Dataviz: History

Disclaimer: the below table is work in progress, so it can be used "as is"! Project's objective is to document from my perspective the sources for the various means used over the years in data visualization, respectively graphical representation (uncertain years were marked with a "*").
The table was created 5-10 years ago and it was based initially mainly on [1], [2] & [6], though it was only recently made available online and it will be furthered revised as time allows. See also a similar table on diagraming in Knowledge representation. 

Period	Author(s)	Title	Description	Region
9-8* c. BC		Domuztepe	•🔸 the first vessels and stones with ‘tree of life’ motifs [link1]
6200* BC		Konya town map	•🔸 one of the oldest known maps; [link1]	Anatolia, Turkey
3300* BC		clay Sumerian star map	•🔸 celestial planisphere (map); sky has been divided into eight sections.	Sumerian
2600* BC		tablet from Shuruppag	•🔸 the first securely datable mathematical table	Sumerian
2500* BC		clay Tablet map from Ga-Sur	•🔸 clay tablet; [link]	Babylon
2300* BC		The Urra=hubullu glossary	•🔸 the oldest known dictionaries in form of a cuneiform tablets contains bilingual wordlists in Sumerian and Akkadian [link]	Sumerian/ Akkadian
1700-2000* BC		Phaistos Disc	•🔸 disc of fired clay from the Minoan Palace of Phaistos on the island of Crete; the World's first typewritten document [link]	Greek
1500 BC		Mesopotamian City Plan for Nippur	•🔸 [link1]	Babylon
1300* BC		Turin Papyrus	•🔸 one of earliest surviving topographical map from Egypt [link1]
1200* BC		The Urartian Tree of Life	•🔸 tree of life
900* BC		Assyrian Tree of Life	•🔸 represented by a series of nodes and criss-crossing lines
600* BC		Imago Mundi	•🔸 the oldest known world map [2]	Babylon
550* BC	Anaximander		•🔸 credited with having created one of the first maps of the world [2]; described in books II and IV of Herodotus [1] [link1]	Greek
550–476* BC	Hecataeus of Miletus (	"Ges Periodos" ("Travels round the Earth")	•🔸 drew an improved world map, incorporating information from the campaigns of Alexander the Great and his successor [2]
700-500 BC		tablet	•🔸 contains cuneiform inscription and a unique map of the Mesopotamian world
500 BC		Babylonian clay tablet	•🔸 map of the Babylon with seven islands [link1]
366-365 BC			•🔸 the first route map showing the whole of the Roman world, a map from Vienna, through Italy, to Carthage;
300* BC			•🔸 the oldest solar and lunar calendars carved into animal bones, based on microscopic analysis made by Alexander Marshack [link1. link2]	France/
300* BC			•🔸 the oldest solar and lunar calendars carved into animal bones, based on microscopic analysis made by Alexander Marshack [link1. link2]	France/
264-263* BC		The Parian Marble	•🔸 the oldest surviving Greek chronological table
276–194 BCE	Eratosthenes		•🔸
135–51* BCE	Posidonius (or Poseidonius) of Apameia	"about the ocean and the adjacent areas"
64* BCE – 24 CE	Strabo		•🔸
43* CE	Pomponius Mela		•🔸
120* CE	Marinus of Tyre		•🔸
150*	Claudius Ptolemy		•🔸 used a map projection to portray his concept of the structure of the earth; use of latitude and longitude to characterize position	Greek
2nd c		The Farnese Atlas	•🔸 marble status of the Titan holding the celestial sphere on his shoulders •🔸 the oldest known representation of the celestial sphere
300 AD	attributed to Greek philosopher Porphyry		•🔸 uses nodes and arcs for representation of interrelation of concepts	Grece
4th c.		Tabula Peutingeriana (Peutinger table) u	•🔸 an intinerarium showing the cursus publicus, the road network in the Roman Empire [2]
6th c	Cosmas Indicopleustes	"Topographia Christiana" ("Christian Topography")	•🔸 originally written as five books by Cosmas Indicopleustes and expanded to ten to twelve books around 550 AD [2]; •🔸 one of the earliest essays in scientific geography written by a Christian author [2]
636*	Isidore of Sevilla	T and O map	•🔸 represents only the top-half of a spherical Earth
10th c.	Ibn Hawqals		•🔸 world map	Arab
1040*			•🔸 anglo-Saxon Cotton world map
1020-1050*	anon	Book of Curiosities	•🔸 series of colorful maps, giving unique insight into Islamic concepts of the world
1050*	Beatus of Liébana	Beatus Mappa Mundi	•🔸 one of the oldest Christian world maps
10th c.		Macrobius Boetius in Isagog. Saec. X	•🔸 in the appendix "De cursu per zodiacum" there is a short description of the movement of the planets through the zodiac [20]
11th c.	Mahmud al-Kashgari		•🔸 compiled a Compendium of the languages of the Turks	Qarakhanid Uyghur
1154	Muhammad al-Idrisi	Al-Idrisi's Tabula Rogeriana	•🔸 incorporated the knowledge of Africa, the Indian Ocean and the Far East gathered by Arab merchants and explorers [2]	Arab
1193		Suchow planisphere	•🔸 an all-sky star map, it includes the celestial equator, ecliptic, and Milky Way
1235	Gervase of Ebstorf	Ebstorf Mappa Mundi	•🔸 elaborated version of the medieval tripartite or T and O map	German
1280	Ramon Llull		•🔸 Triangular diagrams of paired comparisons for electoral systems (how to elect a Pope or Mother Superior, when all the candidates are voting)
1300*		Hereford Mappa Mundi	•🔸 is a detailed mappa mundi based on the T and O map style
1305	Ramon Llull		•🔸 mechanical diagrams of knowledge, as aids to reasoning (served as an inspiration to Leibnitz in the development of symbolic logic).
