The Palaeontographical Society is a learned society, established in 1847, and is the oldest extant Society devoted to the advancement of palaeontological knowledge. The Society publishes monographs that further its primary purpose, which is to promote the description and illustration of fossil floras and faunas from Great Britain and Ireland. Since starting publishing in March 1848 (Part 1 of

Searles Valentine Wood Searles Valentine Wood (February 14, 1798 – October 26, 1880) was an English palaeontologist. Life Wood went to sea in 1811 as a midshipman in the British East India Company's service, which he left in 1826. He then settled at Hasketon near Wo ...

's ''A Monograph of the Crag Mollusca''), the Society has published over 600 monographs.

History

The precursor of the Paleontographical Society was The London Clay Club, which was founded in 1836 by

James Scott Bowerbank James Scott Bowerbank (14 July 1797 – 8 March 1877) was a British Natural history, naturalist and palaeontologist. Biography Bowerbank was born in Bishopsgate, London, and succeeded in conjunction with his brother to his father's distillery, ...

and six other naturalists; the Club was superseded in 1847 by the Palaeontographical Society. The first council of the Society was presided over by

Sir Henry Thomas de la Beche Sir Henry Thomas De la Beche KCB, FRS (10 February 179613 April 1855) was an English geologist and palaeontologist, the first director of the Geological Survey of Great Britain, who helped pioneer early geological survey methods. He was the ...

. Initial membership included: Prof. Thomas Bell, Frederick E. Edwards, Sir Philip de Malpas Grey Egerton, Hugh Falconer, William H. Fitton, , Prof. Edward Forbes, Levett Landon Boscawen Ibbetson,

Charles Lyell Sir Charles Lyell, 1st Baronet, (14 November 1797 – 22 February 1875) was a Scottish geologist who demonstrated the power of known natural causes in explaining the earth's history. He is best known today for his association with Charles ...

, John Morris, Prof. John Phillips, Joseph Prestwich, Daniel Sharpe, James Smith, Nathaniel T. Wetherell and Alfred White; the Treasurer was Searles Wood, and Honorary Secretary was J.S. Bowerbank. Thirty-seven local secretaries were also appointed. Notable members of the Society included Robert Heddle, William King, Charles Maclaren,

Gideon Mantell Gideon Algernon Mantell Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons, MRCS Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (3 February 1790 – 10 November 1852) was an English obstetrician, geologist and paleontology, palaeontologist. His attempts to reconstr ...

, Sir Roderick Murchison and Reverend Adam Sedgwick. The membership totalled almost 600 individuals and institutions. In the following years, eminent scientists such as Richard Owen,

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 Chambers and Laurent-Guillaume de Koninck joined the ranks of the Society.

Grants and awards

The Palaeontographical Society offers financial support for research dedicated to the taxonomy and systematic palaeontology of British and Irish fossils. The Edward Forbes Prize is awarded for publication excellence by early career researchers in the field of taxonomic and systematic palaeontology; is presented at the Society’s Annual General Meeting. The Richard Owen Research Fund assists with travel, visits to museums, field work, etc. within the Society’s remit. The Palaeontographical Society Medal is awarded biennially in recognition of a sustained and important series of contributions to the taxonomic and systematic palaeontology of Great Britain and Ireland, especially those which address problems of palaeogeography, palaeoecology and phylogeny. Recipients are not limited to palaeontologists based in the UK and Ireland. Palaeontographical Society Medal recipients have been: * 2014: Prof.

William James Kennedy William James "Jim" Kennedy is a British geologist. Jim Kennedy studied at the University of London. Kennedy was a Fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford and Professor of Earth Sciences at the University of Oxford. He was curator of the Geological C ...

(first recipient) * 2016: Dr Adrian W.A. Rushton * 2018: Dr Robert Owens * 2020: Prof.

Jenny Clack Jennifer Alice Clack, (''née'' Agnew; 3 November 1947 – 26 March 2020) was an English paleontology, palaeontologist and evolutionary biologist. She specialised in the early evolution of tetrapods, specifically studying the "fish to tetrapod ...

