Sir John Scott Keltie (29 March 1840 – 12 January 1927) was a Scottish

geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...

, best known for his work with the Royal Geographical Society.

History

Keltie was born in Dundee and attended school in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

. He matriculated 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 ...

and 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 ...

. He also completed a course of study at the Theological Hall of the United Presbyterian Church in

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 ...

, but did not go into a religious career. Keltie later moved to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in 1871 to join

Macmillan Publishers Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be one of the 'Big Five' English language publ ...

, where in 1873 he became sub-editor of the journal ''

Nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are ...

'' and began separately to write articles on geography for ''

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 1880, he was taken on as editor of ''

The Statesman's Yearbook ''The Statesman's Yearbook'' is a one-volume reference book published annually since 1864 providing information on the countries of the world. It is published by Palgrave Macmillan. History In the middle of the nineteenth century, the British Pr ...

'' for Macmillan. In 1883, Keltie joined the Royal Geographical Society and quickly became heavily involved in its activities. He was later appointed its Inspector of Geographical Education in 1884, and undertook a thorough review of the state of geography education in the UK, producing an influential 150-page report. In 1885, he became the society's librarian, and upon the death of

Henry Walter Bates Henry Walter Bates (8 February 1825, in Leicester – 16 February 1892, in London) was an English naturalist and explorer who gave the first scientific account of mimicry in animals. He was most famous for his expedition to the rainforests of ...

in 1892, succeeded him as assistant secretary of the society (in effect its secretary, as the official secretary was a figurehead from the nobility). Among his first tasks was the relaunching of the ''Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society'' as the '' Geographical Journal'' in 1893, in order to appeal to a wider audience. He was officially given the title of secretary in 1896. Between 1914 and 1915, Keltie served as president of the Geographical Association, succeeded by the author Hilaire Belloc. Keltie retired as secretary of the society in 1915 and was succeeded by Arthur Robert Hinks, though he remained as joint editor (with Hinks) of the ''Geographical Journal'' until 1917. He died in London in 1927.

Awards

Keltie received various awards during his long career. In 1917, he was presented the society's Victoria Medal. He also received the

Cullum Geographical Medal The Cullum Geographical Medal is one of the oldest awards of the American Geographical Society. It was established in the will of George Washington Cullum, the vice president of the Society, and is awarded "to those who distinguish themselves by ...

of the

American Geographical Society The American Geographical Society (AGS) is an organization of professional geographers, founded in 1851 in New York City. Most fellows of the society are Americans, but among them have always been a significant number of fellows from around the ...

, and the gold medals of the Paris and Royal Scottish Geographical Societies. In 1918, Keltie was made a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are th ...

In popular culture

Keltie was portrayed by

Clive Francis Clive Francis (born 26 June 1946) is a British stage, television and film actor. Early life Francis was born in Eastbourne, Sussex. He is the son of actors Raymond Francis and his second wife Margaret Towner. His father played Detective Chief ...

in the 2016 film '' The Lost City of Z''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Keltie, John Scott 1840 births 1927 deaths Scottish geographers Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Fellows of the Royal Statistical Society Knights Bachelor Recipients of the Cullum Geographical Medal Alumni of the University of St Andrews Scientists from Dundee Victoria Medal recipients