John George Bartholomew
| John G. Bartholomew (1860-1920) | |
|---|---|
 Cartographer and Geographer | |
| Born | 22 March 1860 |
| Died | 14 April 1920 (aged 60) |
| Awards | Victoria Medal (1905) |
John George Bartholomew FRSE FRGS LLD (22 March 1860 - 14 April 1920) was a British cartographer and geographer. As a holder of a royal warrant, he used the title "Cartographer to the King"; for this reason he was sometimes known by the epithet "the Prince of Cartography".[1]
Bartholomew's longest lasting legacy is arguably naming the continent of Antarctica,[2] which until his use of the term in 1890 had been largely ignored due to its lack of resources and harsh climate.
Biography
Bartholomew came from a celebrated line of map-makers: he was the son of John Bartholomew Junior, and the grandson of the founder of John Bartholomew and Son Ltd. His mother, Annie McGregor died when he was only twelve.
He was educated at the High School in Edinburgh.
Under his administration the family business became one of the top operations in its field. Bartholomew himself was not merely a specialist in production, but also a talented geographer and cartographer. It was he who introduced the use of colored contour layer maps; he also anticipated the needs of late nineteenth and early twentieth-century travelers by publishing street maps of major cities, cycling maps, railway timetable maps, and road maps for automobiles.
He collaborated with major scientific figures and travelers of the period on projects involving their studies. Bartholomew's Atlas of Meteorology and Atlas of Zoogeography[3] were issues from a planned five-volume series that was never completed. Before he died he was able to plan out the first edition of the Times Survey Atlas of the World; this and its succeeding editions represent the most successful atlas project of the twentieth century.
in 1889 he married Janet MacDonald.[4]
He handed the reins of the business on to his son John (Ian) Bartholomew (1890-1962).
A memorial to Bartholomew, sculpted by Pilkington Jackson, exists on the northern wall of the 20th century extension to Dean Cemetery in Edinburgh.
His wife, Jennie, sons, Hugh and Ian Bartholomew and grandson, John Christopher Bartholomew are buried at the monement.
Chronology
- 1860: born in Edinburgh on 22 March
- 1880: begins work for his father in the family's map-making business
- 1884: co-founder of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society
- 1884-1920: honorary secretary, Royal Scottish Geographical Society
- 1887: elected to the Royal Society of Edinburgh
- 1888: succeeds his father in the family business
- 1888: elected to the Royal Geographical Society of London
- 1892: secretary, Section E, British Association for the Advancement of Science
- 1895: publishes his Survey Atlas of Scotland
- 1899: publishes his Atlas of Meteorology
- 1903: publishes his Survey Atlas of England and Wales
- 1905: receives the Victoria Research Gold Medal from the Royal Geographic Society
- 1909-1912: council member, Royal Society of Edinburgh
- 1910: appointed Cartographer Royal by King George V
- 1911: publishes his Atlas of Zoogeography
- 1918: receives the Helen Carver medal from the Geographical Society of Chicago
- 1920: dies at Sintra, Portugal, on 14 April
- 1922: first edition of the Times Survey Atlas of the World posthumously published
See also
References
- ↑ Leslie Gardiner (1976). Bartholomew 150 Years. John Bartholomew & Son Ltd. ISBN 0-85152-791-4.
- ↑ "John George Bartholomew and the naming of Antarctica, CAIRT Issue 13". National Library of Scotland. 2008. ISSN 1477-4186., and also "The Bartholomew Archive".
- ↑ Bartholomew, J.G., Clarke, W.E., Grimshaw, P.H., 1911. Atlas of Zoogeography. John Bartholomew and Co., Edinburgh.
- ↑ http://www.royalsoced.org.uk/cms/files/fellows/biographical_index/fells_indexp1.pdf
External links
- Bartholomew: A Scottish Family Heritage - site maintained by the family.
- Times World Atlases official website including a History and Heritage section detailing landmark Times atlases
- J.G. Bartholomew at Open Library
- Works by or about John George Bartholomew at Internet Archive
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