"Charles Joseph Minard (1781-1870) was "a true pioneer in thematic cartography and in statistical graphics" (Friendly). He began as a civil engineer, and by 1810 was working on behalf of the French government in Antwerp and Vlissingen. Minard went on to have a long and productive career, working on projects throughout Europe, and was named Superintendent of the School of Bridges and Roads in France in 1830. Six years later, he became Inspector of the Corps of Bridges. In 1851, he took mandatory retirement, although still working in an advisory capacity, and undertook private research. This is when his cartographical career began in earnest. He created 56 statistical maps over his lifetime, the most famous of which was the 'Carte figurative des pertes successives en hommes de l'Armée Française dans la campagne de Russie 1812-1813', showing the losses suffered by Napoleon's army during his failed invasion of Russia. Minard's genius lay in his realization that maps could provide visually clear renditions of complicated statistics. He wrote that the aim of his work was not to convey statistical results, but to show the relations between them, which would otherwise have to be worked out by the reader. He would often alter geographical reality on a map in order to make a diagram clearer, and so added the term 'approximative' to the title of his works to explain his decision. He was possibly the first to use the flow-map technique (his writing indicates that he believed he had invented it) and he was certainly the first to use pie charts on a map. The importance of Minard's work was quickly recognized by the French government. He was awarded the Legion d'Honneur, and throughout the 1850s all Ministers of Public Works in France had their portrait painted with a Minard chart in the background. In 1861, his work was presented to Napoleon III. Minard's maps were not widely known in his lifetime outside of the intelligentsia and upper levels of government, suggesting that he published them privately (Robinson)." (Crouch). This map is part of a set of 15 Minard maps - for the complete set see Pub List No.'s 10132.000 through 10146.000
pub_note
"Charles Joseph Minard (1781-1870) was "a true pioneer in thematic cartography and in statistical graphics" (Friendly). He began as a civil engineer, and by 1810 was working on behalf of the French government in Antwerp and Vlissingen. Minard went on to have a long and productive career, working on projects throughout Europe, and was named Superintendent of the School of Bridges and Roads in France in 1830. Six years later, he became Inspector of the Corps of Bridges. In 1851, he took mandatory retirement, although still working in an advisory capacity, and undertook private research. This is when his cartographical career began in earnest. He created 56 statistical maps over his lifetime, the most famous of which was the 'Carte figurative des pertes successives en hommes de l'Armée Française dans la campagne de Russie 1812-1813', showing the losses suffered by Napoleon's army during his failed invasion of Russia. Minard's genius lay in his realization that maps could provide visually clear renditions of complicated statistics. He wrote that the aim of his work was not to convey statistical results, but to show the relations between them, which would otherwise have to be worked out by the reader. He would often alter geographical reality on a map in order to make a diagram clearer, and so added the term 'approximative' to the title of his works to explain his decision. He was possibly the first to use the flow-map technique (his writing indicates that he believed he had invented it) and he was certainly the first to use pie charts on a map. The importance of Minard's work was quickly recognized by the French government. He was awarded the Legion d'Honneur, and throughout the 1850s all Ministers of Public Works in France had their portrait painted with a Minard chart in the background. In 1861, his work was presented to Napoleon III. Minard's maps were not widely known in his lifetime outside of the intelligentsia and upper levels of government, suggesting that he published them privately (Robinson)." (Crouch). This map is part of a set of 15 Minard maps - for the complete set see Pub List No.'s 10132.000 through 10146.000
Pub Note
false