2025
Stephen Fry
Actor, writer and comedian known for roles in works that range from Blackadder to Jeeves and Wooster to V for Vendetta to Wilde, the latter of which earned him a nomination for Best Actor at the Golden Globes. Fry has also performed for audiobooks, presented podcasts, produced documentaries and played in live theatre.
John Hemming
Known for his work connecting with previously unknown peoples in the Amazon Basin, Hemming is also an expert on the Inca. He is an author, historian and explorer with numerous accolades and was the director of the Royal Geographical Society in Britain from 1975 to 1996.
2024
Zita Cobb
Cobb, a businesswoman and social entrepreneur, is the Innkeeper of the award-winning Fogo Island Inn and the founder and CEO of the registered charity Shorefast.
2023
Paul Nicklen
A Canadian photographer, filmmaker, and marine biologist.
David McKay
President and CEO of the Royal Bank of Canada.
2021
Maydianne Andrade
Recognized in the science community for her expertise on the mating habits of spiders, she is also well-known for her advocacy work towards racial equity in STEM.
2020
Bryan Adams
Known for his music, photography and environmental stewardship.
Jan Morris
This distinguished journalist, essayist and historian has created groundbreaking work throughout her career, from her reportage on the conquest of Mount Everest to her 1974 autobiography Conundrum, which was one of the first autobiographies to record the journey of a personal gender transition.
2019
Anne Innis Dagg
The biologist, zoologist, feminist, author and publisher is acknowledged internationally as the founder of giraffe science. Her groundbreaking field work and subsequent academic study have led to her being credited with the establishment of the fields of giraffology and behavioural biology.
Dr. Frederic Jackman
Eric Jackman is a businessman, psychologist and longtime supporter of the Society. With his generous support, the Society was able to complete its share of the renovations at its new headquarters at 50 Sussex Drive.
Brian May
The legendary lead guitarist of Queen, who is also an astrophysics PhD and author, received this honour for his efforts to promote science.
2018
Chris Cran
Chris Cran is an internationally recognized and widely exhibited visual artist, teacher and mentor. His art is represented in major galleries around the world and has been featured in solo and group exhibitions.
André Préfontaine
André Préfontaine, as president and publisher of Canadian Geographic Enterprises and latterly as executive director of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, led the Society through a critical period of financial upheaval and dramatic shifts in the world of magazine publishing.
Peter Suedfeld
Dr. Peter Suedfeld is a globally celebrated psychologist, professor emeritus of the University of British Columbia, and scholar of human adaptation to extreme environments.
Richard Wiese
President of the Explorer’s club: he became the youngest president in the history of the Club when he was elected for his first term in 2002.
2017
Former President Jimmy Carter
Former United States President Jimmy Carter was awarded the Lawrence J. Burpee medal in recognition of his role in expanding the U.S. national parks system and ongoing work with Habitat for Humanity.
Andrew Prossin
For his contribution to geography and to the Society and its profile around the world.
2016
Simon Winchester
Simon Winchester is a geologist, journalist and acclaimed author who has enhanced the ability of the Society to fulfill its mission and assisted in the general advancement of geography.
2015
Louie Kamookak
Louie Kamookak dedicated his life to exploring the geographical legacy of the Canadian North and sharing his learning with Canadians and with the world. As Canada’s leading Inuit oral historian, he worked at the intersection of Inuit traditional knowledge and the more formal disciplines of anthropology and history.
Wendy Cecil
Since becoming a RCGS Fellow in 2012, Wendy Cecil has worked tirelessly to make the Society’s work better known to Canadians.
Alex Trebek
While many of us know him as the celebrity host of Jeopardy!, Trebek was also a champion of geographic learning and education. Through a generous donation, Alex Trebek reinstated the Can Geo Challenge’s in-person competition and served as Honorary President of the Society from 2016 until his death in 2020.
2014
Parks Canada Victoria Strait Dive Team
(Marc-Andre Bernier, Ryan Harris, Jonathan Moore and Andrew Campbell )
The 2014 Victoria Strait Expedition made headlines around the world for its discovery of HMS Erebus, one of two ships lost in 1848 on Sir John Franklin’s doomed search for the Northwest Passage.
