Charles William John Withers, (born 6 December 1954) is a British

historical geographer Historical geography is the branch of geography that studies the ways in which geographic phenomena have changed over time. It is a synthesizing discipline which shares both topical and methodological similarities with history, anthropology, eco ...

and academic. He has been the Geographer Royal for Scotland since 2015, and held the Ogilvie Chair of Geography at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

from 1994 to 2019.

Early life and education

Withers was born on 6 December 1954. He was educated at Daniel Stewart's College, an all-boys

private school Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

. He studied at the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

(

BSc A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

), and Downing College, Cambridge ( PhD).

Academic career

Withers joined the

as Professor of Historical Geography in 1994. He was Head of its Institute of Geography from 2006 to 2009, and held the Ogilvie Chair of Geography from 2010 to 2019. In September 2015, Withers was appointed

Geographer Royal Geographer Royal is a Scottish honorific appointment. The holder of the position originally was intended to give geographic and mapping advice to the sovereign. In 1682, Charles II of England, King Charles II appointed the first Geographer Royal, ...

for Scotland: the first such appointment since 1897.

Professional affiliations

* Fellow of the British Academy *

Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...

Fellow of the Royal Historical Society A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This socie ...

*Member of the

Academia Europaea The Academia Europaea is a pan-European Academy of Humanities, Letters, Law, and Sciences. The Academia was founded in 1988 as a functioning Europe-wide Academy that encompasses all fields of scholarly inquiry. It acts as co-ordinator of Europea ...

*Chartered Geographer * Member of the Academy of Learned Societies for the Social Sciences

Books

*''Placing the Enlightenment: thinking geographically about the Age of Reason'' (University of Chicago Press, 2007). *''Geography and revolution'', edited with David N. Livingstone (University of Chicago Press, 2005). *''Georgian geographies: essays on space, place and landscape in the eighteenth century'', edited with Miles Ogborn (Manchester University Press, 2004). *''Science and medicine in the Scottish Enlightenment'', edited with Paul Wood (Tuckwell Press, 2002). *''Geography, science and national identity: Scotland since 1520'' (Cambridge University Press, 2001). *''Geography and Enlightenment'' edited with David N. Livingstone (University of Chicago Press, 1999). *''Urban Highlanders: Highland-Lowland migration and urban Gaelic culture, 1700-1900'' (Tuckwell Press, 1998). *''Urbanising Britain: essays on class and community in nineteenth-century Britain,'' edited with Gerry Kearns (Cambridge University Press, 1991). *''Discovering the Cotswolds'' (John Donald, 1990). *''Gaelic Scotland: the transformation of a culture region'' (Routledge, 1988). *''The Highland Communities of Dundee and Perth 1797-1891: a study in the social history of migrant Highlanders'' (Abertay Historical Society Publication, 1986). *''Gaelic in Scotland 1698 to 1891: the geographical history of a language'' (John Donald, 1984).

References

External links

Homepage
1954 births Living people Academics from Edinburgh People educated at Stewart's Melville College Fellows of the British Academy Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Scottish geographers Scottish linguists Scottish scholars and academics Fellows of the Academy of Social Sciences Academics of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of St Andrews Alumni of Downing College, Cambridge Members of Academia Europaea Fellows of the Royal Historical Society British historical geographers 20th-century Scottish educators 21st-century Scottish educators Recipients of the Royal Geographical Society Founder's Medal Fellows of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society {{Geographer-stub