Chief amongst the RSGS's early achievements were its support for the quietly successful Scottish National Antarctic Expedition (1902–04), and the establishment of Scotland's first professorial chair in Geography, at the University of Edinburgh.
Glavnina među ranim postignućima RSGS-a bili su potpora za poprilično uspješnu Škotsku nacionalnu antarktičku ekspediciju (1902-04), te osnutak prve škotske profesionalne katedre za geografiju na Sveučilištu u Edinburghu.