1321	Pietro Vesconte		•🔸 nautical charts are among the earliest to map the Mediterraean and Black Sea regions accurately [2]	Italian
1350*	Nicole Oresme (Bishop of Lisieus)		•🔸 proto-bar graph (of a theoretical function), and development of the logical relation between tabulating values, and graphing them (pre-dating Descartes). Oresme proposed the use of a graph for plotting a variable magnitude whose value depends on another, and, implicitly, the idea of a coordinate system [1]
1375	Cresques Abraham (attributed)	Catalan World Atlas	•🔸 the texts and illustration emphasize the Earth's spherical shape and the state of the known world [2]; •🔸 visual cosmography, perpetual calendar, and thematic representation of the known world [1]
1402	Kwon Kun & Yi Hoe]	Kangnido	•🔸 "Map of Integrated Lands and Regions of Historical Countries and Capitals" [link1]	Korean
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14-15* c.	Da Ming Hunyi Tu	"Amalgamated Map of the Great Ming Empire"		Chinese
1411-1415	Albertinus de Virga		•🔸 world map
1436	Andrea Bianco		•🔸 world map
1450*	Nicolas of Cusa		•🔸 graphs of distance vs. speed, presumably of the theoretical relation	Italy?
1457		Genoese map	•🔸 account of the traveler to Asia Niccolo da Conti [link]
1457-1459	Fra Mauro	the Fra Mauro Map of the world.	•🔸 circular planisphere drawn on parchment and set in a wooden frame [link]	Venetian
1489- 1491*	Henricus Martellus Germanus	Martellus world map	•🔸 [link]	German
1492	Martin Behaim	Behaim's Erdapfel globe	•🔸 considered to be the oldest surviving terrestrial globe.	German
1500*	Leonardo da Vinci		•🔸 use of rectangular coordinates to analyze velocity of falling objects-
1533	Regnier Gemma-Frisius		•🔸 description of how to determine mapping locations by triangulation, from similar triangles, and with use of angles w.r.t meridians	Belgium
1550	Georg Joachim Rheticus		•🔸 trigonometric tables (published 1596)
1569	Gerardus Mercator	"Nova et Aucta Orbis Terrae map"	•🔸 invention of cylindrical projection for portraying the globe on maps, to preserve straightness of rhumb lines	Belgium
1570	Abraham Ortelius (Ortel)	"Theatrum Orbis Terrarum"	•🔸 the first modern atlas	Belgium
1581	Heinrich Bünting	"Die ganze Welt in einem Kleberblat" ("The World in a Cloverleaf"); in "Itinerarium Sacrae Scripturae"	•🔸 figurative illustration depicting the world via a clover shape [2]	German
1592	Diego Gutierrez		•🔸 Map of North and South America
1602	Matteo Ricci	Kunyu Wanguo Quantu ("A Map of the Myriad Countries of the World")	•🔸 the first known European-styled Chinese world map (and the first Chinese map to show the Americas) [2]	Italian
1603	Guillaume Le Nautonier		•🔸 tables, and first world map showing lines of geomagnetism (isogons), used in work on finding longitude by means of magnetic variation. The tables give the world distribution of the variation, by latitude, along each of the meridians.	France
1610	Galileo Galilei	"Sidereus Nuncius"	•🔸 the first astronomical pictures ever printed	Italy
1614	John Napier	"A Description of the Admirable Table of Logarithms"	•🔸 invention of logarithms, and the first published tables of logarithms [1]	Scottland
1621	Mao Yuanyi (compiled by)	Mao Kun map	•🔸 set of navigation charts published in 1628 in the Ming dynasty military treatise Wubei Zhi; •🔸 the earliest Chinese map to give an adequate representation of Southern Asia, Persia, Arabia and East Africa •🔸 aka Zheng He's navigation map	Chinese
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1630	Christopher Scheiner		•🔸 use of small multiples [4]	Germany
1626	Christopher Scheiner		•🔸 visual representations used to chart the changes in sunspots over time [1]; •🔸 the first known use of the idea of "small multiples'" to show a series of images in a coherent display [1]	Germany
1630	Hendrik Hondius	"Nova Totius Terrarum Orbis Geographica ac Hydrographica Tabula"	•🔸 map of the world	Dutch
1644	Michael F. van Langren		•🔸 first visual representation of statistical data: variations in determination of longitude between Toledo and Rome [1]	Dutch
1654	William Petty	"Political Arithmetick"	•🔸 the first large scale attempt at a scientific, economic survey [1]; •🔸 perhaps the first econometric study, leading to development of political arithmetic [1]	England
1656	Edmond Halley	"On the height of the mercury in the barometer at different elevations above the surface of the earth, and on the rising and falling of the mercury on the change of weather"	•🔸 first known weather map, showing prevailing winds on a geographical map of the Earth	England
1658	Nicolaes Visscher	Orbis Terrarum Nova et Accuratissima Tabula	•🔸	Dutch
1662	John Graunt	"Observations on the Bills of Mortailty"	•🔸 founding of demographic statistics: Development of the idea that vital statistics (records of christenings and burials in London) could be used to construct life tables	England
