Roger F. Tomlinson, (17 November 1933 – 7 February 2014) was an English-Canadian geographer and the primary originator of modern

geographic information system A geographic information system (GIS) is a type of database containing Geographic data and information, geographic data (that is, descriptions of phenomena for which location is relevant), combined with Geographic information system software, sof ...

s (GIS), and has been acknowledged as the "father of GIS."

Biography

Dr. Tomlinson was a native of Newmarket (England) and prior to attending university, he served in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

from 1951–1954 as a pilot and flying officer. After his military service, Dr. Tomlinson attended the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public university, public research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. The University of Nottingham belongs t ...

and

Acadia University Acadia University is a public, predominantly undergraduate university located in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada, with some graduate programs at the master's level and one at the doctoral level. The enabling legislation consists of the Acadia ...

for two separate undergraduate degrees in geography and geology, respectively. He received a master's degree in geography from

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

where he specialised in the glacial

geomorphology Geomorphology (from Ancient Greek: , ', "earth"; , ', "form"; and , ', "study") is the scientific study of the origin and evolution of topographic and bathymetric features created by physical, chemical or biological processes operating at or n ...

Labrador , nickname = "The Big Land" , etymology = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 ...

. His Doctoral thesis at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

was titled: ''The application of electronic computing methods and techniques to the storage, compilation, and assessment of mapped data.'' Dr. Tomlinson's early career included serving as an assistant professor at Acadia, working as the manager of the computer mapping division at Spartan Air Services in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, Ontario (following his studies at McGill), and work with the

Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...

first as a consultant and later as a director of regional planning systems with the Department of Forestry and Rural Development. It was during his tenure in the 1960s with Ottawa-based aerial survey company Spartan Air Services that Dr. Tomlinson conceptualized combining land use mapping with emerging computer technology. This pioneering work led him to initiate, plan and direct the development of the

Canada Geographic Information System {{Unreferenced, date=October 2012 The Canada Geographic Information System (CGIS) was an early geographic information system (GIS) developed for the Government of Canada beginning in the early 1960s. CGIS was used to store geospatial data for t ...

, the first computerised GIS in the world. From the 1970s until his death, Dr. Tomlinson worked in geographic consulting and research for a variety of private sector, government, and non-profit organisations, largely through his Ottawa-based company, Tomlinson Associates Ltd., which has branches of consulting geographers in Canada, the United States, and Australia. He was Chairman of the International Geographical Union GIS Commission for 12 years. He pioneered the concepts of worldwide geographical data availability as Chairman of the IGU Global Database Planning Project in 1988. He was also a president of the Canadian Association of Geographers.

Awards and honours

He was recipient of Canadian Association of Geographers rare award for Service to the Profession. The Association of American Geographers in the United States awarded him the James R. Anderson Medal of Honor for Applied Geography in 1995 and he was the first recipient of the Robert T. Aangeenbrug Distinguished Career Award in 2005. Dr. Tomlinson was an Honorary Fellow of the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

and winner of their

Murchison Award The Murchison Award, also referred to as the Murchison Grant, was first given by the Royal Geographical Society in 1882 for publications judged to have contributed most to geographical science in preceding recent years. Recipients Source (1882–1 ...

for the Development of

Geographic Information Systems A geographic information system (GIS) is a type of database containing geographic data (that is, descriptions of phenomena for which location is relevant), combined with software tools for managing, analyzing, and visualizing those data. In a br ...

. In 1996 he was awarded the GIS World Lifetime Achievement Award for a lifetime of work with GIS, and he was the first recipient of the

ESRI Esri (; Environmental Systems Research Institute) is an American multinational geographic information system (GIS) software company. It is best known for its ArcGIS products. With a 43% market share, Esri is the world's leading supplier of GIS ...

Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997. In 2004, in recognition of his numerous achievements in the industry, th
GIS Certification Institute
awarded Dr. Tomlinson the GISP Certificate for Lifetime GIS Achievement and he was inducted int
URISA's GIS Hall of Fame
and awarded lifetime membership. In 2010 Tomlinson received the

Alexander Graham Bell Medal The IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal is an award honoring ''"exceptional contributions to communications and networking sciences and engineering"'' in the field of telecommunications. The medal is one of the highest honors awarded by the Insti ...

of the

National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, and ...

(together with

Jack Dangermond Jack Dangermond (born 1945) is an American billionaire businessman and environmental scientist, who co-founded, with Laura Dangermond, in 1969 the Environmental Systems Research Institute (Esri), a privately held geographic information systems ( ...

). In 2011, he was presented with an Honorary Membership in the Association of Ontario Land Surveyors. Tomlinson also received the Geospatial Information & Technology Association Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2013, Tomlinson was awarded a Fellow of the

University Consortium for Geographic Information Science The University Consortium for Geographic Information Science (UCGIS) is an academic non-profit organization dedicated to geographic information science, incorporated in 1995 in Washington, D.C. It fosters multidisciplinary cooperation among the ...

. More recently, he was made a fellow of

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

and received honorary Doctorates of Science from the

, and the

University of Lethbridge , mottoeng = ''Let there be light'' , type = Public , established = , academic_affiliations = Universities Canada , endowment = $73 million (2019) , chancellor = Charles Weasel ...

. He was awarded the Gold Medal of the

Royal Canadian Geographical Society The Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS; French: ''Société géographique royale du Canada'') is a Canadian nonprofit educational organization dedicated to imparting a broader knowledge and deeper appreciation of Canada—its people ...

and was awarded the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

by the Governor General for "changing the face of geography as a discipline." In 2013, he was promoted to Officer of the Order of Canada by the Governor General.

References

External links

Interview with Dr. Tomlinson in ESRI News Fall 2001 issueAnnouncement from McGill University granting Dr. Tomlinson an honorary Doctor of Science degree at the May 31, 2006 convocation.Videos of Dr. Tomlinson from the video.esri.com site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tomlinson, Roger F. 1933 births 2014 deaths Military personnel from Cambridgeshire 20th-century Royal Air Force personnel Royal Air Force officers People from Cambridge Military personnel from Ottawa Officers of the Order of Canada English geographers Alumni of the University of Nottingham Acadia University alumni Acadia University faculty McGill University Faculty of Science alumni Alumni of University College London Geographic information scientists Royal Canadian Geographical Society fellows National Geographic Society medals recipients