The early days of ethnology saw it in the position of a fringe science. Prichard commented in 1848 that the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BAAS) still classed ethnology as a subdivision of natural history, as applied to man. It stayed in Section D for a period, but in 1851 it was classed in a new Section E for Geology and Geography, after lobbying by supporters including Roderick Murchison. The overlap of interests between the ESL and the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) was reflected by common membership.