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1669	Christiaan Huygens		•🔸 first graph of a continuous distribution function, a graph of Gaunt's life table, and a demonstration of how to find the median remaining lifetime for a person of given age	Dutch
1687	William Petty		•🔸 use of statistics for international comparisons, e.g., London vs. Rome and London vs. Paris, compared in people, housing, hospitals, etc.	England
1689	Gerard van Schagen		•🔸 map of the world	Netherland
1693	Edmond Halley	"An Estimate of the Degrees of the Mortality* of Mankind "	•🔸 first real mortality tables, containing the ages at death of a stable sample of individuals under stable conditions (from Breslau Bills of Mortality [1]; •🔸 first use of areas of rectangles to display probabilities of independent binary events [1]	England
1701	Edmond Halley	"The description and uses of a new, and correct sea-chart of the whole world, shewing variations of the compass"	•🔸 contour maps showing curves of equal value (an isogonic map, lines of equal magnetic declination for the world, possibly the first contour map of a data-based variable).	England
1712	Francis Hauksbee	"Account of the experiment on the ascent of water between two glass planes in an hyperbolick figure"	•🔸 literal line graph, inspired by observation of nature (section of hyperbola, formed by capillary action of colored water between two glass plates)	England
1752	Phillippe Buache	"Carte physique ou Geographie naturelle de la France "	•🔸 contour map	France
1753	Jacques Barbeu-Dubourg	"Carte chronologique'"	•🔸 an annotated timeline of history (from Creation) on a 54-foot scroll, including names and descriptive events, grouped thematically, with symbols denoting character (martyr, tyrant, heretic, noble, upright, etc.) and profession (painter, theologian, musician, monk, etc.)	France
1750s	Thomas Jefferys	"Chart of Universal History"	•🔸 did not divide his data into discrete, indexed cells but made the space of the chart a continuous field	England
1758	Moses Harris	"The Natural System of Colors"	•🔸 developed a system of constructing and naming many of the possible colors [contribution in color theory]	England
1759	Francois Quesnay	"Tableau économique"	•🔸 [link]	France
1765	Joseph Priestley	"Chart of Biography"	•🔸 considered the most influential timeline of the eighteenth century •🔸 "complete and fully theorized visual vocabulary for a time map, and was the first to compete with the matrix as a normative structure for representing regular chronology"	England
1767-1796	Johann Heinrich Lambert		•🔸 repeated systematic application of graphical analysis (line graphs applied to empirical measurements) [1]	Swiss/France
1776	Gaspard Monge		•🔸 development of descriptive geometry, that leads to engineering drawing-	France
1778	Johann Friedrich von Charpentier		•🔸 geological map (distribution of soils, minerals)	Germany
1779	Johann Heinrich Lambert		•🔸 graphical analysis of periodic variation (in soil temperature), and the first semi-graphic display combining tabular and graphical formats [1]	Swiss/French
1782	August Friedrich Wilhelm Crome		•🔸 statistical map of production in Europe [1] •🔸 possibly the first economic and thematic map (shows geographic distribution of 56 commodities produced in Europe) [1] [link]
1824	William Playfair	"Linear Chronology"	•🔸 [link]	Scotland
1782	Marcellin du Carla-Boniface	"Expression des nivellements; ou, méthode nouvelle pour marquer sur les cartes terrestres et marines les hauteurs et les configurations du terrain "	•🔸 first topographical map	French
1782	Charles de Fourcroy		•🔸 use of geometric, proportional figures (squares) to compare demographic quantities by superposition, an early "tableau graphique"	French
1785	August Friedrich Wilhelm Crome		•🔸 superimposed squares to compare areas (of European states) [1]
1786	William Playfair [quotes, archive]	"The Commercial and Political Atlas"	•🔸 the book features a variety of graphs: time series graph of trade balances [link] •🔸 incl. comparison of exports from England with imports into England from Denmark and Norway from 1700 to 1780 [link]	Scotland
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1794	Samuel Dunn		•🔸 map of the world, covers the entire world in a double hemisphere projection [2]
1795	Louis Ézéchiel Pouchet		•🔸 multi-number graphical calculation
1798	Valentine Seaman		•🔸 first maps of the incidence of disease (yellow fever), using dots and circles to show individual occurrences in waterfront areas of New York
1801	William Playfair [quotes]	"Statistical Breviary"	•🔸 pie chart [link]	Scotland
1805	William Playfair [quotes]	"Chart of Universal Commercial History"	•🔸 [link]	Scotland
1811	Alexander von Humboldt		•🔸 charts using subdivided bar graphs, and superimposed squares, showing the relative size of Mexican territories and populations in the colonies	German
1815	William Smith	"A delineation of the strata of England and Wales, with part of Scotland [...]"	•🔸 the first large-scale geological map of England and Wales, setting the pattern for geological cartography, and founding stratigraphic geology. Recently called (hyperbolically) "the map that changed the world."; •🔸 first drawn in 1801, but the final version was not published until 1815 [link]	England
