The Société was founded on 27 August 1876 as the
Belgian Society of Geography a few days before the opening of the
Brussels Geographic Conference to promote the exploration of various parts of the world. It was initially involved with commercial investment in
Belgian colonies. In 1882
King Leopold II authorised the society to use the prefix "Royal". Although it was later funded privately
Adrien de Gerlache first unveiled his plans for the
Belgian Antarctic Expedition to the society in 1894. In 1900 the society had more than one thousand members including several explorers such as the American,
Richard Mohun. By the middle of the twentieth century the society had changed its objectives from exploration to scientific research and study. The SRBG awards a gold medal to noted geographers and explorers. == Presidents ==