On December 15, 1821, the inaugural meeting of the French Geographical Society was held in the city hall of Paris. 200 years ago, at the origins of the first association of geographers in world history were such outstanding scientists as Pierre-Simon Laplace, Alexander von Humboldt, Georges Leopold de Cuvier, Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac. The goals of the Society were the development of geography in all its diversity, acquaintance of the general public with the achievements of geographical science, perpetuating the memory of the explorers of distant lands. The French model of the organization has served as a model for the creation of other national geographical societies around the planet. The Russian Geographical Society congratulates colleagues on the upcoming remarkable anniversary.
"The Geographical Society was founded to promote the success of geography: it sends travelers to unknown lands; offers and assigns prizes; establishes correspondence with learned societies, travelers and geographers; publishes travels that have not yet been published and other works and maps related to geography. The French and foreigners can be members of the Society, and rightfully so! For all parts of the world should help in this matter," wrote about the French Geographical Society in his diaries Russian historian Alexander Turgenev.
Members of the French Geographical Society were Jules Verne, Anatole France, Prince Albert I of Monaco, and many other outstanding minds of that era, among whom there were many Russians. Vitaly Sychev, an expert of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, Candidate of Physico-Mathematical Sciences, will talk about first Russian members of the Society in an online lecture. The event will take place on December 13, at 18:30. More information about it can be found in the event calendar of the lecture hall.