American Geographical Society Presentation of the Society's Medals Source: Geographical Review, Vol. 54, No. 2 (Apr., 1964), pp. 239-242 Published by: American Geographical Society Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/213188 . Accessed: 09/05/2014 19:41 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. . American Geographical Society is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Geographical Review. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 169.229.32.138 on Fri, 9 May 2014 19:41:38 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Transcript
American Geographical Society
Presentation of the Society's MedalsSource: Geographical Review, Vol. 54, No. 2 (Apr., 1964), pp. 239-242Published by: American Geographical SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/213188 .
Accessed: 09/05/2014 19:41
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp
.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].
.
American Geographical Society is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access toGeographical Review.
http://www.jstor.org
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SOME 250 persons-Fellows and staff and their guests-gathered at the St. Regis Hotel in New York on the evening of December 5 for the annual dinner of the Society. The President, Dr. Walter A. Wood, presided, and Dr. F. Kenneth Hare, dean of the
Faculty of Arts and Science at McGill University, gave the address. Under the provocative title of "The Mustardseed Sun" Dean Hare examined the public image of the twin sciences of geography and meteorology in the United States today and came to some challenging conclusions.
A special feature of the dinner, as always, was the presentation of awards. Dr. Wood announced the conferral of Honorary Fellowship on three eminent scientists: Dr. John Quincy Stewart, retired associate professor of astrophysical sciences at Princeton University; Dr. Gilbert F. White, professor of geography at the University of Chicago; and Dr. Georg Wiist, professor of oceanography and maritime meteorology at the University of Kiel. Only Dr. Wiist was present to accept the scroll.
The Society's Cullum Geographical Medal for 1963 was awarded to Miss Rachel L. Carson, who, as Dr. Wood remarked, needed no introduction to this audience. He spoke warmly of Miss Carson as a person, as a scientist, and as a writer and then read the following citation:
RACHEL LOUISE CARSoN-scientist, writer, crusader. The American Geographical Society holds you in high esteem as the creator of a series of books which have far-reaching geographical significance. For the past quarter of a century you have been producing living literature, broad and diverse in scope but still sharing a common theme-the en- vironment in which man holds an increasingly precarious place.
There is little need to emphasize that you are by no means a "nova" in the firmament of authors. On the contrary, you have been steadfastly developing your talent since child- hood.
Your first book, "Under the Sea-Wind," derived from an essay which one reviewer described as "one of the most beautifully imaginative books about the cycle of life." But your wider fame began explosively a decade later, when "The Sea Around Us" appeared. This classic work, enchanting as literature, sound as science, was a book first to be devoured whole, then to be read and reread more soberly and calmly; and although it was clearly educational, it neither raised the temperature nor made the blood run cold: its mood was serene. With your latest book, "Silent Spring," you abruptly became anything but peace- ful. Here you had the courage to state, without fear or favor, your convictions on a con- troversial theme.
Your gift for communicating the essence of science in simple and beautiful English has enriched us all. You have chosen areas and environments as your professional realm, and since geography concerns itself fundamentally with just these facets of the world around us, it is with appropriate pride that the American Geographical Society presents to you its Cullum Geographical Medal.
Miss Carson responded graciously with an expression of appreciation for an honor that is "one of the most cherished" because of her respect for the work of the Society. The rich meaning of the geographer's work, she went on to say, is more than ever needed today; for man's tenancy of this world is brief, and it is to our great peril that we ignore the integrity of the environment. Those who have understanding of the critical problems that confront
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us have also the public responsibility. The geographer does understand, for his science
deals with the fundamentals of land and resources. The Charles P. Daly Medal was presented to Dr. H. Clifford Darby, professor of
geography at University College, London. Dr. Wood expressed his gratification at the
compliment that Professor Darby had paid the Society by crossing the Atlantic to be with us at the dinner. He then summarized briefly the highlights of a distinguished career and
read the following citation: Of HENRY CLIFFORD DARBY it must be said that too few of us are familiar with his
superlative delineations of the peopling and the transformation of landscapes. Of his
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.......~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.. \.' ..........:' Dr.11n Wodpeetnuh ayMeaxoPoesrD ry
work in historical geography, the present capstone is the monumental geography of Domesday England, which he conceived and is directing as principal author and editor. Thanks to Professor Darby we know more of the land and people of England nine cen- turies ago than of any other vanished landscape.
He is also the creator and inspiration of a new school of historical geographers, devoted, like himself, to a scrupulous analysis of the entire record of the past, and to imaginative insight into the forces and events-the plans and accidents-that have made the present landscape what it is. Under his guidance, students at University College, London, have reaped fruits of the seeds planted more than a century ago, when Captain Alexander Maconochie became the first professor of geography at a British university.
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Not content with portraying the past, Henry Clifford Darby has helped to shape the present and the future English landscape. As a member of the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England) and of the National Parks Commission, he has promoted a better understanding and a keener appreciation of the local scene.
Exemplary citizen ofyour own country, Professor Darby, you have suggested programs and remedies of great potential benefit to us, as we consider how best to make use of our own natural and historical heritage. American geographers have found you a steady source of wise encouragement in working with you, both at your own universities and at ours. To the American Geographical Society you have long been a devoted friend. Proud of the many honors that have come to you at home, we take particular pleasure in awarding you the American Geographical Society's Charles P. Daly Medal.
Professor Darby responded by saying that he viewed his addition to the roster of Daly medalists-"that company of rich scholarship"-not only with awe but with alarm. He paid graceful tribute to the Society, affirming that through its publications and its research it has placed scholars around the world in its debt. He brought greetings from the Royal Geographical Society, which, he said, felt closer ties with the American Geo- graphical Society than with any other geographical body. He ended by expressing the hope that he and his colleagues in England would have the pleasure of welcoming many American geographers at the International Geographical Congress to be held in London next summer.
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