1817	Alexander von Humboldt		•🔸first graph of isotherms, showing mean temperature around the world by latitude and longitude. •🔸Recognizing that temperature depends more on latitude and altitude, a subscripted graph shows the direct relation of temperature on these two variables-	German
1820	Michael Faraday		•🔸diagram of a magnet with lines of force	England
1822	William Playfair [quotes]	"Price of Wheat and Wages 1565-1821"	•🔸Bar chart [link]	Scotland
1823	William Playfair [quotes]	"Linear Chronology, Exhibiting the Revenues, Expenditure, Debt, Price of Stocks & Bread, from 1770 to 1824"	•🔸time-series line graph	Scotland
1826	Pierre C Dupin	"Carte figurative de l'instruction populaire de la France"	•🔸choropleth map with shadings from black to white (distribution and intensity of illiteracy in France), the first (unclassed) choropleth map, and perhaps the first modern statistical map [1]	France
1829	André-Michel Guerry		•🔸polar-area charts showing frequency of events for cyclic phenomena [1]	France
1830			•🔸population dot map [link]
1830	Armand Joseph Frère de Montizon		•🔸first simple dot map of population by department, 1 dot = 10,000 people-	France
1832	Michael Faraday		•🔸graphical analysis of natural phenomena ; pictorial representation of electric and magnetic lines of force [1]	England
1833	André M Guerry	"Essai sur la statistique morale de la France"	•🔸the first comprehensive analysis of data on ``moral statistics'' (crimes, suicide, literacy, etc.) shown on thematic unclassed choropleth maps; bar charts (of crime, by age groupings and months) [1]	French
1834	Pierre C Dupin		•🔸choropleth map [link]	French
1836	Adolphe d' Angeville	"Essai sur la Statistique de la Population française "	•🔸first broad and general application of principles of graphic representation to national industrial and population data [1]	French
1836	Alexandre Jean Baptiste Parent-Duchatelet	"De la prostitution dans la ville de Paris" ("On prostitution in the city of Paris")	•🔸extensive data tabulation, time series, and mapping of prostitutes in Paris	French
1836	Adolphe d'Angeville	"Statistique de la Population Francaise"	•🔸[link]	French
1837	Henry D Harness	"Atlas to Accompany the Second Report of the Railway Commissioners, Ireland"	•🔸first published flow maps, showing transportation by means of shaded lines, widths proportional to amount (passengers)-	England
1838	Heinrich Berghaus	"Physikalischer Atlas"	•🔸physical atlas of the distribution of plants, animals, climate, etc., one of the most extensive and detailed thematic atlases; •🔸most of the maps contained tables, graphs, pictorial profiles of distributions over altitude, and other visual elements	German
1843 [1845]	Léon Lalanne	"Appendice sur la representation graphique des tableaux météorologiques et des lois naturelles en général."	•🔸contour map of a 3D table, temperature x hour x month; Use of polar coordinates in a graph(frequency of wind directions)-	France
1838	Antoine-Augustin Cournot	Images of Researches into the Mathematical Principles of the Theory of Wealth	•🔸[link]	France
1843	James C Pritchard	"Researches Into the Physical History of Man"	•🔸ethnographic maps showing distribution of ethnic groups throughout the world [1]	England
1843	Alexander K Johnston	"The National Atlas of Historical, Commercial, and Political Geography"	•🔸ethnographic maps showing distribution of ethnic groups throughout the world [1]	Scotish
1846	Adolphe Quetelet	"Lettres sur la Théorie des Probabilités, Appliquée aux Sciences Morales et Politiques "	•🔸results of sampling from urns shown as symmetrical histograms, with limiting ``curve of possibility'' (later called the normal curve)	Belgium
1852	William Farr	"Temperature and Mortality of London, for every week of 11 years (1840-50)"	•🔸circular graphs show highly detailed records of temperature (inner ring) and mortality (outer rings) measured weekly for 12 years, identifying correlations and seasonality across over a decade of data	England
1844	Charles J Minard		•🔸chart of commercial movements in the Canal du centre in 1844 [link]	France
1851	Charles J Minard	"Des Tableaux Graphiques et des Cartes Figuratives. Paris: E. Thunot et Cie"	•🔸map incorporating statistical diagrams: circles proportional to coal production (published in 1861).	France
1854	George Boole		•🔸presented his laws of thought as an algebra for propositional logic: 1 for truth; 0 for falsehood; + for or; × for and; and − for not.	England
1855	John Snow	"On the Mode of Communication of Cholera"	•🔸 use of a dot map to display epidemiological data, leads to discovery of the source of a cholera epidemic.	England
