The Oxford University Exploration Club was established in December 1927 by

Edward Max Nicholson Edward Max Nicholson (12 July 1904 – 26 April 2003) was a pioneering environmentalist, ornithologist and internationalist, and a founder of the World Wildlife Fund. Early life Max Nicholson, as he was known to all, was born in Kilternan, Ire ...

, Colin Trapnell, and

Charles Sutherland Elton Charles Sutherland Elton (29 March 1900 – 1 May 1991) was an English zoologist and animal ecologist. He is associated with the development of population and community ecology, including studies of invasive organisms. Personal life Charles S ...

. The Club's aim is to support and advise students with planning original expeditions abroad. Recent expeditions to Tibet, the Congo, Greenland, Trinidad, Mongolia, Svalbard, Namibia, Papua New Guinea and the remote Comoros Islands have discovered new species of birds, insects and plants, published scientific papers on the rainforest canopy, found some of the world’s deepest caves, scaled unclimbed peaks and recorded the folk music of nomads; all in co-operation and collaboration with local people and organisations. The Club was merged in 1965 with the Oxford University Women's Exploration Club (founded by

Henrietta Hutton Henrietta Hutton (née Cooke) (1939–1963) was a British ornithologist and a founding member of the Oxford University Women's Exploration Club. The Henrietta Hutton Research Grant was established in Henrietta's name in 1964 with a financial endo ...

), with equal status granted for both male and female members. Former members include: *

Edward Shackleton, Baron Shackleton Edward Arthur Alexander Shackleton, Baron Shackleton, (15 July 1911 – 22 September 1994) was a British geographer, Royal Air Force officer and Labour Party politician. Early life and career Born in Wandsworth, London, Shackleton was the you ...

- Chairman 1932-33, member of the 1932 expedition to Sarawak in Borneo, organised by

Tom Harrisson Major (United Kingdom), Major Tom Harnett Harrisson, DSO OBE (26 September 1911 – 16 January 1976) was a British polymath. In the course of his life he was an ornithologist, explorer, journalist, broadcaster, soldier, guerrilla, ethnologist, mu ...

, along with the Oxford University Ellesmere Land Expedition (led by

Gordon Noel Humphreys Gordon Noel Humphreys (1883–1966) was a British born surveyor, pilot, botanist, explorer and doctor. Originally trained as a surveyor, Humphreys worked in both Mexico and Uganda. During World War I he served as a pilot with the Royal Flying Corp ...

) *

Wilfred Thesiger Sir Wilfred Patrick Thesiger (3 June 1910 – 24 August 2003), also known as Mubarak bin Landan ( ar, مُبَارَك بِن لَنْدَن, ''the blessed one of London'') was a British military officer, explorer, and writer. Thesiger's trav ...

- Treasurer of the Club's Committee 1931-1932 *

Alex Hibbert Alexander Piers William Hibbert (born 19 April 1986) is a British polar expedition leader, public speaker, author and photographer. He lives in London. Family and education Hibbert was born in Southsea, England, the second son of Commodore Ric ...

John Buchan John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir (; 26 August 1875 – 11 February 1940) was a Scottish novelist, historian, and Unionist politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the 15th since Canadian Confederation. After a brief legal career ...

- President 1930 - 1934 *Gerald Harvey Thompson - assistant entomologist on the 1938 expedition to the Cayman Islands *

James Fisher (naturalist) James Maxwell McConnell Fisher (3 September 1912 – 25 September 1970) was a British author, editor, broadcaster, naturalist and ornithologist. He was also a leading authority on Gilbert White and made over 1,000 radio and television broadcast ...

- Junior Treasurer 1932-34 *

Andrew Croft Colonel Noel Andrew Cotton Croft, (30 November 1906 – 26 June 1998) was a member of the Special Operations Executive in World War II, with operations in Norway and Corsica, as well as military attaché to Sweden. He was also an Arctic explo ...

- Oxford University Arctic Expedition, 1935–36 *

Kenneth Mason (geographer) Lieut-Colonel Kenneth Mason MC (10 September 1887 – 2 June 1976) was a British soldier and explorer notable as the first statutory professor of Geography at the University of Oxford. His work surveying the Himalayas was rewarded in 1927 with ...

- Vice President 1933 - 1938

Previous expeditions

*Oxford University Greenland Expedition, 1928 *Oxford University British Guiana Expedition, 1929 *Oxford University Expedition to Lapland, 1930 *Oxford University Hudson Strait Expedition, 1931 *Oxford University Expedition to Sarawak (Borneo), 1932 *Oxford University Arctic Expedition (Spitsbergen), 1933 *Oxford University New Hebrides Expedition, 1933 *Abyssinia Expedition, 1933 *Oxford University Ellesmere Land Expedition, 1934–35 *Oxford University Greenland Expedition 1935 *Oxford University Arctic Expedition (North-East Land), 1935–36 *Oxford University Greenland Expedition, 1936 *The Faeroes Biological Expedition, 1937

Presidents

*Carla V. Fuenteslópez, 2021–22 *Emily Brannigan, 2020–21 *Matt Jones, 2019–20 *Isabel Carter, 2018–19 *Will Hartz, 2016–17

References

Bibliography

* The Times July 15, 1935. pg. 15 * 1928 - 1937 Annual Reports, Oxford University Exploration Club

External links

Oxford University Exploration Club website
- OUEC catalogue held at the Bodleian Library (contact Archivist for access) {{Authority control Student organizations established in 1927 Clubs and societies of the University of Oxford Travelers organizations