THE Royal Scottish Geographical Society (RSGS) has appointed its first Geographer Royal for Scotland in more than a century.
Professor Charles Withers, Ogilvie Chair of Geography at the University of Edinburgh, was been awarded the title by HRH The Princess Royal during a ceremony in Perth.
He is the first person to hold the post for 118 years, with the role revived to help promote geography in research, education and in society.
Professor Withers said: "I am honoured for myself, of course and for my University. But, and principally, this honour is for geography.
"Now after a period in which the title of Geographer Royal for Scotland has lain in abeyance, the subject again has this further recognition of its standing."
The first Geographer Royal for Scotland, Sir Robert Sibbald, was appointed in 1682 by King Charles II. Sibbald was one of the leading intellectuals of his day and the first Professor of Medicine at University of Edinburgh, co-founder of the Royal College of Physicians Edinburgh and of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.
Traditionally the role was for cartographic and geographic advice, and four men have previously held the title.
The last was George Harvey Johnston, a leading Edinburgh cartographer and publisher who was Geographer Royal for Scotland to Queen Victoria from 1897.
After Johnston, the related title of “Cartographer to The King” was bestowed as a corporate warrant to the Bartholomew map making firm also from Edinburgh in the period when John George Bartholomew co-founder of RSGS was at the helm.
Mike Robinson, RSGS CEO, said: “Most modern problems are complex and global. They need greater geographical understanding. 2015 is the perfect year for the reintroduction of the Geographer Royal for Scotland, with various geographical issues from local and international geopolitical change to sustainable development goals to climate negotiations in Paris, to migration issues, transport, digital mapping, health and land reform. The need for an informed geographical representation has never been greater.”
Scotland Deputy First Minister John Swinney, Scotland Deputy First Minister, welcomed the appointment, saying: “I am extremely pleased that Professor Withers from Edinburgh University will undertake this new role as Geographer Royal for Scotland. He brings several years of relevant experience and has the necessary skills and commitment to act as an excellent ambassador for geographical knowledge.
“I have no doubt that he will prove to be dedicated to the development and promotion of geographical knowledge, championing the subject of geography in education, particularly to children in our schools, as well as to wider society. After all, the Earth’s landscapes, peoples, places and environments affect us all each day.”
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