William Desborough Cooley (1795–1883) was a geographer and historian, the author of a collection of influential texts on the development of geographical study, and a key founding member of the Hakluyt Society. First published as a complete set in 1831 as part of Dionysius Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopaedia, this is the history in three volumes of the development of the geographical sciences through travel and exploration. Each volume is divided chronologically by historical era, tracing the pursuit of geographical discovery by both land and sea from the Roman Empire to the Himalayan expeditions of the early nineteenth century. Featuring a comprehensive index, this expertly compiled reference text will aid any study of the history of travel and exploration. This first volume covers the period spanning the ancient Greeks to the Middle Ages. Highlights include sections on the development of cartography and the relationship between geography and commerce.