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A brief history of geography

‘Geography’ has changed over time, evolving from traditional mapping to become a multi-faceted science. This article provides a brief look at the development of geographical thinking and considers how geography might evolve in the future

The history of any discipline has long been of interest to scholars and researchers. How did we get to where we are today? What factors have shaped our discipline and geographical thinking?

As an academic discipline, geography has taken many forms across time. Its name is derived from geographia, literally meaning Earth-writing, first used by Eratosthenes (276–194BC). At its core, geography is an empirical subject that grew as academic analysis and technology has allowed us to see further, dig deeper and understand more of our world. This has enabled it to evolve from basic place and space observation to a diverse, socio-environmental science. Figure 1 highlights some of the key developments in the subject.

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