1857*	Florence Nightingale [quotes]	"Diagram of the causes of mortality in the army in the East"	•🔸 used polar area charts (aka coxcomb/rose diagram, circular histogram) to illustrate seasonal sources of patient mortality in the military field hospital [link] •🔸 kept records of the death tolls of soldiers in the hospitals and visualized the data; •🔸 used statistical graphics in reports to Parliament, realizing this was the most effective way of bringing data to life	England
1858	Charles J Minard		•🔸 map of pie charts - cattle sent from all around France for consumption in Paris [link]	France
1858	Eugene Pick	"Tableau De L'Histoire Universelle depuis la Creation jusqu'a ce jour"	•🔸stream of Time maps showing growth, decay and conquests of civilizations over the millennia
1859	Charles Darwin	"On the Origin of Species"	•🔸the tree of life in the context of his theory of evolution	England
1861	Edwin Hergesheimer		•🔸a choropleth map with the distribution of the slave population in the Southern states of the United States, based on the 1860 census [link]
1861	Francis Galton [quotes]	"Meteorological charts"	•🔸the modern weather map, a chart showing area of similar air pressure and barometric changes by means of glyphs displayed on a map. •🔸these led to the discovery of the anti-cyclonic movement of wind around low-pressure areas
1861	Charles J Minard		•🔸line chart of cotton and wool production and import, 1858-61 [link]	England
1864	Charles J Minard		•🔸map of French wine exports [link]	England
1863	William S Jevons	"A serious fall in the value of gold ascertained, and its social effects set fourth"	•🔸semilogarithmic grid (showing percentage changes in commodities)
1866	Ernst Haeckel	"Generelle Morphologie der Organismen"	•🔸tree of life
1866	Charles J Minard	"Map of European Cotton Imports during the American Civil War"		England
1868	Émile Levasseur	"La France, Avec Ses Colonies"	•🔸statistical diagrams used in a school textbook	France
1869	Dmitri Mendeleev		•🔸the periodic table used to classify chemical elements according to their properties, and allowing the prediction of new elements that would be discovered later [1]	Russian
1869	Charles J Minard	"Carte figurative des pertes successives en hommes de l'armée qu'Annibal conduisit d'Espagne en Italie en traversant les Gaules (selon Polybe).	•🔸Minard's flow map graphic of Napoleon's March on Moscow (called "the best graphic ever produced" by Tufte).	England
1869	Gustav Zeuner	"Abhandlungen aus der mathematischen statistik"	•🔸three-dimensional population surface or ``stereogram,'' with axonometric projection to show curves of various ``slices'' (aka ‘Zeuner diagram’) [1]
1870*	Leon Montigny	"Les élections parisiennes de mai et juin 1869, application de la géométrie à la statistique "	•🔸 election map of Paris, showing the breakdown of votes by parties
1872	Hermann Schwabe	"Theorie der graphischen darstellungen"	•🔸  classification of statistical graphical treatments by form, with consideration of appropriate uses of color, graphical elements, limitations of perception
1873	Josiah W Gibbs	"Graphical methods in the thermodynamics of fluids"	•🔸graphical methods applied to explain fundamental relations in thermodynamics; •🔸this includes diagrams of entropy vs. temperature (where work or heat is proportional to area), and the first use of trilinear coordinates (graphs of (x,y,z) where x+y+z=constant)
1873	Toussaint Loua	"Atlas statistique de la population de Paris "	•🔸first-known use of a semi-graphic table to display a data table by shading levels-
1874	Francis A Walker	"Statistical Atlas of the United States, Based on the Results of Ninth Census, 1870 [...]"	•🔸the first age/population pyramid; bilateral frequency polygon, and the use of subdivided squares to show the division of population by two variables jointly (an early mosaic display) [1]
1874	Louis-Léger Vauthier	"Note sur une carte statistique figurant la répartition de la population de Paris "	•🔸population contour map (population density shown by contours), the first statistical use of a contour map
1874	Georg von Mayr	"Gutachten Über die Anwendung der Graphischen und Geographischen Methoden in der Statistik"	•🔸two-variable color map (showing the joint distribution of horses (red, vertical bars) and cattle (green, horizontal bars) in Bavaria, widths of bars ~ animals/km2)
1875	Francis Galton		•🔸Galton's first illustration of the idea of correlation, using sizes of the seeds of mother and daughter plants-
1875	Wilhelm L Leibnitz		•🔸Lexis diagram, showing relations among age, calendar time, and life spans of individuals simultaneously (but the paternity of this diagram is in dispute [304]) - development of symbolic logic
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1877	Georg von Mayr	"Die Gesetzmäßigkeit im Gesellschaftsleben."	•🔸 first use of polar diagrams and star plots for data representation [1]
1878	Etienne-Jules Marey	"La Méthode Graphique dans les Sciences Expérimentales et Principalement en Physiologie et en Médecine "	•🔸the first attempt to survey, describe, and illustrate available graphic methods for experimental data [1]
