{"timeline":{"defaultZoomLevel":"0","height":600,"asset":{"media":"https:\/\/media.geospatial.science\/vector\/h5p\/editor\/images\/backgroundImage-6301724055a9a.jpg"},"date":[{"asset":{"media":"https:\/\/media.geospatial.science\/vector\/Images\/h5p\/cholera.jpg","caption":"Scanning electron microscope image of Vibrio cholerae","thumbnail":{"path":"images\/thumbnail-63052aa7422b3.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","copyright":{"license":"U"},"width":767,"height":600}},"startDate":"1854,09","endDate":"1854,09","headline":"Cholera Outbreak in London","text":"

In September of 1854, in the Soho district of London, there was a severe outbreak of cholera<\/a>, a bacterial infection of the intestines which causes severe vomiting, diarrhea, and dehydration. It was believed at the time that cholera was spread by \"miasma\", or through the air. <\/p>\n"},{"asset":{"media":"https:\/\/media.geospatial.science\/vector\/Images\/h5p\/broad_street_pump.jpg","caption":"Broadwick Street showing the John Snow memorial and public house.","thumbnail":{"path":"images\/thumbnail-63052aaea5cec.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","copyright":{"license":"U"},"width":450,"height":600}},"startDate":"1854,09","endDate":"1854,09","headline":"Public Water Pumps","text":"

It was commonplace for people to visit a local water pump to gather water for their home, as indoor plumbing was still a new idea and only for the rich. The sewer system was even worse, with many homes simply draining into cesspools or basements. All of these factors, combined with the fact the poorer class had more cases of cholera further supported the miasma theory.<\/p>\n"},{"asset":{"media":"https:\/\/media.geospatial.science\/vector\/Images\/h5p\/John_Snow.jpg","credit":"By The original uploader was Rsabbatini at English Wikipedia [CC BY 4.0 (http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons","caption":"Dr John Snow"},"startDate":"1854,09","endDate":"1854,09","headline":"Dr. John Snow Maps Cholera Cases","text":"

Dr. John Snow<\/a>, however, had a hunch that cholera was contracted from drinking contaminated water. <\/p>\n\n

He decided to launch a full-scale investigation, gathering information on the number of cases in an area, the location of publicly accesses water pumps, and the pump from which the sick collected their water. He mapped the results to see a high number of cases connected with people drawing water from the Broad Street pump.<\/p>\n"},{"asset":{},"startDate":"1854,09","endDate":"1854,09","headline":"Spatial + Non-Spatial Data","text":"

While Dr. Snow did not have GIS software to complete his analysis, this is one of the first cases we see where someone was able to take the spatial (pump locations) and combine it with non-spatial data (number of cases; pump from which water was drawn) and analyse the data to find a solution to a problem.<\/p>\n"},{"asset":{"media":"https:\/\/media.geospatial.science\/vector\/Images\/h5p\/PhotowithHJ.jpg","caption":"The photography building and Henry James"},"startDate":"1855","endDate":"1859","headline":"Invention of Photozincography","text":"

Sir Henry James<\/a>, head of Britain\u2019s Topographical Department, photozincography<\/a> designed to replicat maps utilizing glass negatives with different layers printed on them to quickly and accurately reproduce large-scale maps during the Ordinance Survey.<\/p>\n"},{"asset":{"media":"https:\/\/media.geospatial.science\/vector\/Images\/h5p\/OS_Map_of_Southampton_new.jpg","caption":"An 1865 map showing the photography building and the Ordnance Survey offices"},"startDate":"1855","endDate":"1859","headline":"British Ordinance Survey","text":"

The process essentially printed positives from negatives utilizing developing chemicals, but the importance lie with the fact that each layer - contours, roads, hydrography, etc. \u2013 were independent sheets of glass, capable of being altered without any other features obstructing the view.<\/p>\n"},{"asset":{"media":"https:\/\/media.geospatial.science\/vector\/Images\/h5p\/Eniac.jpg","caption":"ENIAC was the first Turing-complete device, and performed ballistics trajectory calculations for the United States Army."},"startDate":"1943","endDate":"1947","headline":"Programmable and Stored Program Computers","text":"

Running on vacuum tubes and taking up entire rooms, first-generation computers were capable of simple computational tasks. Programmable computers had to be re-wired to solve a different type of problem (switching from addition to subtraction, for example). Stored program computers were a great leap forward, allowing a set of instructions (or a program) be stored and accessed, allowing the computer to complete more than one task. These first computers were capable of solving problems using statistical data.<\/p>\n"},{"asset":{"media":"https:\/\/media.geospatial.science\/vector\/Images\/h5p\/transistor.jpg"},"startDate":"1955","endDate":"1955","headline":"Transistors Outperform Vacuum Tubes","text":"

Vacuum tubes ran hot and burned out quickly, often requiring two technicians to be on hand to replace burned out tubes to continue operating the computer.<\/p>\n\n

The invention of the smaller, faster, more durable transistor,<\/em> second-generation computers were cheaper to produce, faster to run, and capable of computing large quantities of data. These second generation computers allowed for analysis of demographic trends, distribution of natural resources, meteorological trends, geologic distribution, and, albeit poor quality, printing of paper maps.<\/p>\n"},{"asset":{"caption":"Output of Harvard University's Laboratory for Computer Graphics Synergraphic Mapping System, or SYMAP,","media":"https:\/\/media.geospatial.science\/vector\/Images\/h5p\/symap.jpg"},"startDate":"1959","endDate":"1959","headline":"Harvard Lab for Computer Graphics and Spatial Analysis","text":"

\"The Harvard Lab for Computer Graphics (reorganized as the Harvard Lab for Computer Graphics and Spatial Analysis in 1968) was one of several sites in the early development of GIS where seminal innovations in the processing and display of geographically referenced data took place. Many of the present generation of GIS professionals first experienced computer cartography through the widely distributed automated mapping application SYMAP, completed at the lab in 1966. SYMAP was widely generalizable and drew from mathematical cartography in producing isoline, choropleth, and proximal maps using a standard line printer as an output device. Since Harvard had no departmental geography at the time, the initial focus of the lab was directed toward the needs of landscape architects, urban and regional planners, and resource managers and early GIS applications revolved around those disciplines. <\/p>\n\n

The Harvard Lab for Computer Graphics was an important early moment in the development of what has evolved in GIS over the past four decades. The contributions of the lab included the training of many creative students and researchers who left the lab to make greater advances elsewhere.\"<\/p>\n\n

Section Six - History of GIS