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Posted by: John Hessler
Today’s guest post was written by Katje Lattik, Archaeological Research Intern in the Geography and Map Division of the Library of Congress, who works with the Pre-Columbian objects in the Jay I. Kislak Collection of the Archaeology and History of the Early Americas. Katje was a 2015 Library of Congress Junior Fellow with a strong …
Posted in: Guest Posts, Kislak Collection
Posted by: Carlyn Osborn
Today, across Iowa’s 99 counties, friends, foes, families, and neighbors are casting their votes in the 2016 Iowa Caucus. The Iowa Caucus has been the first major electoral event in the Presidential nominating process since 1972, but Iowa has a much longer history than that. Let’s take a look at some of the historical factors …
Posted in: Borders
Posted by: John Hessler
Today’s guest post was written by Graham Atkinson, a Research Volunteer in the Geography and Map Division, who works with the Pre-Columbian objects in the Jay I. Kislak Collections. He received his doctorate in mathematics from Oxford University, and has spent most of his career applying mathematical and statistical techniques to health care. Graham also …
Posted in: Exploring the Early Americas, Guest Posts, Kislak Collection, Series: Excavating Archaeology
Posted by: Carlyn Osborn
Please join us for a book talk with Dr. Geoffrey Martin, a leading historian of American geography, who will discuss his latest work, On the History of the Book — American Geography and Geographers: Toward Geographical Science (Oxford, 2015). In addition to Dr. Martin’s presentation, the Geography and Map Division will provide a small exhibit featuring rare …
Posted in: Events, Exploration
Posted by: Carlyn Osborn
Please join us for a book talk featuring the Chief of the Geography and Map Division, Ralph Ehrenberg, and Smithsonian Institution curator emeritus Herman J. Viola as they discuss their latest work, “Mapping the West with Lewis and Clark” (Levenger, 2015). The authors will present and sign copies of their book on Tuesday, January 19, …
Posted in: Borders, Events, Exploration
Posted by: Carlyn Osborn
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) noticed something odd as Deputy Postmaster General for the American colonies in London: mail took much longer travelling west across the Atlantic than it did travelling east. Several weeks longer, in fact. In a 1746 letter, Franklin ascribes this anomaly to an effect of the Earth’s rotation, making an eastward journey faster …
Posted in: Exploring the Early Americas
Posted by: John Hessler
Today’s post is the third of a series called,”Computing Space,” which will highlight the lives and work of many of the mostly unknown cartographers, geographers, mathematicians, computer scientists, designers and architects who had a hand in the birth of today’s computer cartography. ’Amateur’ field geographers can speak with authority about the clarifying effects on the …
Posted in: Biography, Geographic Information Science
Posted by: John Hessler
Today’s post is the second in a continuing series called,”Computing Space,” which will highlight the lives and work of many of the mostly unknown cartographers, geographers, mathematicians, computer scientists, designers and architects who had a hand in the birth of today’s computer cartography. When working with the archives and personal papers of the pioneers of …
Posted in: Big Data and Visualization, Biography, Geographic Information Science
Posted by: John Hessler
This post is dedicated to the memory of Katherine Kiernan, one of the only female programmers at the Harvard Laboratory for Computer Graphics and Spatial Analysis, during the early years of the development of Geographical Information Systems. She passed away last year. Today’s post is the beginning of a series called,”Computing Space,” which will highlight …
Posted in: Biography, Geographic Information Science