| Administrative History | From its earliest days, the Geological Society collected specimens. Unlike rival collections at the British Museum and other learned bodies, the Society's Museum was intended to be comprehensive. Although restricted to members of the Society, it was to be of use to both beginners and accomplished geologists. The rudimentary Museum was first laid out in 1809, when the Society moved to its first premises at 4 Garden Court, Temple.
At the first meeting of Council, 14 June 1810, it was resolved that Leonard Horner, Wilson Lowry, Comte de Bournon and Peter Mark Roget would form a 'Committee of Arrangement' to take charge of the mineral collection. The first Keeper of the Museum was Thomas Webster, appointed in 1812. His role was not curatorial, instead he was charged with unpacking and registering the specimens which would then be catalogued by the Committee of Arrangement. In 1829, the first Curator, William Lonsdale, was appointed and it was during his tenure that a standing Museum Committee was formed.
By the 1860s, the Museum Committee had merged with the Library Committee. This arrangement continued until 1911 when the Museum was disposed of. |