British geographer
Sir John Scott Keltie
FRGS
FSS
[1]
(29 March 1840 ? 12 January 1927) was a Scottish
geographer
, best known for his work with the
Royal Geographical Society
.
History
[
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]
Keltie was born in
Dundee
and attended school in
Perth
. He matriculated at the
University of St Andrews
and the
University of Edinburgh
. He also completed a course of study at the Theological Hall of the
United Presbyterian Church
in
Edinburgh
, but did not go into a religious career.
[2]
Keltie later moved to
London
in 1871 to join
Macmillan Publishers
, where in 1873 he became sub-editor of the journal
Nature
and began separately to write articles on geography for
The Times
. In 1880, he was taken on as editor of
The Statesman's Yearbook
for Macmillan.
[2]
In 1883, Keltie joined the Royal Geographical Society and quickly became heavily involved in its activities. He was later appointed its Inspector of Geographical Education in 1884, and undertook a thorough review of the state of geography education in the UK, producing an influential 150-page report.
In 1885, he became the society's librarian, and upon the death of
Henry Walter Bates
in 1892, succeeded him as assistant secretary of the society (in effect its secretary, as the official secretary was a figurehead from the nobility). Among his first tasks was the relaunching of the
Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society
as the
Geographical Journal
in 1893, in order to appeal to a wider audience. He was officially given the title of secretary in 1896.
[2]
Between 1914 and 1915, Keltie served as president of the Geographical Association, succeeded by the author
Hilaire Belloc
. Keltie retired as secretary of the society in 1915 and was succeeded by
Arthur Robert Hinks
, though he remained as joint editor (with Hinks) of the
Geographical Journal
until 1917. He died in London in 1927.
[2]
Awards
[
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]
Keltie received various awards during his long career. In 1917, he was presented the society's
Victoria Medal
. He also received the
Cullum Geographical Medal
of the
American Geographical Society
, and the gold medals of the Paris and Royal Scottish Geographical Societies.
[2]
In 1918, Keltie was made a
Knight Bachelor
.
[1]
In popular culture
[
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]
Keltie was portrayed by
Clive Francis
in the 2016 film
The Lost City of Z
.
References
[
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]
External links
[
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]
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