The Geological Society of London, known commonly as the Geological Society, is a

learned society A learned society ( ; also scholarly, intellectual, or academic society) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and sciences. Membership may be open to al ...

based in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest national geological society in the world and the largest in Europe, with more than 12,000

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

s. Fellows are entitled to the

postnominal Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, post-nominal titles, designatory letters, or simply post-nominals, are letters placed after a person's name to indicate that the individual holds a position, an academic degree, accreditation ...

FGS (Fellow of the Geological Society), over 2,000 of whom are Chartered Geologists (CGeol). The Society is a

registered charity A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definitio ...

, no. 210161. It is also a member of the

Science Council The Science Council is a UK organisation that was established by Royal Charter in 2003. The principal activity of The Science Council is the promotion of the advancement and dissemination of knowledge of and education in science pure and applie ...

, and is licensed to award

Chartered Scientist Chartered Scientist (CSci) is a professional qualification in the United Kingdom that is awarded by the Science Council through its licensed member organisations. Holders of this qualification can use the post-nominal letters CSci. Chartered sci ...

to qualifying members. The mission of the society is: "Making geologists acquainted with each other, stimulating their zeal, inducing them to adopt one nomenclature, facilitating the communication of new facts and ascertaining what is known in their science and what remains to be discovered".

History

The Society was founded on 13 November 1807 at the

Freemasons' Tavern The Freemasons' Tavern was established in 1775 at 61–65 Great Queen Street in the West End of London, West End of London. It served as a meeting place for a variety of notable organisations from the 18th century until it was demolished in 1909 ...

Great Queen Street Great Queen Street is a street in the West End of central London in England. It is a continuation of Long Acre from Drury Lane to Kingsway. It runs from 1 to 44 along the north side, east to west, and 45 to about 80 along the south side, wes ...

, in the

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...

district of London. It was partly the outcome of a previous club known as the Askesian Society. There were 13 founder members: William Babington,

James Parkinson James Parkinson (11 April 1755 – 21 December 1824) was an English surgeon, apothecary, geologist, palaeontologist and political activist. He is best known for his 1817 work ''An Essay on the Shaking Palsy'', in which he was the first to desc ...

Humphry Davy Sir Humphry Davy, 1st Baronet (17 December 177829 May 1829) was a British chemist and inventor who invented the Davy lamp and a very early form of arc lamp. He is also remembered for isolating, by using electricity, several Chemical element, e ...

George Bellas Greenough George Bellas Greenough FRS FGS (18 January 1778 – 2 April 1855) was a pioneering English geologist. He is best known as a synthesizer of geology rather than as an original researcher. Trained as a lawyer, he was a talented speaker and hi ...

Arthur Aikin Arthur Aikin (19 May 177315 April 1854) was an English chemist, mineralogist and scientific writer, and was a founding member of the Chemical Society (now the Royal Society of Chemistry). He first became its treasurer in 1841, and later became ...

, William Allen,

Jacques Louis, Comte de Bournon Jacques or Jacq are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over one hundred identified noble families related t ...

, Richard Knight, James Laird, James Franck,

William Haseldine Pepys William Haseldine Pepys Geological Society of London, FGS Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (23 March 1775 – 17 August 1856) (or William Hasledine Pepys - both versions were used during his lifetime) was an English scientist and founder of learne ...

, Richard Phillips, and William Phillips. It received its

royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...

on 23 April 1825 from

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death in 1830. At the time of his accession to the throne, h ...

. Since 1874, the Society has been based at

Burlington House Burlington House is a building on Piccadilly in Mayfair, London. It was originally a private English Baroque and then Neo-Palladian mansion owned by the Earl of Burlington, Earls of Burlington. It was significantly expanded in the mid-19th cent ...

Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, England, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road (England), A4 road that connects central London to ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. This building houses the Society's library, which contains more than 300,000 volumes of books and journals. It is a member of the UK

. In 1907 a decision was made by the Society to admit women as Associates, under the condition they distinguished themselves as geological investigators or submitted their own original research. Women were first allowed to become Fellows of the Society in 1919.

Margaret Crosfield Margaret Chorley Crosfield (7 September 1859 – 13 October 1952) was a British paleontologist and geologist. Biography Crosfield became an active member of the Geologists' Association in 1892, later becoming a council member in 1918. In 1894 sh ...

became the first, due to alphabetical primacy, of the first eight women to be elected Fellows of the Society, on 21 May 1919. In 1991, the Society merged with the Institution of Geologists, which had been formed in 1977 to represent the geological profession. The Society is a member of the

European Federation of Geologists European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...

