Arthur H. Robinson

Arthur H. Robinson (January 5, 1915 – October 19, 2004) was an American geographer and cartographer. He was born in Montreal, to American parents, but made his career at the University of Wisconsin in the United States. During World War II he served as director of the map division of the Office of Strategic Services(OSS).In 1941, when Robinson joined OSS, there were no cartographers as we know them today. Robinson engaged geographers with some interest in mapping and the group developed their techniques on the job. (Robinson,1979, pp.98-99). Robinson oversaw the creation of 5,000 hand-drawn maps and attended the Allied conferences at Quebec and Cairo in 1943 and 1944 as chief U.S. map officer. For his efforts Robinson received the Legion of Merit from the U.S. Army in 1946. (Current Biography, p. 469).

Writer and philosopher on cartography

Robinson was a prolific writer and influential philosopher on cartography as he produced over 60 articles for professional publications, as well as textbooks and books on the cartographic technique. (Current Biography, pp. 469-470). In The Look of Maps (1952), Robinson urged cartographers to consider the function of a map as an integral part of the design process. In The Nature of Maps (1976), Robinson and co-author Barbara Bartz Petchenik created the term map percipient,a map user who interacts with a map in a discerning way and not merely as a casual observer. The authors stressed that ...the nature of the map as an image and the manner in which it functions as a communication device between the cartographer and percipient need much deeper consideration and analysis than they have yet received. (Robinson & Petchenik, p. 20). Robinson also co-authored a widely-used textbook, Elements of Cartography, the sixth and last edition of which was published in 1995.

Related Topics:
Philosopher - Cartographic technique - Map percipient

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