For years the city's first mayor also acted as president of the Geographical Society at the same time.
[1] The Institute of Geography of the University of Hamburg regularly hosts lectures delivered by the GGH.
[3] The society was founded in 1873 as organisation to promote geography in Hamburg, Germany.
The first Annual Report, Jahresbericht der Geographischen Gesellschaft was published for 1873–4.
There were 228 members at the end of March 1874, Otto Moritz von Vegesack, a founding member and diplomat representing the Russian Empire having died early that month.