Alexander Keith Johnston (1804–1871)
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Alexander Keith Johnston
FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...
FRGS FGS FEGS LLD (died 9 July 1871) was a Scottish
geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...
and
cartographer Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an im ...
.


Biography

He was born at Kirkhill near
Penicuik Penicuik ( ; sco, Penicuik; gd, Peighinn na Cuthaig) is a town and former burgh in Midlothian, Scotland, lying on the west bank of the River North Esk. It lies on the A701 midway between Edinburgh and Peebles, east of the Pentland Hills. Na ...
, south of
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
. He was the son of Andrew Johnston and Isabel Keith. His brother was
Thomas Brumby Johnston Thomas Brumby Johnston FRSE FRGS FSA (1814-1897) was a 19th-century Scottish geographer, cartographer, antiquary and pioneer photographer. In later life he served as the official Geographer to Queen Victoria. Life Johnston was born in Pert ...
FRSE. After an education at the
High School A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
and the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
he was
apprenticed Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...
to the Edinburgh engraver and mapmaker, James Kirkwood and
William Home Lizars William Home Lizars (1788 – 30 March 1859) was a Scottish painter and engraver. Life The son of Daniel Lizars, and brother of the surgeon John Lizars, he was born at Edinburgh in 1788, and was educated at the high school there. His siste ...
. In 1826, he joined his brother William (who would become Sir William Johnston,
Lord Provost of Edinburgh The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Edinburgh is the convener of the City of Edinburgh local authority, who is elected by City_of_Edinburgh_Council, the city council and serves not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead for the e ...
) in a printing and engraving business, forming the well-known
cartographical Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an im ...
firm of W. and A. K. Johnston with offices based at 4 St Andrew Square in
Edinburgh's New Town The New Town is a central area of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It was built in stages between 1767 and around 1850, and retains much of its original neo-classical and Georgian period architecture. Its best known street is Princes Stree ...
(demolished 2016) and their printworks based at Edina Works, off Easter Road. The firm used the clan motto of "Ready Aye Ready" as their logo. Early hikes in the West Highlands had led Johnston to despair at the accuracy of maps, and inspired a desire to rectify this. The rest of Johnston's life was devoted to geography, his later years to its educational aspects especially. His services were recognised by the leading scientific societies of Europe and
America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. Following his publication of ''The National Atlas of Historical, Commercial and Political Geography'' in 1843, Johnston was appointed
Geographer Royal Geographer Royal is a Scottish honorific appointment. The holder of the position originally was intended to give geographic and mapping advice to the sovereign. In 1682, Charles II of England, King Charles II appointed the first Geographer Royal, ...
. In October 1849, he was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...
, his proposer being Robert Chambers. In 1862 he was a founding member of the Meteorological Society of Scotland. He was awarded an honorary doctorate (LLD) in 1865. His Edinburgh address in later years was 16 Grosvenor Crescent in the affluent West End. He died at
Ben Rhydding Ben Rhydding is a village in the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It is part of the Ilkley urban area and civil parish. The village is situated on a north-facing valley side beneath the Cow and Calf rocks and above and to the south o ...
,
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
, in 1871. He is buried in the north-west section of
Grange Cemetery The Grange (originally St Giles' Grange) is an affluent suburb of Edinburgh, just south of the city centre, with Morningside and Greenhill to the west, Newington to the east, The Meadows park and Marchmont to the north, and Blackford Hil ...
in Edinburgh facing the west path.


