Société Royale Belge de Géographie

The Société Royale Belge de Géographie (In English, the Royal Belgian Geographical Society) or SRBG, is a Belgian learned society which works to promote geographical sciences.

History

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The Société was founded on 27 August 1876 as the Belgian Society of Geography a few days before the opening of the Brussels Geographic Conference to promote the exploration of various parts of the world.[1] It was initially involved with commercial investment in Belgian colonies.[2] In 1882 King Leopold II authorised the society to use the prefix "Royal".[3] Although it was later funded privately Adrien de Gerlache first unveiled his plans for the Belgian Antarctic Expedition to the society in 1894.[4]

In 1900 the society had more than one thousand members including several explorers such as the American, Richard Mohun.[1][5] By the middle of the twentieth century the society had changed its objectives from exploration to scientific research and study.[1] The SRBG represents Belgium in the European Society of Geography and publishes the Belgian Journal of Geography, now branded as Belgeo (ISSN 2294-9135).[6] The SRBG awards a gold medal to noted geographers and explorers.[7]

Presidents

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See also

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References

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Bibliography

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issued by the society
  • Bulletin de la Société Belge de Géographie, 1876-1881
  • Bulletin de la Société Royale Belge de Géographie, 1882-1961
  • Revue belge de géographie, 1962-1999
about the society
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