1878	James J Sylvester	"On an application of the new atomic theory to the graphical representation of the invariants and covariants of binary quantics, with three appendices"	•🔸 introduced the term "graph", referring to diagrams showing analogies between the chemical bonds in molecules and graphical representations of mathematical invariants
1879	Luigi Perozzo	"Della rappresentazione graphica di una collettività di individui nella successione del tempo"	•🔸 stereogram (three-dimensional population pyramid) modeled on actual data (Swedish census, 1750--1875)
1879	Ernst Haeckel	"The Evolution of Man"	•🔸 tree of life
1880	John Venn	"On the diagrammatic and mechanical representation of propositions and reasonings"	•🔸 representation of logical propositions and relations diagrammatically	English
1882	Charles S Peirce	"On Junctures and Fractures in Logic"	•🔸introduces the existential graphs, a type of type of diagrammatic/visual notation, the topic being elaborated in future papers
1883	Fletcher Hewes & Henry Gannett	"Rank of the most populous cities at each census: 1790-1880"	•🔸 offers a fascinating look at population growth by city in the US, as measured by each decade’s census
1884	Michael G Mulhall	"Dictionary of Statistics"	•🔸 pictogram, used to represent data by icons proportional to a number
1888	Émile Cheysson	"Recursive multi mosaic on a map"	•🔸 first anamorphic map; using a deformation of spatial size to show a quantitative variable
1889	Charles Booth	"Labour and Life of the People"	•🔸 street maps of London, showing poverty and wealth by color coding, transforming existing methods of social survey and poverty mapping towards the end of the nineteenth century
1896	Jacques Bertillon	"Fréquence des étrangers à Paris en 1891"	•🔸use of area rectangles on a map to display two variables and their product (population of arrondisements in Paris, percent foreigners; area = absolute number of foreigners)
1904	Edward W Maunder	"Distribution of the latitude of sunspot centres"	•🔸use of the ‘butterfly diagram’ to study the variation of sunspots over time
1905	Max Otto Lorenz	"Methods of measuring the concentration of wealth"	•🔸Lorenz curve (cumulative distribution by rank order, to facilitate study of concentrations, income distribution)
1909	Charles S Peirce		•🔸existential graphs, a type of type of diagrammatic/visual notation
1915	Willard C Brinton [quotes, archive]	"Graphic Methods for Presenting Facts" ★★★★	•🔸pictograms to represent a series of numbers by icons (combining concepts of the bar graph and pictogram of varying size) [1]
1917	Henry L Gantt [archive]	"Organizing for work" ★★★	•🔸Gantt chart, designed to show scheduled and actual progress of projects
1920	Sewall Wright	"The relative importance of heredity and environment in determining the piebald pattern of guinea-pigs"	•🔸
1921	William C Marshal [archive]	"Graphical methods for schools, colleges, statisticians, engineers and executives" ★★	•🔸invention of the path diagram to show relations among a network of endogenous and exogenous variables forming a system of structural equations
1925	Walter A Shewhart [archive]	"Economic control of quality of manufactured product"	•🔸development of the control chart for statistical control of industrial processes-
1933	Harry Beck	London Underground Map	•🔸 stripping the tube network down to basics and ignoring the exact geographical location of the tube stations, making the chart clear and comprehensible; •🔸 the design with certain modifications and additions is used presently [link]
1937	H Gray Funkhouser	"Historical development of the graphical representation of statistical data"	•🔸first modern review of the early history of statistical graphics [JSTOR]
1939	Willard C Brinton [quotes, archive]	"Graphic Presentation" ★★★	• covers a wide range of graph types and provides detailed instructions and examples on how to create and use each type together with • outlines the design principles for creating effective visualizations • provides a historical account (*)
1949	Rufus R Lutz [quotes]	"Graphic Presentation Simplified" ★★★	•
1952	Mary E Spear [quotes]	"Charting Statistics" ★★★	•
1954	Calvin F Schmid [quotes]	"Handbook of Graphic Presentation" ★★	• covers the important graphs and charts, providing detailed instructions on how to construct and use each type effectively • outlines the fundamental principles for creating effective and clear graphic presentations • includes examples and case studies to showcase the data visualization techniques in the various fields  • provides a historical account (*)
1957	Edgar Anderson	"A semigraphical method for the analysis of complex problems" [JSTOR]	•🔸circular glyphs, with rays to represent multivariate data
1958	Alban William & Housego Phillips	"The relation between unemployment and the rate of change of money wage rates in the United Kingdom, 1861-1957" [JSTOR]	•🔸introduces the "Phillips curve", a scatterplot of inflation vs. unemployment over time shows a strong inverse relation, leading to important developments in macroeconomic theory  • the findings suggest that policymakers could potentially manage inflation and unemployment through monetary and fiscal policies • considered that the relationship between unemployment and wage changes is non-linear
