David Woodward

29 August 1942 - 25 August 2004

David Woodward, cofounder of the award-winning History of Cartography series and Arthur H. Robinson Professor of Geography Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin–Madison (UW), died of cancer on 25 August 2004, at his home in Madison. His passing was peaceful, and he was surrounded by his family. David Woodward was born in 1942 in Royal Leamington Spa, England. After receiving a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wales, Swansea, he came to the United States to study cartography under Arthur H. Robinson at UW–Madison, where he earned a doctorate in geography in 1970. David spent the next eleven years at the Newberry Library in Chicago as cartographic specialist, curator of maps, and, from 1974 to 1980, director of its Hermon Dunlap Smith Center for the History of Cartography. In 1980 David joined the faculty of UW–Madison’s Geography Department and was named Arthur H. Robinson Professor of Geography in 1995. He retired from teaching in August 2002 to dedicate more of his time to research, editing, and outreach. During a 1977 walk through the countryside in Exeter, England, David Woodward and J. Brian Harley (UW–Milwaukee) developed the idea for what became The History of Cartography. They envisioned an ambitious multi-volume reference work that would examine the social production and consumption of maps across cultures from prehistoric origins to the twentieth century. When Harley died unexpectedly in 1991, David continued the Project, knowing that his friend and colleague’s influence would always be felt. David skillfully balanced his work on the History of Cartography Project with his other scholarly endeavors and academic responsibilities. In addition to the many awards garnered by the published volumes of The History of Cartography (follow links at /histcart/series.html for more information about each individual volume), David’s international reputation was acknowledged closer to home. He was honored to receive a five-year senior membership at the UW Institute for Research in the Humanities, the UW–Madison Hilldale award in the arts and humanities, and the College of Letters and Sciences Career Service Award, among many other distinctions. He gave hundreds of public lectures, discussing and developing new ideas with others as well as disseminating his research. David was a prolific and well-regarded scholar; his individual research and editorial works were widely disseminated and highly acclaimed. Among David’s numerous publications are: The All-American Map: Wax-Engraving and Its Influence on Cartography (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1977); Catalogue of Watermarks in Italian Maps, ca. 1540-1600 (Florence: Leo S. Olschki, 1996); Maps as Prints in the Italian Renaissance: Makers, Distributors & Consumers (The 1995 Panizzi Lectures) (London: British Library, 1996); Cultural Map of Wisconsin: A Cartographic Portrait of the State (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1996), with Robert C. Ostergren, Onno Brouwer, Steven Hoelscher, and Joshua G. Hane; and Approaches and Challenges in a Worldwide History of Cartography (Barcelona: Institut Cartogràfic de Catalunya, 2001), with Catherine Delano Smith and Cordell Yee. In spite of his many accomplishments, David was an unassuming man. As one friend simply wrote: “he was by far one of the nicest and most genuine people I have ever met. He had a great presence—and a great laugh. He will be missed dearly.”