Some Maps That Changed the World

Peter Barber, Head of Map Collections at the British Library, has compiled a list of 10 “maps that changed the world. It is utterly fascinating. Among the 10: the USSR’s Be on Guard! map, a Chinese Globe from 1623, Google Maps, and an 1889 “Descriptive Map of London Poverty” that resulted in London’s first council houses. Alas, William Smith’s geological survey of the U.K., known to fans of Simon Winchester as, literally, The Map That Changed the World, didn’t make the cut. (HT: Chris Blattman) [%comments]