1959	Walter E Weld [quotes]	"How to Chart; Facts from Figures with Graphs" ★★★	• discusses the different types of charts and provides advices, guidelines and principles on how to create and interpret charts correctly • emphasizes the importance of clarity and accuracy in data presentation and provides examples and case studies to illustrate the different aspects • provides a historical account (*)
1961	Anna C Rogers [quotes]	"Graphic Charts Handbook" ★★★★	• discusses the different types of charts and provides advices and guidelines on how to create, interpret and use them efficiently • showcases with examples and case studies how graphic charts can be used in various fields • provides a historical account (*)
1962	John W Tukey	"The future of processes of data analysis" ★★★	•🔸introduces the concept of Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA) which focuses on discovering patterns, spotting anomalies and testing hypotheses through visual methods and summary statistics •🔸improvements on histogram in analysis of counts, tail values (hanging rootogram) • discusses the importance of an interdisciplinary approach in which statistics, mathematics, and computer science techniques are combined in data analysis • emphasizes that data analysis includes besides statistical inference also topics like data collection, data cleaning, and the interpretation of results
1966	Ronald M Pickett & B W White	"Constructing data pictures"	•🔸uses triangular glyphs to represent simultaneously four variables, using sides and orientation • discusses the various types of data visualization and provides guidelines on when and how to use each type, including practical examples and case studies to illustrate • covers the basic principles of creating effective data visualizations, with emphasis on clarity, accuracy, and simplicity • provides a historical account (*)
1967	Jacques Bertin [quotes]	"Sémiologie Graphique: Les diagrammes, les réseaux, les cartes" ("Semiology of Graphics") ★★★★	•🔸introduces the concept of the semiology of graphics as the study of the rules and principles for creating effective visual representations of data • comprehensive theory of graphical symbols and modes of graphics representation • provides guidelines for creating visualizations that effectively communicate information, respectively examples and case studies
1968	Roberto Bachi	"Graphical Rational Patterns, A New Approach to Graphical Presentation of Statistics" ★★	•🔸systematic "graphical rational patterns'' for statistical presentation
1968	M Ross Quillian	"Semantic Networks"	•🔸semantic network has first been used to describe the organisation of human semantic memory.
1970	Cecil H Meyers [quotes]	"Handbook of Basic Graphs: A modern approach" ★★★	• provides a comprehensive introduction to the basic types of graphs and their uses while discussing the principles of graph construction and interpretation, graphical methods, techniques and technologies • exemplifies the application of graphs in different contexts • outlines a set of best practices for creating effective accurate graphs
1971	J H Siegel et al	"Pattern and process of the evolution of human septic shock"	•🔸irregular polygon (aka ‘star plot’) to represent multivariate data (with vertices at equally spaced intervals, distance from center proportional to the value of a variable)
1977	Robert D Carlsen & Donald L Vest [quotes]	"Encyclopedia of Business Charts" ★★★	•
1979	Mark Monmonier	"An alternative isomorphism for mapping correlation"	•🔸geographic correlation diagram, showing the bivariate relation between two spatially referenced variables using vectors to represent geographic covariation [1]
1981	George W Furnas	"The fisheye view: A new look at structured files"	• Fisheye view: an idea to provide focus and greater detail in areas of interest of a large amount of information, while retaining the surrounding context in much less detail [1]
1981/ 1984	Linda Reynolds & Doig Simmonds,  [quotes]	"Presentation of Data in Science" ★★★	•
1981	Robert Lefferts  [quotes]	"Elements of Graphics: How to prepare charts and graphs for effective reports" ★★★	•
1983	Anker V Andersen  [quotes]	"Graphing Financial Information: How accountants can use graphs to communicate" ★★	•
1983	John M Chambers et al [quotes]	"Graphical Methods for Data Analysis" ★★★	•
1983	Hans Riedwyl & Michel Schüpbach	"Siebdiagramme: Graphische darstellung von kontingenztafeln"	•🔸sieve diagram, for representing frequencies in a two-way contingency table [1]
1983	Edward Tufte [quotes]	"The Visual Display of Quantitative Information" ★★★★	•🔸esthetics and information integrity for graphics defined and illustrated (some concepts: "data-ink ratio"', "lie factor") [1]	USA
