The American Geographical Society (AGS ) is an organization of professional geographers, founded in 1851 in New York City. Most fellows of the society are Americans, but among them have always been a significant number of fellows from around the world. The society encourages activities that expand geographical knowledge, and it has a well-earned reputation for presenting and interpreting that knowledge so that it can be understood and used not just by geographers but by others as well, especially policy makers. It is the oldest nationwide geographical organization in the United States.

The society publishes the Geographical Review, a quarterly scholarly periodicaldevoted exclusively to geography, which contains original and authoritative articles on all aspects of geography. Each issue also includes reviews of recent atlases, monographs and books on geography and related fields.

The society's presidents have included:

• George Bancroft (1852-1854)
• Francis L. Hawks (1854-1861)
• Henry Grinnell (1861-1864)
• Charles Patrick Daly (1864-1899)
• Seth Low (1900-1901)
• Robert Edwin Peary (1903-1907)
• Archer M. Huntington (1907-1911, Honorary President 1911-1916)
• John Greenough (1916-1925, Honorary President 1925-1934)
• John Huston Finley (1925-1934, Honorary President 1934-1940)
• Roland L. Redmond (1934-1947)
• Richard Upjohn Light (1947-195-)

Other leaders

• Dr. Isaiah Bowman (Director 1915 to 1935)
• John K. Wright (Director 1938-1949)

The society occupied its own building on Audubon Terrace in New York from 1911 until the early 1970s. In 1978, the society's research library was transferred to the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.

References

External links

• American Geographical Society
• American Geographical Society Library at UW–Milwaukee