Famous contributors

Many famous names have published monographs through the Palaeontographical Society.

published his monograph on fossil barnacles, and

Richard Owen Sir Richard Owen (20 July 1804 – 18 December 1892) was an English biologist, comparative anatomy, comparative anatomist and paleontology, palaeontologist. Owen is generally considered to have been an outstanding naturalist with a remarkabl ...

set out his early descriptions of dinosaurs, as well as his monograph on

Mesozoic The Mesozoic Era is the Era (geology), era of Earth's Geologic time scale, geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous Period (geology), Periods. It is characterized by the dominance of archosaurian r ...

fossil mammals.Owen, Richard. 1871. Monograph of the fossil Mammalia of the Mesozoic Formations. Monograph of the Palaeontographical Society London: pp. i–vi, 1–115, pls 1–4. (Issue 110, part of Volume 24)

Selected monographs published by the Society

* 1851, Darwin's ''Fossil Lepadidae'' * 1855, Darwin's ''Fossil Balanidae and Verrucidae'' * 1865–1881, Owen's ''Fossil Reptilia of the Liassic'' * 1871, Owen's ''Fossil Mammals of the Liassic Formations'' * 1901–1918, Elles & Wood's ''British Graptolites'' * 2013, Mohibullah, M., Williams, M. & Zalasiewicz, J.A. Late Ordovician ostracods of the Girvan District, south-west Scotland. ''Monograph of the Palaeontographical Society'' London: pp. 1–40, pls 1–6 (Publ 640, part of Volume 167). * 2013, Copestake, P. & Johnson, B. Lower Jurassic foraminifera from the Llanbedr (Mochras Farm) borehole, north Wales, UK. ''Monograph of the Palaeontographical Society'' London: pp. 1–403, pls 1–21 (Publ 641, part of Volume 167). * 2014, Smith, A.S. & Benson, R.B.J. Osteology of ''Rhomaleosaurus thorntoni'' (Sauropterygia: Rhomaleosauridae) from the Lower Jurassic (Toarcian) of Northamptonshire, England. ''Monograph of the Palaeontographical Society'' London: pp. 1–40, pls 1–35 (Publ 642, part of Volume 168). * 2014, Donovan, S.K. & Fearnhead, F.E. The British Devonian Crinoidea. Part 1 – Introduction and Camerata. ''Monograph of the Palaeontographical Society'' London: pp. 1–55, pls 1–15 (Publ 643, part of Volume 168). * 2015, Smith, A.B. British Jurassic regular echinoids. Part 1 (Introduction, Cidaroida, Echinothurioida, Aspidodiadematoida and Pedinoida). ''Monograph of the Palaeontographical Society'' London: pp. 1–67, pls 1–41 (Publ 644, part of Volume 169). * 2015, Wright, C.W. & Kennedy, W.J. The Ammonoidea of the Lower Chalk. Part 6. ''Monograph of the Palaeontographical Society'' London: pp. 404–459, pls 125–145 (Publ 645, part of Volume 169).

Presidents of the society

* 1847–?:

Henry de la Beche Sir Henry Thomas De la Beche KCB, FRS (10 February 179613 April 1855) was an English geologist and palaeontologist, the first director of the Geological Survey of Great Britain, who helped pioneer early geological survey methods. He was the ...

(died 1855) * c.1869

(died 1877) * ?–1892:

* 1892–1895:

Thomas Henry Huxley Thomas Henry Huxley (4 May 1825 – 29 June 1895) was an English biologist and anthropologist who specialized in comparative anatomy. He has become known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. The stor ...

* 1895–1921: Henry Woodward * 1921–1928: Edwin Tulley Newton * 1928–: * 1934–1942: Sir

Arthur Smith Woodward Sir Arthur Smith Woodward, FRS (23 May 1864 – 2 September 1944) was an English palaeontologist, known as a world expert in fossil fish. He also described the Piltdown Man fossils, which were later determined to be fraudulent. He is not rel ...

* 1942–: * 1971–1974:

Oliver Meredith Boone Bulman Oliver Meredith Boone Bulman (20 May 1902 – 18 February 1974) was a British palaeontologist. He was Woodwardian Professor of Geology at the University of Cambridge. Early life and education Oliver Bulman was born in Chelsea to artist Henr ...

* 1974–: * 1989–1994: Michael Robert House * 1994–1998: Robin Cocks * 1998–: Prof. Chris Paul * 2007–2009:

Richard Fortey Richard Alan Fortey (15 February 1946 – 7 March 2025) was a British palaeontologist, natural historian, writer and television presenter, who served as president of the Geological Society of London for its bicentennial year of 2007. As a paleo ...

* 2009– 2012: Andrew B Smith * 2013–2018: Paul M. Barrett * 2019–2021: Stephen K. Donovan * 2021–present: Caroline Buttler

References

{{Authority control

External links

*https://www.palaeosoc.org/ Paleontological institutions and organizations Paleontology in the United Kingdom Scientific societies based in the United Kingdom 1847 establishments in the United Kingdom Scientific organizations established in 1847