author
O. J. R. (Osbert John Radcliffe) Howarth
1877–1954
A British geographer and historian of science, he helped explain how people have understood the world and wrote clearly for general readers as well as specialists. He is also remembered for his long service to the British Association and for work connected with Down House, Charles Darwin’s former home.
1 Audiobook
History of Geography
by Sir John Scott Keltie, O. J. R. (Osbert John Radcliffe) Howarth
About the author
Born in 1877, Osbert John Radcliffe Howarth was a British geographical scholar whose work linked geography, science, and public education. Contemporary reference pages identify him as an assistant secretary of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, and his books include History of Geography, written with J. Scott Keltie, along with other accessible works on geography and science.
Howarth built much of his career around the British Association, and later wrote its history in The British Association for the Advancement of Science: A Retrospect. He was also active in the Geographical Association and is remembered there as a past president, reflecting his standing in British geography and geographical teaching.
Later in life he was associated with Down House, the former home of Charles Darwin, and sources from the period describe him as its curator. He died in 1954, leaving behind a body of work that combined scholarship with a gift for making big historical and geographical ideas readable.