''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 naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended ...

Robert Falcon Scott Captain Robert Falcon Scott, , (6 June 1868 – c. 29 March 1912) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the ''Discovery'' expedition of 1901–1904 and the ill-fated ''Terra Nov ...

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 ...

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

exploration Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

and research and the promotion of

geographical 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, and ...

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

people A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of prope ...

, 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 ...

travel Travel is the movement of people between distant geographical locations. Travel can be done by foot, bicycle, automobile, train, boat, bus, airplane, ship or other means, with or without luggage, and can be one way or round trip. Travel c ...

, and environmental issues, as well as summarising the latest

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

research and discoveries in

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 ...

. ''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 (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austra ...

and

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

, 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 magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...

'', “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, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

despite facing shortages of

paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distrib ...

and government censorship, and 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 daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

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 (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 its tit ...

, 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 Nicholas Crane (born 6 May 1954) is an English geographer, explorer, writer and broadcaster. Since 2004 he has written and presented four television series for BBC Two: ''Coast'', ''Great British Journeys'', '' Map Man'' and ''Town''. Early ...

Christopher Ondaatje Sir Philip Christopher Ondaatje, OC, CBE, FRSL (; born 22 February 1933) is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian–English businessman, philanthropist, adventurer, writer and bob-sledding Olympian for Canada. Ondaatje is the older brother of the author Mic ...

, Nick Danziger,

Nick Middleton Nick Middleton (born 1960) 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 coun ...

and

Vitali Vitaliev Vitali Vitaliev (russian: Виталий Витальев) 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, Ukraine. He graduated f ...

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

Jane Goodall Dame Jane Morris Goodall (; born Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall on 3 April 1934), formerly Baroness Jane van Lawick-Goodall, is an English primatologist and anthropologist. Seen as the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees, Goodall is best kn ...

Edmund Hillary Sir Edmund Percival Hillary (20 July 1919 – 11 January 2008) was a New Zealand mountaineer, explorer, and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953, Hillary and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers confirmed to have reache ...

, Paul Theroux and

Michael Palin Sir Michael Edward Palin (; born 5 May 1943) is an English actor, comedian, writer, television presenter, and public speaker. He was a member of the Monty Python comedy group. Since 1980, he has made a number of travel documentaries. Palin w ...

Reception

Robin Hanbury-Tenison 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 Sir Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, 3rd Baronet (born 7 March 1944), commonly known as Sir Ranulph Fiennes () and sometimes as Ran Fiennes, is a British explorer, writer and poet, who holds several endurance records. Fiennes served in the ...

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