled ''Geographical Expeditions''., a “magazine for travellers” and “provide context and reference to make your adventures more enjoyable”.

References

{{Reflist

External links

''Geographical'' magazineRoyal Geographical Society
1935 establishments in the United Kingdom Geographic magazines Magazines established in 1935 Magazines published in London Monthly magazines published in the United Kingdom Royal Geographical Society Science and technology magazines published in the United Kingdom Odhams Press magazines