The Palaeontographical Society was established in 1847, making it the oldest Society in the world devoted to the advancement of palaeontological knowledge.

Our primary purpose is to promote the description and illustration of fossil floras and faunas from Great Britain and Ireland. We also support the palaeontological community through our awards, research funds and general funding opportunities.

History

The Paleontographical Society’s foundations were laid in 1836, when James Scott Bowerbank and six others created The London Clay Club. This became the Palaeontographical Society in 1847, with Sir Henry Thomas de la Beche as the first president. The purpose was to depict fossil fauna and flora, which at that time lacked a dedicated outlet, and since starting publishing in March 1848, the Society has published over 600 monographs.

Notable members of the Society included Gideon Mantell (1790–1852, Roderick Murchison (1791–1871), Reverend Adam Sedgwick (1785–1873), Richard Owen (1804–1892), and Charles Darwin (1809–1882). We have published monographs by many of these authors, as well as historical notable female geologists and palaeontologists such as Gertrude Lilian Elles (1872–1960) and Ethel Mary Reader Wood (1871–1946).