penetrate the ice north of Spitsbergen, and reached 80 deg. 30' N.,
while Russian parties twice wintered at Bell Sound.
Geographical societies.
In reviewing the progress of geographical discovery thus far, it has
been possible to keep fairly closely to a chronological order. But in
the 19th century and after exploring work was so generally and
steadily maintained in all directions, and was in so many cases
narrowed down from long journeys to detailed surveys within relatively
small areas, that it becomes desirable to cover the whole period at
one view for certain great divisions of the world. (See AFRICA; ASIA;
AUSTRALIA; POLAR REGIONS; &c.) Here, however, may be noticed the
development of geographical societies devoted to the encouragement of
exploration and research. The first of the existing geographical
societies was that of Paris, founded in 1825 under the title of La
Societe de Geographie. The Berlin Geographical Society (Gesellschaft
fur Erdkunde) is second in order of seniority, having been founded in
1827. The Royal Geographical Society, which was founded in London in
1830, comes third on the list; but it may be viewed as a direct result
of the earlier African Association founded in 1788. Sir John Barrow,
Sir John Cam Hobhouse (Lord Broughton), Sir Roderick Murchison, Mr
Robert Brown and Mr Bartle Frere formed the foundation committee of
the Royal Geographical Society, and the first president was Lord
Goderich. The action of the society in supplying practical instruction
to intending travellers, in astronomy, surveying and the various
branches of science useful to collectors, has had much to do with
advancement of discovery. Since the war of 1870 many geographical
societies have been established on the continent of Europe. At the
close of the 19th century there were upwards of 100 such societies in
the world, with more than 50,000 members, and over 150 journals were
devoted entirely to geographical subjects.[11] The great development
of photography has been a notable aid to explorers, not only by
placing at their disposal a faithful and ready means of recording the
features of a country and the types of inhabitants, but by supplying a
method of quick and accurate topographical surveying.
THE PRINCIPLES OF GEOGRAPHY
As regards the scope of geography, the order of the various
departments and their inter-relation, there is little difference of
opinion, and the principles of geography[12] are now generally
accepted by modern geographers. The order in which the various
subjects are treated in the following sketch is the natural succession
from fundamental to dependent facts, which corresponds also to the
evolution of the diversities of the earth's crust and of its
inhabitants.
Mathematical geography.
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