Digital Mapping: Pioneers in GIS

"I'm very positive about the future of GIS. It's the right technology at the right time. When I think of all the major problems that we face throughout the world today—overpopulation, food shortages, reduced agricultural production, adverse climate change, poverty—these are all quintessentially geographic problems. These problems are all concerned with the human relationship to the land, and this is where GIS can make its biggest contribution. GIS is the technology of our times and is uniquely suited to assist in solving the problems that we face."

-Dr. Roger F. Tomilson, Father of GIS

Pioneers in GIS

First Mapping of 1854 London Cholera Outbreak

The first mapping was done by Dr. John Snow. He prepared a map showing the 1854 cholera outbreak which was centered in Soho district.

First GIS of Canada Land Inventory (CLI) in 1962

The first known use of the term "geographic information system" was by Roger Tomlinson in the year 1968 in his paper "A Geographic Information System for Regional Planning". Tomlinson is also acknowledged as the "father of GIS".

Founded ESRI in 1969

In 1969, Jack Dangermond he founded the Environmental Systems Research Institute (Esri), a privately held Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software company. In May 2015, his net worth was estimated by Forbes at US$3.1 billion.