Waldo Tobler (1931–2018): Analytical Cartographer and Regional Scientist

In this chapter, Arthur Getis discusses Waldo Rudolph Tobler, one of the world’s leading cartographers, who specialized in mathematical representations of the Earth’s surface. Tobler was among the first to use computers in cartographic and geographic research. He was the inventor of novel and unusual map projections, including a hyper-elliptical, equal area projection that became popular for its ease of use. In one of his publications he made a casual statement about observable earth characteristics: Everything is related to everything else, but near things are more related than distant things. This became known as Tobler’s First Law of Geography. Its profundity comes from his awakening in many scholars the importance of a spatial or distance-related perspective of the world around them.