Brief History of GIS

1. HISTORY OF GIS

2. Rooted in the science of geography, modern GIS integrates
many types of data. It analyses spatial location and organises
layers of information into visualisations using maps and 3D
scenes. With this unique capability, GIS reveals deeper
insights into data, such as patterns, relationships and
situations - helping users make smarter decisions.
Hundreds of thousands of organisations in virtually every
field are using GIS to make maps that communicate, perform
analysis, share information and solve complex problems
around the world. This is changing the way the world works.
The Geographic Information System market is predicted to
reach US$9billion by 2024

3. THE EARLY HISTORY OF GIS
• The field of geographic information systems (GIS)
started in the 1960s as computers and early
concepts of quantitative and computational
geography emerged.
• Early GIS work included important research by the
academic community. Later, the National Center for
Geographic Information and Analysis, led by Michael
Goodchild, formalized research on key geographic
information science topics such as spatial analysis
and visualization.
• These efforts fuelled a quantitative revolution in the
world of geographic science and laid the groundwork
for GIS

4. THE FIRST GIS-1963
• Roger Tomlinson’s pioneering work to initiate, plan, and
develop the Canada Geographic Information System
resulted in the first computerized GIS in the world in
1963.
• The Canadian government had commissioned
Tomlinson to create a manageable inventory of its
natural resources. He envisioned using computers to
merge natural resource data from all provinces.
• Tomlinson created the design for automated computing
to store and process large amounts of data, which
enabled Canada to begin its national land-use
management program. He also gave GIS its name.

5. THE HARVARD LABORATORY-1964
• While at Northwestern University in 1964, Howard Fisher
created one of the first computer mapping software
programs known as SYMAP. In 1965, he established the
Harvard Laboratory for Computer Graphics.
• While some of the first computer map-making software
was created and refined at the Lab, it also became a
research center for spatial analysis and visualization.
• Many of the early concepts for GIS and its applications
were conceived at the Lab by a talented collection of
geographers, planners, computer scientists, and others
from many fields

6. ESRI IS FOUNDED-1969
• In 1969, Jack Dangermond—a member of the Harvard
Lab—and his wife Laura founded Environmental
Systems Research Institute, Inc. (Esri).
• The consulting firm applied computer mapping and
spatial analysis to help land use planners and land
resource managers make informed decisions. The
company’s early work demonstrated the value of GIS for
problem solving.
• Esri went on to develop many of the GIS mapping and
spatial analysis methods now in use. These results
generated a wider interest in the company’s software
tools and work-flows that are now standard to GIS

7. GIS GOES COMMERCIAL-1981
• As computing became more powerful, Esri improved its
software tools. Working on projects that solved real-world
problems led the company to innovate and develop robust
GIS tools and approaches that could be broadly used.
• Esri’s work gained recognition from the academic community
as a new way of doing spatial analysis and planning. In need
of analyzing an increasing number of projects more
effectively,
• Esri developed ARC/INFO—the first commercial GIS product.
The technology was released in 1981 and began the
evolution of Esri into a software company

8. GIS TODAY
• GIS gives people the ability to create their own
digital map layers to help solve real-world problems.
• GIS has also evolved into a means for data sharing
and collaboration, inspiring a vision that is now
rapidly becoming a reality—a continuous,
overlapping, and interoperable GIS database of the
world, about virtually all subjects.
• Today, hundreds of thousands of organizations are
sharing their work and creating billions of maps
every day to tell stories and reveal patterns, trends,
and relationships about everything

9. WHAT IS GIS?
• GIS or a Geographic Information System is a system designed to capture, store,
manipulate, analyse, manage and present data. An easier way to think of it is,
‘everything happens somewhere’, and GIS allows us to visualise the
relationship between the 'what' and 'where'. By understanding this relationship
of 'what' and 'where' we can solve complex problems, make better decisions and
even save lives.

10. THE BIRTH OF GIS
• The first example of linking the 'what' with 'where' takes us all the way
back to 1854 and a cholera outbreak. At the time, people believed that the
disease was being spread through the air. But an enterprising English
Doctor, Dr Jon Snow wasn’t convinced. So, he decided to map the
outbreak locations, the roads and the property boundaries and the water
pumps. And, when he did, he made a startling discovery. A pattern
emerged. This pattern proved that the disease was not in fact airborne but
was being communicated via water and even more specifically by one
infected water pump. John Snow’s cholera map was a major event
connecting the what with the where.
• Not only was this the beginning of spatial analysis, it also marked a
whole new field of study: Epidemiology, the study of the spread of
disease. Snow’s work demonstrated that GIS is a problem-solving tool.
He put the what on a map to show the where and a made a life-saving
discovery.
Figure 1: Dr Jon Snow’s original map showing the
outbreak of cholera against the location of the
water pumps.

11. Figure 2: Dr Jon Snow’s original map with heat map analysis showing
the outbreak of cholera against the location of the water pumps

12. 1854 - 1960
During the next hundred years or so, there
was limited development in GIS. Mapping
was paper based and there was no computer
mapping.
By the 1950s, maps were starting to be used
in vehicle routing, development planning
and locating points of interest.

13. 1960 - 1975
In the period between 1960 to 1975 three major
technological advancements in new computer
technology led to the birth of modern GIS.
Those were: the ability to output map graphics using
line printers; advances in data storage and the
processing power of mainframe computers. We now
had the ability to record coordinates as data inputs and
perform calculations on those coordinates.

14. • Roger Tomlinson, widely acclaimed as the ‘Father of GIS’,
during his time with the Canadian Government in the 1960s,
was responsible for the creation of the Canadian Geographic
Information System (CGIS). CGIS was unique in that it
implemented a layering approach to map handling.
• The US Census Bureau was also an early adopter of the core
principles of GIS. The Bureau began to digitise Census
boundaries, roads and urban areas.
• The Ordnance Survey GB began to develop their
topographic mapping. They used computers to simplify the
process of updating future map editions and in 1971, digital
mapping was introduced to OS large-scale map production.

15. 1975 - 1990
This era saw the creation of GIS software. Jack Dangermond, co-
founder of Esri Inc had studied environmental science, landscape
architecture and urban design
By the late 1970s, the progress in computer memory and
improved computer graphic capabilities led to the creation of
commercial GIS Software. One of the vendors, was Esri, which is
now the largest GIS software company in the world, recognised
as a world leading expert in GIS, that has played a key role in the
history of GIS.

16. 1990 - 2010
The adoption of GIS into the mainstream took off between 1990-2010. This
was facilitated by a number of IT advancements: computers were getting
cheaper, faster and more powerful; there were an increasing number of GIS
software options and digitised mapping data was more readily available.
These advancements, together with the launch of new earth observation
satellites and the integration of remote sensing technology with GIS, saw
more and more applications being developed. GIS found its way into
classrooms, to businesses and to governments across the world.

17. 2010 - 2018
Due to the increased adoption of GIS over the previous twenty
years, open source GIS was born. GIS data has become more
and more ubiquitous, for instance, Landsat satellite imagery is
now accessible to all. GIS is now online, in the cloud, and on
your mobile

18. Today
Today, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and spatial analysis are
being used by everyone whether we realise or not. Have you noticed
that location-based search facility in Google? Do you use an app on
your phone to get you from A to B? Do you track your parcel delivery or
the taxi you booked? All these examples use spatial information to get
you the best answer or the most up to date information