. The Society celebrated its bicentenary in 2007. It ran programmes in the

geosciences Earth science or geoscience includes all fields of natural science related to the planet Earth. This is a branch of science dealing with the physical, chemical, and biological complex constitutions and synergistic linkages of Earth's four spheres ...

in Britain and abroad, under the auspices of the science writer and palaeontologist Professor Richard Fortey, the president that year.

Specialist and regional groups

The Society has 24 specialist groups and 15 regional groups which serve as an opportunity for those with specific interests to meet and discuss their subject or region. They are all free for members to join and some are open to non-members. The Regional Groups are: The Specialist Groups are:

Publications

The society publishes two of its own journals, the (formerly ''Quarterly'') ''

Journal of the Geological Society The ''Journal of the Geological Society '' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the Geological Society of London. It covers research in all aspects of the Earth sciences. References External links * Proceedings of the Geologica ...

'' and the '' Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology & Hydrogeology''. It also publishes the magazine '' Geoscientist'' for Fellows, and has a share in ''

Geology Today ''Geology Today'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Wiley on behalf of the Geologists' Association and the Geological Society of London. The editor-in-chief is Peter Doyle (Geological Society of London). The journal co ...

'', published by

Blackwell Science Wiley-Blackwell is an international scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly publishing business of John Wiley & Sons. It was formed by the merger of John Wiley & Sons Global Scientific, Technical, and Medical business with Blackwell Publish ...

. It also co-publishes journals and publishes on behalf of other organisations. These include '' Petroleum Geoscience'' with the

European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers The European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers (EAGE) is a professional organization for geoscientists and engineers, established in 1951 with a worldwide membership. The association provides a platform for professionals in geophysics, p ...

; ''Geochemistry: Exploration, Environment, Analysis'' with the Association of Applied Geochemists; '' Journal of Micropalaeontology'' for

The Micropalaeontological Society The Micropalaeontological Society (TMS) is a scientific society based in the UK with international membership. It was founded in 1970 for the promotion of the study of micropalaeontology, the study of microscopic fossils. TMS is established as ...

; ''Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society'' for the

Yorkshire Geological Society The Yorkshire Geological Society is a learned, professional and educational charity devoted to the earth sciences, founded in 1837. Its work is centred on the geology of Yorkshire, and the north of England more generally, ranging from Northumbria ...

; and '' Scottish Journal of Geology'' for the Geological Societies of

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

and

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Past presidents

The society counts many famous geologists amongst its past presidents. These include pioneers of geology

William Buckland William Buckland Doctor of Divinity, DD, Royal Society, FRS (12 March 1784 – 14 August 1856) was an English theologian, geologist and paleontology, palaeontologist. His work in the early 1820s proved that Kirkdale Cave in North Yorkshire h ...

Adam Sedgwick Adam Sedgwick FRS (; 22 March 1785 – 27 January 1873) was a British geologist and Anglican priest, one of the founders of modern geology. He proposed the Cambrian and Devonian period of the geological timescale. Based on work which he did ...

Roderick Impey Murchison Sir Roderick Impey Murchison, 1st Baronet (19 February 1792 – 22 October 1871) was a Scottish geologist who served as director-general of the British Geological Survey from 1855 until his death in 1871. He is noted for investigating and desc ...

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 ...

, Henry Thomas De la Beche,

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 ...

Joseph Prestwich Sir Joseph Prestwich (12 March 1812 – 23 June 1896) was a British geologist and businessman, known as an expert on the Tertiary Period and for having confirmed the findings of Boucher de Perthes of ancient flint tools in the Somme valley ...

Archibald Geikie Sir Archibald Geikie (28 December 1835 – November 1924) was a Scottish geologist and writer. Early life Geikie was born in Edinburgh in 1835, the eldest son of Isabella Thom and her husband James Stuart Geikie, a musician and music critic. ...

Jethro Teall Sir Jethro Justinian Harris Teall FRS HFRSE PGS (5 January 1849 – 2 July 1924) was a British geologist and petrographist. Teallite is named after him. Life He was born to Jethro Teall of Sandwich, Kent (1816-1848) and his wife, Mary Hathaw ...

