Biographical Mapping

If you've ever dreamed of walking in the footsteps of your favorite historical figures, then Maptale is the map for you. This new platform lets you explore the life journeys of significant historical and contemporary figures, as laid out on an interactive map.

What Maptale Offers

At its heart, Maptale is a collection of mapped biographies, with each map showcasing the life journey of a notable individual through the significant locations that defined their story. For instance, selecting Abraham Lincoln from the "History and Wars" category allows you to explore locations such as the birthplace of the 16th President of the United States, his family’s farms, his marriage home, the White House, and the Lincoln Tomb, where he is laid to rest.

Maptale’s approach is inclusive - which means that users can upload their own maps, to visualize the life journeys of their own heros and heroines. These custom user maps add a community-driven aspect to the platform. It should also help in ensuring that there is a wide selection of notable individuals whose life journeys can be explored on Maptale.

Improving Maptale

One feature that seems to be missing from Maptale, and which I believe would enhance the platform significantly, is a universal map displaying all the locations in its database, encompassing the lives of all the individuals mapped so far. This consolidated view would allow users to uncover the famous connections in their own neighborhoods. It could help transform Maptale into a fantastic tool for local exploration and educational discovery.

Also See

Notable People Map - a map showing the birthplaces of the most "notable people" around the world.

Mapping the Life of George Washington

George Washington spent a lot of time in Washington DC. I guess he liked the name.¹

Washington's World is a biographical map of George Washington's life created by the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association (Mount Vernon being Washington's plantation home). The map allows you to explore the places which Washington visited in his life, from his birth in Westmoreland County, Virginia to his death at Mount Vernon.

The map includes the option to display various journeys undertaken by Washington during his life, including, his presidential tours and his trip to Barbados. The map also includes a timeline, which allows you to explore the plotted locations by date. If you select a location on the map you can view details about the chosen location in the map sidebar.

^1. Yes, I know.