John Kirtland Wright

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John Kirtland Wright (1891–1969) was an American geographer, notable for his cartography, geosophy, and study of the history of geographical thought.

Having completed a PhD in history at Harvard University, in 1920 Wright was employed as librarian by the American Geographical Society. From 1938 to 1949 he served as Director of the AGS.

Wright coined the term choropleth map in 1938, although the mapping technique itself was first used by Charles Dupin in 1826. Wright cautioned against the use of choropleth maps, instead espousing the virtues of the dasymetric map.

In 1947 Wright introduced the notion of geosophy, `the study of geographical knowledge from any or all points of view. To geography what historiography is to history, it deals with the nature and expression of geographical knowledge both past and present' (Wright 1947).

[edit] Reference

• Wright, J.K. 1947. Terrae Incognitae: The Place of Imagination in Geography, Annals of the Association of American Geographers 37: 1–15.

[edit] External links

• The imaginary worlds of John Kirtland Wright