, and

Charles Lapworth Charles Lapworth Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS Fellow of the Geological Society, FGS (20 September 1842 – 13 March 1920) was a headteacher and an English geologist who pioneered faunal analysis using index fossils and identified the Ordov ...

. Later well-known names include

Alfred Harker Alfred Harker Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (19 February 1859 – 28 July 1939) was an English geologist who specialised in petrology and interpretive petrography. He was lecturer in petrology at the University of Cambridge for many years, a ...

Arthur Elijah Trueman Sir Arthur Elijah Trueman (26 April 1894 – 5 January 1956) was a British geologist. Life Trueman was born in Nottingham, the son of Elijah Trueman, a lacemaker, and his wife Thirza Newton Cottee. He was educated at High Pavement School in N ...

Herbert Harold Read Herbert Harold Read Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS, Royal Society of Edinburgh, FRSE, Geological Society of London, FGS, (17 December 1889, in Whitstable – 29 March 1970) was a British geologist and Professor of Geology at Imperial Col ...

, Frederick Shotton, and

Janet Watson Janet Vida Watson FRS FGS (1923–1985) was a British geologist. She was a professor of Geology at Imperial College, a rapporteur for the International Geological Correlation Program (IGCP) (1977–1982) and a vice president of the Roy ...

Scientific awards and funds

In 1831, it began issuing an annual scientific award for geology, known as the

Wollaston Medal The Wollaston Medal is a scientific award for geology and the highest award granted by the Geological Society of London, the oldest geological society in the world. The medal is named after William Hyde Wollaston, and was first awarded in 1831. I ...

. This is still the Society's premier medal, which in 2006 was awarded to

James Lovelock James Ephraim Lovelock (26 July 1919 – 26 July 2022) was an English independent scientist, environmentalist and futurist. He is best known for proposing the Gaia hypothesis, which postulates that the Earth functions as a self-regulating syst ...

, the originator of the

Gaia hypothesis The Gaia hypothesis (), also known as the Gaia theory, Gaia paradigm, or the Gaia principle, proposes that living organisms interact with their Inorganic compound, inorganic surroundings on Earth to form a Synergy, synergistic and Homeostasis, s ...

Medals awarded by the Society

* Aberconway Medal *

Bigsby Medal The Bigsby Medal is a medal of the Geological Society of London established by John Jeremiah Bigsby. Recipients SourcThe Geological Society See also * List of geology awards * Prizes named after people This is a list of awards that are na ...

* Dewey Medal * Distinguished Service Award *

Lyell Medal The Lyell Medal is a prestigious annual scientific medal given by the Geological Society of London, equal in status to the Murchison Medal. This medal is awarded based on one Earth Scientist's exceptional contribution of research to the scientific ...

* Major John Sacheverell A'Deane Coke Medal * Major Edward D'Ewes Fitzgerald Coke Medal *

Murchison Medal The Murchison Medal is an academic award established by Roderick Murchison, who died in 1871. First awarded in 1873, it is normally given to people who have made a significant contribution to geology by means of a substantial body of research an ...

* President's Awards *

Prestwich Medal The Prestwich Medal is a medal of the Geological Society of London established in the will of Joseph Prestwich "to apply the accumulated annual proceeds...at the end of every three years, in providing a Gold Medal to the value of Twenty Pounds whic ...

* R. H. Worth Award *

Sue Tyler Friedman Medal The Sue Tyler Friedman Medal is awarded by the Geological Society of London for work on the history of geology. Established in 1987, it is named after the wife of academic journal editor and publisher Gerald M. Friedman, and was funded by a gift t ...

* William Smith Medal *

Funds administered by the Society

* Lyell Fund *

Murchison Fund The Murchison Fund is an award given by the Geological Society of London to researchers under the age of 40 who have contributed substantially to the study of hard rock and tectonic geology. It is named in honour of Prof. Roderick Impey Murchison ...

* Wollaston Fund * William Smith Fund

Bibliography

* Herries Davies, G.L. (2007)
Whatever is Under the Earth: The Geological Society of London 1807 to 2007
', London : Geological Society,

References

External links

The Geological Society

The Lyell Collection

Geological Society publications
{{DEFAULTSORT:Geological Society Learned societies of the United Kingdom Scientific organizations established in 1807 1807 establishments in England Scientific organisations based in the United Kingdom Publishing companies of the United Kingdom