The Manchester Geographical Society (founded 1884) is a

learned society A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an discipline (academia), academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and s ...

and a

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

(No. 1134626) based in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

History

When it was founded, by a group of Manchester businessmen, it was addressed by

Sir Henry Morton Stanley Sir Henry Morton Stanley (born John Rowlands; 28 January 1841 – 10 May 1904) was a Welsh Americans, Welsh-American explorer, journalist, soldier, colonial administrator, author and politician who was famous for his exploration of Central Afr ...

, the African explorer. The society's original interest was in commercial and

political geography Political geography is concerned with the study of both the spatially uneven outcomes of political processes and the ways in which political processes are themselves affected by spatial structures. Conventionally, for the purposes of analysis, po ...

, and it later contributed to creation of the first Lecturership (

Henry Yule Oldham Henry Yule Oldham, (14 December 1862 – 14 March 1951) was a teacher and geographer who, in 1901, conducted the definitive version of the Bedford Level experiment, a proof that the Earth is a sphere. Early life Oldham was born in Düsseldorf, Ge ...

) in Geography at Owen’s College, Manchester (1891) and the first Chair in Geography ( Herbert John Fleure) at the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

(1930). The Society’s Museum (1901–73) was later dispersed. Notable individuals involved in the Society’s early years have included Spencer, 8th Duke of Devonshire (President 1885–92),

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. Born duri ...

(President 1892–1936) and Louis Charles Casaertelli. Among the society's founders was Eli Sowerbutts who was its Secretary (1884–1904), whose sons also became Secretary, Harry Sowerbutts (1904–19) and Thomas William Sowerbutts (1919–33). The Society became a registered charity in 1963, and was later incorporated as a Charitable Trust in 2010.

Lunchtime Lecture Series

Throughout its history the Society has organised an annual lecture series providing free public talks on a range of topics from September to June.

Research Fund

The Society’s Research Fund provides North-West England university lecturers with funds for small projects.

Bursaries and Prizes

Each year, the Society provides Bursaries to enable postgraduate Geography Students to attend conferences. It also awards Prizes for the best Geography Undergraduate Finals Performance Students at the

Journal

The Society’s published journal was ''The Journal of the Manchester Geographical Society'' (1885–1960), succeeded by ''The Manchester Geographer'' (1960–93) and ''The North West Geographer'' (1997–2000). In 2001, it was renamed ''North West Geography'' (2001–present) and became a free online journal. The Society has also published an ''Exploring Greater Manchester'' series of excursion guides.

Library (and Atlas and Map) and Archive Collections

The Society’s Library (1884–1970) has been on permanent loan to the University of Manchester Library since 1970: it contains books on Britain (especially North-West England), nineteenth and twentieth century exploration, and travel and geography in Europe, Oceania, Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Its Map Collection (totalling over 2,000) from the eighteenth to twentieth centuries covers Africa, various continents as well as admiralty charts and other ephemera. The Society’s Atlas Collection (on loan to the

John Rylands Library The John Rylands Research Institute and Library is a late-Victorian neo-Gothic building on Deansgate in Manchester, England. It is part of the University of Manchester. The library, which opened to the public in 1900, was founded by Enriquet ...

) dates from 1701. The Society’s Archives (1884–2010) have been deposited at Manchester Archives,

Manchester Central Library Manchester Central Library is the headquarters of the city's library and information service in Manchester, England. Facing St Peter's Square, it was designed by E. Vincent Harris and constructed between 1930 and 1934. The form of the buildin ...

.The Manchester Geographical Society
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External links

Footnotes

, Brian Paul Hindle. Manchester: John Rylands University Library of Manchester, 1984 *Lloyd, Andrew ''Manchester Geographical Society Library Catalogue''. Manchester: Manchester Geographical Society, 1992 *--do.--''Early Atlases and Printed Books from the Manchester Geographical Society Collection: a catalogue'' (in: ''Bulletin of the John Rylands University Library of Manchester''; Vol. 73, no. 2). Manchester: John Rylands University Library of Manchester, 1991 *Brown, T. Nigel L. (1971) ''The History of the Manchester Geographical Society, 1884-1950''. Manchester: Manchester University Press *Leigh, M. D., (1980) "The Manchester Geographical Society, 1884–1979: An Historical Summary", in: ''The Manchester Geographer''; vol. 1(1), pp. 7–14. *Freeman, T. W. (1984) "The Manchester Geographical Society, 1884–1984", in: ''The Manchester Geographer''; vol. 5, pp. 1–12 *Hindle, B. P. (1998) "Turmoil and Transition: The Manchester Geographical Society, 1973–97", in: ''The North West Geographer''; vol. 2(1), pp. . * Hindle, B. P. (2010) "Continuing Change: The Manchester Geographical Society, 1997–2010", in: ''The North West Geographer''; vol. 10(2), pp. . * {{authority control Geographic societies G Organizations established in 1884 1884 establishments in England Organisations based in Manchester Publications established in 1884 Annual journals History of geography journals