Emil von Sydow (15 July 1812 – 13 October 1873) was a German military

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

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" ...

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 i ...

born in

Freiberg, Saxony Freiberg is a university and former mining town in Saxony, Germany. It is a so-called '' Große Kreisstadt'' (large county town) and the administrative centre of Mittelsachsen district. Its historic town centre has been placed under heritage ...

. Prior to 1843 he was a

geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, an ...

instructor at the military academy in

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits in ...

, afterwards being appointed as a member of the ''Ober- Militär-Examinationscommission'' in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constit ...

. In 1849 he began giving instruction in geography to

Prince Albert of Prussia (1837–1906) Prince Albert of Prussia (german: Friedrich Wilhelm Nikolaus Albrecht; 8 May 1837 – 13 September 1906) was a Prussian general field marshal, ''Herrenmeister'' (Grand Master) of the Order of Saint John from 1883 until his death, and regent of th ...

, and soon afterwards gave lectures on military geography at the ''Allgemeinen Kriegsschule''. From 1855 to 1860 he performed geographical and cartological duties in

Gotha Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine Wettins from 1640 until the ...

, then returned to Berlin, where in 1867 he was appointed ''Abtheilungschef'' (division chief) to the Prussian General Staff. In 1870 he attained the rank of Colonel, and died three years later in Berlin due to cholera. He is considered to be the founder of methodical school

cartography 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 i ...

, and distinguished himself by creating his own wall maps for classroom instruction. In 1838 he produced a physical map of Asia in his "''Schulmethodischer Wand Atlas''" (Methodic Wall Atlas for Schools) that was soon followed by maps of other continents. On these maps, Sydow developed a color methodology for landscape features using hachures, where green was depicted for lowlands and brown used for highlands. Wilhelm Perthes (1793–1853) of the publishing firm " Justus Perthes Geographische Anstalt Gotha" was impressed with Sydow's work and in 1849 produced the latter's "''Schulatlas in sechsunddreigig Karten''" (Schoolatlas in 36 maps), a work that eventually ran to 39 editions by 1887. The ''Drei Karten-Klippen'' generalized the knowledge of the projection of the surface of the sphere on the map, the representation of the three-dimensional Earth's surface on the two-dimensional paper and the selection and generalization of the map objects, basic questions that made Sydow pioneering. After von Sydow's death, Hermann Wagner (1840-1929), a geography professor at

Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the capital of the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, the population was 118,911. General information The ori ...

, designed the "''Sydow-Wagner Methodischer Schulatlas''" (Sydow-Wagner Methodical School Atlas) with 60 major and 50 inset maps.Herman Wagner (1889)
''Sydow-Wagners Methodischer Schulatlas''
Zweite durchgesehene und berichtigte auflage. Gotha, Justus Perthes

References

Origins of School Cartography {{DEFAULTSORT:Sydow, Emil von 1812 births 1873 deaths People from Freiberg German cartographers Map publishing companies