Hakluyt Society - old news and past events

Past News and Events

Annual General Meeting and Reception, Wednesday 29 June 2011

The 2011 Annual General Meeting of the Hakluyt Society took place on Wednesday, 29 June 2011 at the House of the Royal Geographical Society, chaired by Professor Will Ryan. Sadly, the occasion marked the early retirement of Professor Ryan after three years as President, and Dr Sarah Tyacke paid tribute to the exceptional service that Professor Ryan had rendered during his long association with the Society. In appreciation, and in recognition of Professor Ryan's specialist field of study, the officers and Council presented him with a framed early map of European Russia.
On the proposal of Council, Captain Michael Barritt was elected to succeed Professor Ryan as President of the Society for the next four years. Captain Barritt, a former Hydrographer of the Royal Navy, has been a member of the Society since 1973 and has served on Council since 2003, latterly as Vice President. He is a Vice President of the Nautical Institute, a Younger Brother of Trinity House, and a freeman of the Honourable Company of Master Mariners. He continues to actively research in the field of maritime history, specialising in the development of hydrographic surveying in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. His publications include Eyes of the Admiralty (2008) and numerous articles and reviews, principally for the Mariner's Mirror.
The meeting continued with the election of three new members of Council to replace those retiring: Dr Jim Bennett, Director of the Museum of the History of Science at the University of Oxford; Dr Surekha Davies, Leverhulme Early Career Fellow in History at Birkbeck, University of London; and Mr Bruce Hunter, who as served the Society for many years as its literary agent. Mr Anthony Payne, antiquarian bookseller and bibliographical historian who has been a member of Council since 1992, was elected as a Vice President of the Society.
The meeting was followed by the Annual Lecture for 2011, 'Pedro Páez on Northern Ethiopia: Ethnographical Insights and Missionary Zeal', delivered by Professor Manuel João Ramos, of the Instituto Superior de Ciências do Trabalho e da Empresa, Lisbon and the Society’s International Representative for Portugal. The lecture coincides with the forthcoming landmark publication by the Society of a translation of Pedro Paez's History of Ethiopia, of which Professor Ramos is one of the editors.

Annual General Meeting and Reception, 23 June 2010

The 2010 Annual General Meeting of the Hakluyt Society took place on Wednesday, 23 June 2010 at the House of the Royal Geographical Society, chaired by the President of the Society, Professor Will Ryan. The formal proceedings included the election of three new members of Council, Major Anthony Keeley, Jonathan King and Professor Charles Withers, who replace Susanna Fisher, Anthony Payne and Dr Joan-Pau Rubiés. The guest speaker this year was Ray Howgego (writer of this website) whose highly illustrated lecture 'Invented and Apocryphal Narratives of Travel; from Ancient Egypt to the Present Day' was very well received. A reception for members and their guests followed the lecture.

Annual General Meeting and Reception, 24 June 2009

The Annual General Meeting of the Hakluyt Society took place on Wednesday, 24th June at the House of the Royal Geographical Society. The President of the Hakluyt Society, Professor Will Ryan, was in the chair and began the proceedings by welcoming members and their guests. The meeting approved the minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting and the Statement of Accounts for 2008, following which the President presented his report on the developments of the past year. Mr David Darbyshire was re-elected as Honorary Treasurer and presented his annual report on the Society's financial situation. A proposal of the Council to raise the annual subscription to £60 ($110), and to remove the surcharge on payment by credit card, was carried by vote and will take effect on 1 January 2010.

On the proposal of council the meeting re-elected a number of officers into their existing positions, and elected to Council Professor Felipe Fernández-Armesto, Professor Peter Hulme and Professor Suzanne Schwarz and Ms Catherine Scheybeler (co-opted 2008), replacing retiring members Captain Richard Campbell, Professor Peter Rivière and Professor Tim Youngs. The meeting was followed by the Annual Lecture for 2009, 'Great British Journeys', delivered by the well-known writer, traveller and broadcaster Nicholas Crane. After conveying his thanks to Mr Crane, the retiring President brought the meeting to a close and invited members and guests to a reception in the hall adjacent.