The British Empire, The Citizen's Atlas, 1912 - J G Bartholomew - Framed art Print

Born on March 22, 1860 and died on April 14, 1920, John George Bartholomew was a well known Scottish geographer and mapmaker. Holding a royal warrant, he went by the title 'Cartographer to the King', earning him the nickname 'the Prince of Cartography'.

His most significant contribution was arguably naming the continent of Antarctica. Until his reference to it in 1890, the continent was largely overlooked due to its brutal climate and scarcity of resources.

Originally from a distinguished family of cartographers, Bartholomew was schooled at the Royal High School, Edinburgh, and furthered his education at the University of Edinburgh.

Bartholomew is also celebrated for introducing coloured contour layer maps. He published a variety of maps including street maps of major cities, cycling maps, railway schedule maps, and automobile road maps.

He joined forces with prominent scientists and explorers of his era on projects related to their research. His Atlas of Meteorology and Atlas of Zoogeography were part of a planned five-volume series that never saw completion. However, before his death, he managed to draft the first edition of the Times Survey Atlas of the World. This atlas, along with its subsequent editions, is considered the most successful atlas project of the 20th century.