International Women's Day

A non-comprehensive map highlighting several unique women who impacted cartography.

APSU GIS Center

March 8, 2021

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Mary Ann Roque

Mary Ann Roque (1725-1770) ran a notable map business after the death of her husband. Her business printed and sold maps her late husband had drawn. Roque went on to publish several books of maps, including the atlas A Set of Plans and Forts of America. Like many female mapmakers of the time, Roque typically signed her maps with her initials to hide her gender from buyers.

Roque's maps are stored in the National Archives, the United States Military Academy, and several other notable libraries.

Marie Catherine Haussard and Elizabeth Haussard

Marie Catherine Haussard and Elizabeth Haussard engraved numerous cartouches over their lives.

Taught by their father and notable engraver, Jean-Baptiste Haussard, the Haussard sisters typically signed their work with their initials, most likely to hide that the engravings were created by women.

Due to this, much of their work has been lost or not attributed to them.

Shanawdithit

Shanawdithit was one of the last living members of the Beothuk tribe, who lived in Newfoundland.

Her tribe was repeatedly attacked by the British and systematically killed. After the death of her family, Shanawdithit became a servant to a white English family that had contributed to the death of her father. It is unknown if she was enslaved by the family.

Shanawdithit was able to recall the attacks on her people, and created a series of maps that tracked their movements. Her work remains one of few primary sources on the Beothuk tribe.

In 2000, Shanawdithit was recognized as a National Historic Person by the Canadian government.

Louisa Pinchon

Louisa Pinchon was one of many young European students that studied geography in early 19th century schools.

At the time, young women copied maps from around the world to develop their design skills, artistic skills, and learn geography. They were usually taught this practice by other women.

Several of Pinchon's maps from the 1880's still exist today, including the Amérique du Nord featured above.

Ellen Fitz

Ellen Fitz patented the mounting system for this globe in 1876. Her design was showcased at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition in 1876.

Fitz was the first documented woman to design a globe. Her design was used to teach students the relationship between Earth's rotation, tilted axis, and yearly orbit.

Louise E. Jefferson

Louise E. Jefferson (1908-2002) was an African American artist and cartographer. Jefferson was the first African American director in the publishing industry.

Jefferson expanded on her early education in cartography from her father, a United States Treasury Department calligrapher, at Howard University and the School of Fine Arts at Hunter College.

In addition to her notable work as a photographer, Jefferson created several maps that highlighted the contributions of minorities and indigenous people in North America, including "Makers of the United States." She later wrote a book, Decorations of Africa, and continued to freelance after her retirement.

Ruth Haviland Sutton

In the 1900's, women worked to create pictorial maps that encouraged tourism.

Ruth Haviland Sutton created this map, Nantucket, in 1946 to promote travel to Nantucket, Ma. The map includes illustrations and information on Nantucket's wildlife, landmarks, history, and more.

Sutton co-founded the Boston Printmakers in 1947, and continued to work as an artist.

Kira B. Shingareva

In the 1960's, Kira B. Shingareva worked in the space program at Moscow State University. She mapped Mars, Phobos, Venus, and most notably, the Moon.

Shingareva worked on the team that first mapped the dark side of the moon and created the first globe of the moon.

She went on to create over 150 publications, including maps, atlases, and research.

Marie Tharp

Marie Tharp was an American geologist, oceanographer, and cartographer.

Tharp created one of the first maps of the ocean floor with sonar readings. Tharp was not allowed on the boats due to her sex, and had to rely on data sent to her.

Her relief maps supported the theory of continental drift. However, her findings were dismissed by her male colleagues as "girl talk." Years later, Tharp's work was eventually accepted.

Tharp went on to run a map making business.