Timeline of Cartography

Map of Catal Hyuk

6700 BCE

A mural depicting two volcanoes near Catal Hyuk, an ancient community which was located in what is now Turkey, is considered to be the oldest map. Image address:http://cartographic-images.net/Cartographic_Images/100_Town_Plan_from_Catal_Hyuk_files/droppedImage_1.jpg

Babylonian clay tablets

3000 BCE

First map of the moon

3000 BCE

Map of Babylonian empire

600 BCE

This small map made on a clay tablet shows how the Babylonians viewed their world. Image address: http://www.ancient-origins.net/sites/default/files/field/image/babylonian-map-of-world.jpg

Pythagoras discovers that the earth is a sphere

600 BCE

Eratosthenes discovers the circumference of the earth, and develops a coordinate grid.

200 BCE

A latitude system based on the sun is created by Hipparchus.

150 BCE

Hipparchus was a Greek mathematician, astronomer and geographer who created a grid on a globe by placing lines that were parallel to the equator at equal intervals, and then marking off lines that were at right angles to these latitude lines. Source: https://www.ancient.eu/Hipparchus_of_Nicea/

World map is created by Ptolemy

150

Ptolemy, an ancient Greek geographer and astronomer, created a map, which included coordinates for 8,000 locations. Image address: http://www.bl.uk/learning/timeline/external/ptolemy-lg.jpg

Al-Khwarizmi creates a world map

830

Al-Khwarizmi was an ancient Persian mathematician, astronomer and geographer. He revised Ptolemy's views of the world, and was instrumental in the creation of the first map of the world.
Source: http://www.khwarizmi.org/pages/muhammad-bin-musa-al-khwarizmi

Triangulation is developed by Al-Biruni

1030

Al-Biruni, an ancient Persian scholar, developed techniques using triangulation to measure the earth and distances on it.
Source: http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/history/Biographies/Al-Biruni.html
Image address: http://thescientificodyssey.typepad.com/.a/6a01b8d0788cce970c01b8d1ae4a2d970c-pi

World map created by Abraham Cresques

1375

Abraham Cresques, a master map-maker, along with his son, drew six nautical maps based on compass directions. These were compiled in the Catalan Atlas, which contained a world map.
Source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Cresques

Sextant developed

1730

This is a navigational tool that allows for a precise measurement of the angular distance between two visible objects. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sextant

John Harrison develops an accurate clock that determines longitude at sea

1763

Greenwich is chosen as the prime meridian location.

1884

Greenwich was chosen by the International Meridian Conference. Image address: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8266883.stm

Google Maps

2005

Detailed and highly accurate web-based maps are produced using information from aerial and satellite imagery, as well as geographic information systems.