Alexander Keith Johnston (cartographer, 1804)

Alexander Keith Johnston (born December 28, 1804 in Kirkhill , South Lanarkshire , Scotland , † July 9, 1871 in Ben Rhydding , Yorkshire , England ) was a Scottish geographer and explorer, engraver and cartographer.

Life

Alexander Keith Johnston attended the University of Edinburgh , intended for the medical subject , but soon turned to geographic studies, learned the art of engraving and the modern main languages, and traveled to almost all countries in Europe as well as Egypt and Palestine.

After his return he began his cartographic endeavors with the publication of his National Atlas (1843), which saw several editions and earned him the appointment of royal geographer for Scotland. In 1850 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh . He died on July 9, 1871 in Ben Rhydding, Yorkshire.

Johnston made himself known in the scientific world particularly through the application of physical science to geography. Basing his research mainly on Alexander von Humboldt and Carl Ritter , he published a Physical atlas of natural phenomena in 1848 , an extract of which appeared in 1850 and an expanded edition in 1856.

His popular one followed

Dictionary of geography (1855, published several times);
Atlas of the historical geography of Europe and
Chart of the geographical distribution of health and disease (1852); the excellent one
Royal atlas of modern geography (1855), his second major work;
Atlas of the United States of North America (1857) and a series of school atlases and wall maps, some of which saw numerous editions.

His son Alexander Keith Johnston (1844–1879) was also a cartographer and explorer .

literature

Johnston, Alexander Keith . In: Encyclopædia Britannica . 11th edition. tape 15 : Italy - Kyshtym . London 1911, p. 473 (English, full text [ Wikisource ]).

Web links

Commons : Alexander Keith Johnston (1804–1871) - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Literature by Alexander Keith Johnston in the catalog of the Berlin State Library

Individual evidence

^ Fellows Directory. Biographical Index: Former RSE Fellows 1783–2002. (PDF file) Royal Society of Edinburgh, accessed December 24, 2019 .

personal data
SURNAME	Johnston, Alexander Keith
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Scottish geographer and explorer, engraver and cartographer
DATE OF BIRTH	December 28, 1804
PLACE OF BIRTH	Kirkhill , South Lanarkshire , Scotland
DATE OF DEATH	July 9, 1871
Place of death	Ben Rhydding , Yorkshire , England

[1] Fellows Directory. Biographical Index: Former RSE Fellows 1783–2002. (PDF file) Royal Society of Edinburgh, accessed December 24, 2019 .