| Administrative History | Formally established by Council on 17 May 1944, from a proposal made on 14 October 1942, 'That a lectureship be established at which distinguished specialists be invited to address the Society on the trend of geological thought in their subjects and that such lectures be published in the Quarterly Journal without prior submission to a referee'. The first 'William Smith Lecture' [named after the father of stratigraphy] was delivered on 11 July 1945 by William Whitehead Watts on 'The Geological Society: its work and workers.'
The William Smith Lecture is generally held annually although occasionally it has happened more than once in a year. Since the late 1970s it has developed into a longer two day Meeting with talks given by a number of lecturers although the event still incorporates the William Smith Lecture. |