John Kirtland Wright - History of Geography

History of Geography

Wright was highly interested in the history of geography and the importance of accurate geographic archival records. He discovered and documented the influences of various religious perspectives on geography, with a very keen interest in Gothic and medieval representations that signified both divine and earthly geographic beauty (Wright 1965). In addition, he wrote prolifically on the Greek and Roman geographic influences, largely pertaining to the fifteenth- century map of the world by Giovanni Leardo(Wright,AGS,1928). This was the second oldest map that was given to the AGS in 1906, dated in the 15th century. Wright’s historic and cartographic fascination was sparked by the unusual, detailed features of the map, including a calendar encompassing the center image, and by the concept it depicted of the earth’s surface before the actual discovery of America; Leardo’s known world includes Asia, Africa, the Mediterranean, and Europe. Greek and Roman sources were used for the making of the map, specifically including Greek notions that the earth existed as a flat disk. The document lacks the evocative drawings seen in many other medieval maps that were primarily used to fill blank map space (drawings mostly of animals.) Lastly, Leardo features Jerusalem as the city center (Wright, AGS, 1928). Ultimately, Wright indicates that the blurring of the fields of history and geography has much significance, as each subject relies on the other for accuracy (Wright, Henry Holt, 1928.) After retiring as director from the American Geographical Society, Wright continued his quest for historic elucidation by writing on the history of the Society and its connection to the development of geography (Light 1950).

Wright coined the term choropleth map in 1938, although the mapping technique itself was first used by Charles Dupin in 1826. Wright cautioned against the use of choropleth maps, instead espousing the virtues of the dasymetric map. Nine years later, in 1947, Wright introduced the notion of geosophy, `the study of geographical knowledge from any or all points of view. To geography what historiography is to history, it deals with the nature and expression of geographical knowledge both past and present' (Wright 1947).