earth science

Geological Society of London

Geological Society of London is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Geological Society of London rather than just read about it. In short: The Geological Society of London, known commonly as the Geological Society, is a learned society based in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest national geological society in the world and the largest in Europe, with more than 12,000 Fellows.

Key takeaways

Geological Society of London belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Geological Society of London to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Geological Society of London from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Geological Society of London, known commonly as the Geological Society, is a learned society based in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest national geological society in the world and the largest in Europe, with more than 12,000 Fellows. Fellows are entitled to the postnominal FGS (Fellow of the Geological Society), over 2,000 of whom are Chartered Geologists (CGeol). The Society is a registered charity, no. 210161 . It is also a member of the Science Council, and is licensed to award Chartered Scientist to qualifying members. The mission of the society is: "Making geologists acquainted with each other, stimulating their zeal, inducing them to adopt one nomenclature, facilitating the communication of new facts and ascertaining what is known in their science and what remains to be discovered".

History The Society was founded on 13 November 1807 at the Freemasons' Tavern, Great Queen Street, in the Covent Garden district of London. It was partly the outcome of a previous club known as the Askesian Society. There were 13 founder members: William Babington, James Parkinson, Humphry Davy, George Bellas Greenough, Arthur Aikin, William Allen, Jacques Louis, Comte de Bournon, Richard Knight, James Laird, James Franck, William Haseldine Pepys, Richard Phillips, and William Phillips. It received its royal charter on 23 April 1825 from George IV. Since 1874, the Society has been based at Burlington House, Piccadilly, London. This building houses the Society's library, which contains more than 300,000 volumes of books and journals. It is a member of the UK Science Council. In 1907 a decision was made by the Society to admit women as Associates, under the condition they distinguished themselves as geological investigators or submitted their own original research. Women were first allowed to become Fellows of the Society in 1919. Margaret Crosfield became the first, due to alphabetical primacy, of the first eight women to be elected Fellows of the Society, on 21 May 1919. In 1991, the Society merged with the Institution of Geologists, which had been formed in 1977 to represent the geological profession. The Society is a member of the European Federation of Geologists. The Society celebrated its bicentenary in 2007. It ran programmes in the geosciences in Britain and abroad, under the auspices of the science writer and palaeontologist Professor Richard Fortey, the president that year.

Specialist and regional groups The Society has 24 specialist groups and 15 regional groups which serve as an opportunity for those with specific interests to meet and discuss their subject or region. They are all free for members to join and some are open to non-members. The Regional Groups are:

The Specialist Groups are:

Publications The society publishes two of its own journals, the (formerly Quarterly) Journal of the Geological Society and the Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology & Hydrogeology. It also publishes the magazine Geoscientist for Fellows, and has a share in Geology Today, published by Wiley. It also co-publishes journals and publishes on behalf of other organisations. These include Petroleum Geoscience with the European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers; Geochemistry: Exploration, Environment, Analysis with the Association of Applied Geochemists; Journal of Micropalaeontology for The Micropalaeontological Society; Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society for the Yorkshire Geological Society; and Scottish Journal of Geology for the Geological Societies of Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Past presidents

The society counts many famous geologists amongst its past presidents. These include pioneers of geology William Buckland, Adam Sedgwick, Roderick Impey Murchison, Charles Lyell, Henry Thomas De la Beche, Thomas Henry Huxley, Joseph Prestwich, Archibald Geikie, Jethro Teall, and Charles Lapworth. Later well-known names include Alfred Harker, Arthur Elijah Trueman, Herbert Harold Read, Frederick Shotton, and Janet Watson.

Scientific awards and funds In 1831, it began issuing an annual scientific award for geology, known as the Wollaston Medal. This is still the Society's premier medal, which in 2006 was awarded to James Lovelock, the originator of the Gaia hypothesis.

Medals awarded by the Society Aberconway Medal Bigsby Medal Dewey Medal Distinguished Service Award Lyell Medal Major John Sacheverell A'Deane Coke Medal Major Edward D'Ewes Fitzgerald Coke Medal Murchison Medal President's Awards Prestwich Medal R. H. Worth Award Sue Tyler Friedman Medal William Smith Medal Wollaston Medal

Funds administered by the Society Lyell Fund Murchison Fund Wollaston Fund William Smith Fund

Bibliography Herries Davies, G.L. (2007) Whatever is Under the Earth: The Geological Society of London 1807 to 2007, London : Geological Society, ISBN 1-86239-214-5

See also Geology of Great Britain Journal of the Geological Society William Smith (geologist)

References

External links

The Geological Society The Lyell Collection Geological Society publications

Illustrations

Geological Society of London illustration

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Geological Society of London

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Geological Society of London claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Geological Society of London before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Geological Society of London ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Geological Society of London

In research: Geological Society of London appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Geological Society of London in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Geological Society of London is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1807 establishments in England, Geological Society of London, Learned societies of the United Kingdom, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Geological Society of London outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Geological Society of London in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Geological Society of London means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Geological Society of London out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Geological Society of London in simple terms?

Why does Geological Society of London matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Geological Society of London?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Geological Society of London.