Our Mission
The History of Speleology Commission is an international working group dedicated to the historical study of cave and karst sciences in all their forms.
Our aim is not only to explore the development of this multifaceted field, its figures, institutions, and knowledge from political, social, and cultural perspectives, but also to promote and disseminate them within the broader contemporary context of the Earth sciences and humanities.
The Commission was established by the International Union of Speleology in 1965. It currently comprises 12 members from 10 countries.
If you are interested, please contact the President of the Commission Bernhard Chirol or any of our members.
Our Presidents and Members in alphabetic order
President: Bernard CHIROL, France
Vice-President: Friedhart KNOLLE, Germany
Zlatko BOSIC, Croatia
Stephen CRAVEN, South Africa
Luciano Emerich FARIA, Brazil
Paolo FORTI, Italy
Gyula HEGEDUS, Hungary
Stephan KEMPE, Germany
Łukasz LEWKOWICZ, Poland
Franz LINDENMAYR, Germany
Johannes MATTES, Austria/Norway
Jasminko MULAOMEROVIC, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Damian PEARSON, United Kingdom
Current Projects
UIS: Sixty years of the UIS (ongoing, to be presented on ICS 2025 in Brazil)
Kempe & Mattes: Edition of manuscripts by Joseph A. Nagel or Man and karst (ongoing)
Chirol: Women in caving history (ongoing)
Standard References on the History of Speleology
Labegalini, Jose Ayrton (2015): Fifty years of the UIS: 1965 -2015. Postojna, Karst Research Institute ZRC SAZU, 523 pp. Further information
Mattes, Johannes (2015): Reisen ins Unterirdische. Eine Kulturgeschichte der Höhlenforschung in Österreich bis in die Zwischenkriegszeit. Vienna, Cologne, Weimar, Böhlau, 410 pp. Further information
Shaw, Trevor R. (1992): History of Cave Science: The Exploration and Study of Limestone Caves, to 1900. Sydney, Sydney Speleological Society, 338 pp. Further information
Shaw, Trevor R. & Ballinger, Christine (2020): A Biographical Bibliography. Explorers, Scientists & Visitors In the World’s Karst 852 BC to the Present. Ljubljana, Založba ZRC, 340 pp. Open access