Geological Society of London

The Geological Society offices in the Burlington House, Picadilly, London

The Geological Society of London (also known as The Geological Society^[1]) is a learned society based in the United Kingdom with the aim of "investigating the mineral structure of the Earth". It is the oldest national geological society in the world and the largest in Europe with over 9,000 Fellows entitled to the postnominal FGS (Fellow of the Geological Society) — over 2,000 of whom are Chartered Geologists (CGeol). The Society is a Registered Charity, No 210161.

History

The Society was founded in 1807. It was partly the outcome of a previous club known as the Askesian Society, and among the more prominent founders were William Babington, James Parkinson, Humphry Davy and George Bellas Greenough. It received its Royal Charter in 1825 from George IV.

Since 1874 the Society has been based at Burlington House, Piccadilly, London. This building houses the Society's library, which contains more than 300,000 volumes of books and journals.^[2] It is a member of the UK Science Council.

In 1991 it merged with the Institution of Geologists, which had been formed in 1977 to represent the geological profession.^[3]

The Society celebrated its bicentenary in 2007 with a number of programmes to raise the profile of the geosciences in Britain and abroad under the auspices of the well-known popular science writer and palaeontologist Professor Richard Fortey, the President over 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.^[4]

The Regional Groups are:

Central Scotland
East Anglian
East Midlands
Home Counties North
Hong Kong
North West
Northern
Solent
South East
South West
Southern Wales
Thames Valley
West Midlands
Western
Yorkshire

The Specialist Groups are:

Borehole Research Group
British Geophysical Association
British Sedimentological Research Group
British Society for Geomorphology
Coal Geology Group
Engineering Group
Environment Group
Environmental and Industrial Geophysics Group
Forensic Geoscience Group
Gaia: Earth Systems Science Group
Geochemistry Group
Geological Curators Group
Geological Remote Sensing Group
Geoscience Information Group
History of Geology Group
Hydrogeological Group
Joint Association for Quaternary Research
Joint Association of Geoscientists for International Development
Marine Studies Group
Metamorphic Studies Group
Mineral Deposits Studies Group
Petroleum Group
Tectonic Studies Group
Volcanic and Magmatic Studies Group

Publications

The society publishes two of its own journals, the (formerly Quarterly) Journal of the Geological Society and the Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology. It also publishes the magazine Geoscientist for Fellows, and has a share in Geology Today, published by Blackwell Science.

It also co-publishes journals and publishes on behalf of other organisations. These include Petroleum Geoscience with the European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers (EAGE), Geochemistry: Exploration, Environment, Analysis with the Association of Applied Geochemists (AAG), Journal of Micropalaeontology for the Micropalaeontological Society, Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society for the Yorkshire Geological Society and Scottish Journal of Geology for the Geological Societies of Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Past presidents

Main article: President of the Geological Society of London

The society counts many famous geologists amongst its past presidents. These include pioneers of geology Buckland, Sedgwick, Murchison, Lyell, De la Beche, T.H.Huxley, Prestwich, Geikie and Lapworth. Later well-known names include Alfred Harker, Arthur Trueman, H.H.Read and Frederick Shotton. The current president is Dr Bryan Lovell, University of Cambridge.

Scientific awards and funds

In 1831 it began issuing an annual scientific award for geology, known as the Wollaston Medal. This is still the Society's premier medal, which in 2006 was awarded to James Lovelock, the originator of the Gaia Hypothesis.

Medals awarded by the Society

Funds administered by the Society

Bibliography

Herries Davies, G.L. (2007) Whatever is Under the Earth: The Geological Society of London 1807 to 2007, London : Geological Society, ISBN 1-86239-214-5

References

↑ The Geological Society, UK.
↑ The Geological Society, UK.
↑ Brassington, R.. "The Institution of Geologists — a brief history". The Geological Society, London. http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/gsl/op/edit/society/history/page3299.html. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
↑ Specialist and Regional Groups, The Geological Society, UK.

External links

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[1] The Geological Society, UK.

[2] The Geological Society, UK.

[IG-3] Brassington, R.. "The Institution of Geologists — a brief history". The Geological Society, London. http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/gsl/op/edit/society/history/page3299.html. Retrieved 16 May 2010.

[4] Specialist and Regional Groups, The Geological Society, UK.

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