DAVID WOODWARD, according to Malcolm Lewis in the (London) Independent, "transformed the history of cartography from a directionless Eurocentric field into a respectable subject now global in scope." [1]

David was born in 1942 in Royal Leamington Spa, England. After receiving a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wales, Swansea, he came to the United States to study cartography under Arthur H. Robinson at the University of Wisconsin—Madison, where he earned a doctorate in geography in 1970. David spent the next eleven years at the [Newberry Library] in Chicago as cartographic specialist, curator of maps, and, from 1974 to 1980, director of its Hermon Dunlap Smith Center for the History of Cartography. In 1980 David joined the faculty of the UW—Madison’s Geography Department and was named Arthur H. Robinson Professor of Geography in 1995. He retired from teaching in August 2002 to dedicate more of his time to research, editing, and outreach.

During a 1977 walk through the countryside in Exeter, England, David Woodward and J. Brian Harley (UW—Milwaukee) developed the idea for what became [The History of Cartography]. They envisioned an ambitious multi-volume reference work that would examine the social production and consumption of maps across cultures from prehistoric origins to the twentieth century. When Harley died unexpectedly in 1991, David continued the Project, knowing that his friend and colleague’s influence would always be felt.

David skillfully balanced his work on the History of Cartography Project with his other scholarly endeavors and academic responsibilities. In addition to the many awards garnered by the published volumes of The History of Cartography [2], David’s international reputation was acknowledged closer to home. He was honored to receive a five-year senior membership at the UW Institute for Research in the Humanities, the UW—Madison Hilldale award in the arts and humanities, and the College of Letters and Sciences Career Service Award, among many other distinctions. He gave hundreds of public lectures, discussing and developing new ideas with others as well as disseminating his research. David was a prolific and well-regarded scholar; his individual research and editorial works were widely disseminated and highly acclaimed.

He died of cancer on 25 August 2004, at his home in Madison. His death was peaceful, and he was surrounded by his family. He is survived by his wife, Rosalind Woodward; his son [Justin Woodward], a studying psychologist and musician, who both live in Madison, WI; and his daughter [Jenny Woodward], a creative director who lives in New York. His obituary was published in the New York Times and can be seen at this link: [3]

Publications

A full bibliography of David's publications is provided in Matthew H. Edney, "David Alfred Woodward (1942-2004)," Imago Mundi: The International Journal for the History of Cartography 57.1 (2005): 75-83. A number of reminiscences about David as a scholar and a teacher can be also be found in a special issue of Cartographic Perspectives, no. 51 (Spring 2005), dedicated to David and to his mentor, Arthur H. Robinson.

The volumes of The History of Cartography are:

• Harley, J. B., and David Woodward, eds. Cartography in Prehistoric, Ancient, and Medieval Europe and the Mediterranean. Volume 1 of The History of Cartography. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1987. ISBN 0-226-31633-5. Awarded Best Book in the Humanities (1987) from the Professional and Scholarly Publishing Division, Association of American Publishers.

• Harley, J. B., and David Woodward, eds. Cartography in the Traditional Islamic and South Asian Societies. Volume 2, Book 1 of The History of Cartography. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1992. ISBN 0-226-31635-1.

• Harley, J. B., and David Woodward, eds. Cartography in the Traditional East and Southeast Asian Societies. Volume 2, Book 2 of The History of Cartography. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1994. ISBN 0-226-31637-8.

• Woodward, David, and G. Malcolm Lewis, eds. Cartography in the Traditional African, American, Arctic, Australian, and Pacific Societies. Volume 2, Book 3 of The History of Cartography. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1998. ISBN 0-226-90728-7. [Full text of the Introduction by David Woodward and G. Malcolm Lewis].

• Woodward, David, ed. Cartography in the European Renaissance. Volume 3 of The History of Cartography. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, in press, to be published in 2007.

• Edney, Matthew H., and Mary S. Pedley, eds. Cartography in the European Enlightenment Volume 4 of The History of Cartography. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, in preparation.

• T.B.A., ed. Cartography in the Nineteenth Century. Volume 5 of The History of Cartography. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, in preparation.

• Monmonier, Mark, ed. Cartography in the Twentieth Century. Volume 6 of The History of Cartography. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, in preparation.

Among David’s other numerous publications are:

• [editor] Five Centuries of Map Printing. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1975.

• The All-American Map: Wax-Engraving and Its Influence on Cartography. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1977.

• [editor] Art and Cartography: Six Historical Essays. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987.

• Catalogue of Watermarks in Italian Maps, ca. 1540-1600. Florence: Leo S. Olschki, 1996.

• Maps as Prints in the Italian Renaissance: Makers, Distributors & Consumers. The 1995 Panizzi Lectures. London: British Library, 1996.

• Cultural Map of Wisconsin: A Cartographic Portrait of the State. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1996. With Robert C. Ostergren, Onno Brouwer, Steven Hoelscher, and Joshua G. Hane.

• Approaches and Challenges in a Worldwide History of Cartography. Barcelona: Institut Cartogràfic de Catalunya, 2001. With Catherine Delano Smith and Cordell Yee.

Links

• [David Woodward, Brian Harley, and the History of Cartography Project]

• [New York Times Article When the World Was Flat, by John Noble Wilford]

• [The London Independent: Obituary]

• [Mark Monmonier]

• [A Bibliography for Research issues in the Cartographic History of the Atlantic World, Harvard University 24 April 1999 ]

• [The Newberry Library]