Spatial Information is all about Where is
What?
Map were conventionally used to answer this
question!
Few Glimpses
› The first route map showing
the whole of the Roman
world (366–335 B.C.)
Modern Age
PRE-GIS ERA
• Before GIS revolution the link between
Where and What was by the traditional,
manually drafted map
• The tools used were pens, rulers,
planimeters, dot grids, and paper sheets
• Historical use of map was for navigation to
know the location of physical features
▫ First printed Atlas of the world by legendary
geographer Claudius Ptolemy (150 A.D.)
▫ Map projections of a spherical earth and use of
latitude and longitude to characterize position Claudius Ptolemy (Alexandria, Egypt) (north arrow
notation)
› Contour maps showing curves of equal
value: an isogonic map, lines of equal
magnetic declination for the world,
(Edmond Halley, England) (1701)
› Geological map (distribution of soils,
minerals)- Johann Friedrich von
Charpentier, Germany (1778)
› Maps of the Battle of Yorktown
(American Revolution) drawn by the
French Cartographer Louis-Alexandre
Berthier contained hinged overlays to
show troop movements (1781)
▫ Statistical map of production in Europe, possibly
the first economic and thematic map (shows
geographic distribution of 56 commodities
produced in Europe)- August Friedrich Wilhelm
Crome , Germany (1782)
▫ First topographical map- Marcellin du CarlaBoniface , France (1782)
▫ First maps of the incidence of disease (yellow fever),
using dots and circles to show individual occurrences
in waterfront areas of New York by Valentine Seaman
(1798)
› The first large-scale geological map
of England and Wales (William
Smith, England) (1801)
› First graph of isotherms, showing
mean temperature around the
world by latitude and longitude
(Alexander von Humboldt Germany) (1817)
› Map with shadings from black to white (distribution
and intensity of illiteracy in France), the first
choropleth map, and perhaps the first modern
statistical map (Pierre Charles Dupin, France). (1819)
A choropleth map is a thematic
map in which areas are shaded
or patterned in proportion to the
measurement of the statistical
variable being displayed on the
map
Choropleth Map
• Map which shows regions or areas which have the same characteristics
•
•
•
0, 1, 2 = light shade
3, 4, 5 = Medium shade
6, 7, 8 = Dark shade
▫ First simple dot map of population, 1 dot = 10,000 people— Armand
Joseph Fr`ere de Montizon – France (1830)
▫ First published flow maps,
showing transportation by
means of shaded lines, widths
proportional to amount
(passengers)— (Henry Drury
Harness, Ireland) (1837)
▫ Dr. John Snow mapped
cholera deaths in London and
used geographical analysis to
trace the outbreak to a
contaminated well (dot map
to display epidemiological
data)- 1854 (or 1855)
▫ Pictogram, used to represent data by icons
proportional to a number- Michael George
Mulhall , England (1884)
Pictogram
▫ Street maps of London, showing poverty and wealth by
color coding - Charles Booth (1889)
BLACK: Lowest class. Vicious, semicriminal.
DARK BLUE: Very poor, casual. Chronic
want.
LIGHT BLUE: Poor. 18 shillings. to 21s. a
week for a moderate family
PURPLE: Mixed. Some comfortable others
poor
PINK: Fairly comfortable. Good ordinary
earnings.
RED: Middle class. Well-to-do.
YELLOW: Upper-middle and Upper classes.
Wealthy
Summary
• As far as basic principles are concerned, GIS is not a new
technology
• Computer-based GIS is in use since late 1960s
▫ Computer hardware developed the capacity to provide
cartographic output
▫ Computer systems become more robust in terms of speed and
memory
▫ Computers become cheaper and smaller
• From 2-D map display to 3-D visualization to 4-D
incorporation of time to 5, 6, 7-D incorporation of touch,
sound and smell
Reference
• http://www.gisdevelopment.net/history/index.htm
• http://www.innovativegis.com/basis/MapAnalysis/Topi
c27/Topic27.htm#Early
• http://mama.indstate.edu/users/gejdg/447wk2.pdf
• Milestones in the history of thematic cartography,
statistical graphics, and data visualization by Michael
Friendly August 24,2009:
http://www.math.yorku.ca/SCS/Gallery/milestone/mile
stone.pdf
• Most of the slides are taken from Prof. Maria Antonia
Brovelli’s lecture notes.