1923 Stigand Map of North-West District or Ngamiland, Botswana - Okavango Delta

Almar Gordon Stigand (1876 - February 26, 1956) was a British soldier and colonial civil servant. Educated at the famous public school in Rugby, Warwickshire, Stigand served in the police force of the Cape Colony from 1896 - 1898. He then entered the colonial civil service of Bechuanaland. He was first posted in Mafikeng and was on active service during the Anglo-Boer War protecting that town. He was transferred to Gaberone in 1902 and became acting assistant civil commissioner there in 1904. He served as the Resident Magistrate of Ngamiland from 1910 - 1914 when he left his post to serve in the British Army. While Resident Magistrate, Stigand explored and mapped much of the Okavango Delta, as well as the Ngamiland and Ghanzi regions, all by compass traverse. He soon became an authority on the region's geography and published several papers on the subject. Stigand participated in the campaign in German South West Africa (modern-day Namibia) in 1914 - 1915, and in March 1916, he arrived in England and was posted to the West Kent Regiment. He also served as a member of the British Military Mission to Rome. Some scholars view his 1923 Geographical Journal article as 'non-professional,' while others see the accompanying map as '[belonging] to a new era of professionalism' and it became a leading example of mapping in the province. His most crucial cartographic work was a two-sheet 'Sketch map of Ngamiland and Ghanzi' published by the Geographical Section of the British General Staff in 1925 when he was serving as Resident Magistrate of Molepolole. More by this mapmaker...

Royal Geographical Society (fl. 1830 - present) is a British Society established in 1830 to promote geographical science and exploration. Originally titled the "Geographical Society of London", the RGS received its royal charter from Queen Victoria in 1859 shortly after absorbing several similar but more regional societies including the African Association, the Raleigh Club and the Palestine Association. The RGS sponsored many of the most important and exciting voyages of exploration ever undertaken, including the exploration of Charles Darwin, David Livingstone, Robert Falcon Scott, Richard F. Burton, John Speke, George Hayward, H. M Stanley, Ernest Shackleton and Sir Edmond Hillary. Today, the RGS remains a leading global sponsor of geographical and scientific studies. The Society is based in Lowther Lodge, South Kensington, London. Learn More...