Works

Johnston combined cartography with a painstaking and scholarly approach to map production. He went on to establish a reputation for scope and accuracy. Thematic atlases became the hallmark of the company he had founded and W & A K Johnston were appointed engravers to
King William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...
in 1834. In 1835 he constructed the first English language physical globe of the world incorporating its geology, hydrography and meteorology. In 1843 Johnston published ''The National Atlas of Historical, Commercial and Political Geography''. Johnston was the first to bring the study of
physical geography Physical geography (also known as physiography) is one of the three main branches of geography. Physical geography is the branch of natural science which deals with the processes and patterns in the natural environment such as the atmosphere, h ...
into competent notice in England. His attention had been called to the subject by
Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 17696 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister, p ...
. In 1848 Johnston published ''Physical Atlas of Natural Phenomena'', followed by a second and enlarged edition in 1856. The atlas contained maps and descriptive
letterpress Letterpress printing is a technique of relief printing. Using a printing press, the process allows many copies to be produced by repeated direct impression of an inked, raised surface against sheets or a continuous roll of paper. A worker comp ...
to illustrate the
geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...
,
hydrography Hydrography is the branch of applied sciences which deals with the measurement and description of the physical features of oceans, seas, coastal areas, lakes and rivers, as well as with the prediction of their change over time, for the primary p ...
,
meteorology Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not ...
,
botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...
,
zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...
, and
ethnology Ethnology (from the grc-gre, ἔθνος, meaning 'nation') is an academic field that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural anthropology, cultural, social anthropolo ...
of the globe. ''The Physical Atlas'' was partly based on
Heinrich Berghaus Heinrich Karl Wilhelm Berghaus (3 May 1797 – 17 February 1884) was a German geographer and cartographer who conducted trigonometric surveys in Prussia and taught geodesy at the Bauakademie in Berlin. He taught cartography and produced a pioneeri ...
's German language ''Physikalischer Atlas'' and reflected the increased interest in the mapping of zoological and biological distributions. 18th century thinkers such as
Montesquieu Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (; ; 18 January 168910 February 1755), generally referred to as simply Montesquieu, was a French judge, man of letters, historian, and political philosopher. He is the principa ...
had stressed the importance of geography and climate as determining factors in history, and the concept of ''natural frontiers''. The atlas was a visual representation of
Humboldtian science Humboldtian science refers to a movement in science in the 19th century closely connected to the work and writings of German scientist, naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt. It maintained a certain ethics of precision and observation, ...
, which became popular in the 19th century and was preoccupied with the measurement of environmental parameters on a global scale. Berghaus and Johnston effectively illustrated the text of Humboldt's '' Kosmos'' and both atlases were subsequently plagiarized and abridged for school editions. Johnston published a ''Dictionary of Geography'' in 1850, with many later editions. ''The Royal Atlas of Modern Geography'' was first published in 1855 and served as an atlas of
military geography Military geography is a sub-field of geography that is used by the military, as well as academics and politicians, to understand the geopolitical sphere through the military lens. To accomplish these ends, military geographers consider topics fro ...
to accompany Alison's ''History of Europe'' published in 1848. A variety of other
atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth. Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geographic ...
es and
map A map is a symbolic depiction emphasizing relationships between elements of some space, such as objects, regions, or themes. Many maps are static, fixed to paper or some other durable medium, while others are dynamic or interactive. Although ...
s for educational or scientific purposes. In 1856 Johnston published the "School Atlas of Astronomy". In 1861 Johnston published the first edition of the ''Royal Atlas of Modern Geography'' with 48 maps. By 1914 the atlas had gone through 12 editions and morphed into the ''Johnston's Handy Royal Atlas of Modern Geography'' with 61 colour lithographed maps and an index of 84 pages. While the
Bartholomew Bartholomew (Aramaic: ; grc, Βαρθολομαῖος, translit=Bartholomaîos; la, Bartholomaeus; arm, Բարթողիմէոս; cop, ⲃⲁⲣⲑⲟⲗⲟⲙⲉⲟⲥ; he, בר-תולמי, translit=bar-Tôlmay; ar, بَرثُولَماو ...
's ''Citizen's Atlas'' sold more copies, being half the price, the ''Royal Altlas''became the standard library atlas throughout the British Empire. In 1867 Johnston produced a new edition of his ''School Atlas of Classical Geography''. It contained a series of new maps that reflected the results of the most recent research into the
classical antiquity Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...
. The ''Map of the Outer Geography of the Odyssey'' and two maps of ancient Greece were based on the scholarly work of
William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...
, who had also revised the map plates and text of the atlas. In 1871 Johnston published the ''Half-Crown Atlas of British History'' for the price sensitive educational market. It was designed as a connected series of maps for teachers and students and illustrated leading events of history.


Family

He married Margaret Gray in 1837. She was thereafter known as Margaret Keith Johnston. His eldest son, also named Alexander Keith Johnston (1844–1879), was also the author of various geographical works and papers.


References

Attribution: *


External links


DavidRumsey.com
has high resolution digital versions of A.K. Johnston's 1856 ''Physical Atlas of Natural Phenomena'' and 1861 ''Royal Atlas of Modern Geography.''
Works by and about Alexander Keith Johnston
in the
Berlin State Library The Berlin State Library (german: Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin; officially abbreviated as ''SBB'', colloquially ''Stabi'') is a universal library in Berlin, Germany and a property of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation. It is one of the larg ...
. *Johnston's 185
''Atlas of Astronomy''
edited by
John Russell Hind John Russell Hind FRS FRSE LLD (12 May 1823 – 23 December 1895) was an English astronomer. Life and work John Russell Hind was born in 1823 in Nottingham, the son of lace manufacturer John Hind and Elizabeth Russell, and was educated at ...
- Full digital facsimile,
Linda Hall Library The Linda Hall Library is a privately endowed American library of science, engineering and technology located in Kansas City, Missouri, sitting "majestically on a urban arboretum." It is the "largest independently funded public library of scien ...
. {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Alexander Keith (1804-1871) 1871 deaths 19th-century Scottish people People from the Scottish Borders People educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Scottish cartographers Scottish geographers Scottish lexicographers Scottish book publishers (people) 19th-century Scottish businesspeople 19th-century lexicographers