Charles P. Daly - Interests

Interests

American Geographical Society

Called an “armchair explorer” by some, Daly was elected as an Ordinary Member to the American Geographical Society on February 16, 1855, to the Governing Board in 1858, and to its presidency in 1864, a position he held until his death in 1899. As a member, and then president of the AGS, Daly was influential in supporting Arctic expeditions. Daly, a bibliophile, had a personal collection of more than 12,000 volumes. He donated 700 of his geographical books to the AGS on his 75th birthday and during his tenure as President, helped with the AGS’s library collection expansion.

Other memberships

He was an honorary member of the Royal Geographical Society of London, England, the Berlin Geographical Society, and Russia's Imperial Geographical Society. In London in 1895, he was a speaker at the 6th International Geographical Congress.

In his early career years, he was a member of the New York Literary Society, the Law Association, Democratic Republican Young Men of the City and County of New York (vice-president), and New York Workingmen's Democratic Republican Association (recording-secretary).

Later, Daly was a member of the New York Historical Society, the American Philosophical Society of Pennsylvania, and the Century Association, St. Patrick's Society (president), and Committee for the Relief of Ireland (chairman).