THE ROYAL DANISH GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY

THE ROYAL DANISH GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY The Royal Danish Geographical Society was founded on the 18th of November 1876, and the first volume of Geografisk Tidsskrift appeared the following year. The rapidly increasing collections of books, periodicals and maps were placed and catalogued during the period 1877-1885. In 1885 Professor Ed. Erslev retired from the post as secretary and was succeeded by Knight Commander Otto Irminger who functioned until 1903, when Professor O. Olufsen took over the post and reorganized finances as well as the publishing activities. The following years a considerable expansion took place brought about by the many expeditions; after World War I the character of expeditions changed. They were no longer travels for the sake of exploring unknown countries, but more expeditions with well-defined research goals and so, the Society had to adapt its activities to the demands and possibilities of a new era. In 1923 Professor Olufsen was succeeded by the major-general E. Castonier as secretary of the Society, and in 1931 Dr. phil. Niels Nielsen took over this post. In 1959 an attachment to the Geographical Institute of the Copenhagen University became a natural development and enabled the Society to adapt its activities to presentday's research work. In 1956, Professor Axel Schou was appointed secretary general from which post he retired in 1971.