1985	Alfred Inselberg	"The plane with parallel coordinates" [pdf]	•🔸introduces the parallel coordinates plots for high-dimensional data [1] and explores their geometric properties (e.g. point-line duality) • provides a foundation for many modern techniques used to analyze and interpret complex datasets	USA
1985	William S Cleveland [quotes, archive]	"The Elements of Graphing Data" ★★★	•	USA
1987	Richard A Becker & William S Cleveland	"Brushing scatterplots [JSTOR]	•🔸interactive statistical graphics, systematized: allowing brushing, linking, other forms of interaction [1]
1988	Bruce Robertson [quotes]	"How to Draw Charts & Diagrams" ★★	•
1989	Tim Berners-Lee [quotes]	"Information Management: A Proposal"	•🔸a conceptual map of the World-Wide Web	USA
1990	Edward Tufte [quotes]	"Envisioning Information" ★★★★	•	USA
1993	William S Cleveland [quotes, archive]	"Visualizing Data" ★★★	•
1995	Mary H Briscoe [quotes, archive]	"Preparing Scientific Illustrations: A guide to better posters, presentations, and publications" ★★	•	USA
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1996	Robert L Harris [source, archive]	"Information Graphics: A Comprehensive Illustrated Reference" ★★★★	•
1997	Edward Tufte [quotes]	"Visual Explanations" ★★★	•	USA
			•	England
1999	Leland Wilkinson [quotes]	"The Grammar of Graphics"	•🔸provides a comprehensive systematization of grammatical rules for data and graphs and graph algebras within an object-oriented, computational framework [1]
2000	Colin Ware [quotes]	"Information Visualization: Perception for Design" ★★★	•🔸
2001	Gene Zelazny [quotes]	"Say It with Charts: The executive’s guide to visual communication" ★★	•🔸
2004	Stephen Few [quotes]	"Show Me The Numbers: Designing Tables And Graphs To Enlighten" ★★★★	•🔸
2004	Edward Tufte [quotes]	"Beautiful Evidence" ★★★★	•🔸sparklines: "data-intense, design-simple, word-sized graphics" designed to show graphic information inline with text and tables [1]	USA
2004	Colin Ware [quotes]	"Information Visualization: Perception for Design"	•
2005	Naomi B Robbins  [quotes]	"Creating More effective Graphs",	•
2006	Stephen Few [quotes]	"Information Dashboard Design" ★★★	•	USA
2007	Nicholas Strange [quotes]	"Smoke and Mirrors: How to bend facts and figures to your advantage"	•
2008	Colin Ware [quotes]	"Visual Thinking: for Design" ★★★	•
2008	Jenny Freeman et al  [quotes]	"How to Display Data" ★★	•
2009	Stephen Few [quotes]	"Now You See It: Simple Visualization Techniques for Quantitative Analysis" ★★★	•
2009	Martin Theus & Simon Urbanek	"Interactive Graphics for Data Analysis: Principles and Examples"	•
2010	Brian Suda [quotes]	"A Practical Guide to Designing with Data"	•
2011	Noah Iliinsky & Julie Steel [quotes]	"Designing Data Visualizations" ★★★	•
2011	Alberto Cairo [quotes]	"The Functional Art" ★★★★	•
2012	Graham Wills	"Visualizing Time: Designing Graphical Representations for Statistical Data" ★★	•
2012	Andy Kirk [quotes]	"Data Visualization: A successful design process" ★★★	•
2012	Felice C Frankel & Angela H DePace [quotes]	"Visual Strategies"	•
2012	Stephen Few [quotes]	"Show Me the Numbers: Designing Tables and Graphs to Enlighten" ★★★	•
2013	Nathan Yau [quotes]	"Data Points: Visualization That Means Something" ★★★	•
2014	Raj Kamal	"Everyday Visuals as News" ★★	•
2014	Phil Simon [quotes]	"The Visual Organization: Data Visualization, Big Data, and the Quest for Better Decisions"	• provides guidance on how organizations can leverage data visualization to identify patterns, trends and insights, respectively to make better decisions and stay competitive (in the era of big data) • provides an overview of the tools and techniques that organizations can use in the process • provides practical advice and real-world examples, showcasing studies from big companies on how they use data in decision making
2015	Stephen Few [quotes]	"Signal: Understanding What Matters in a World of Noise" ★★★★	• analyzes from different perspectives the interplay between useful information (signal) and irrelevant data (noise), elaborating on the methods, challenges and skillset required in the process • provides practical instructions and examples on how to use data visualization and  statistical methods to detect meaningful patterns in the data
2017	Steve Wexler et al [quotes]	"The Big Book of Dashboards: Visualizing Your Data Using Real-World Business Scenarios" ★★★	•
2018	Danyel Fisher & Miriah Meyer [quotes]	"Making Data Visual"	•
2018	Kristen Sosulski [quotes]	"Data Visualization Made Simple: Insights into Becoming Visual"	• provides an overview of the important visuals, tools, software and design principles used in data visualization • provides a set of recipes on how to craft compelling narratives • includes examples, case studies and interviews withy professionals focused on best practices and common pitfalls
2019	Robert Grant [quotes]	"Data Visualization: Charts, Maps and Interactive Graphics"	• covers a wide range of data visualization techniques and examples focusing on charts, maps, and interactive graphics • addresses the concepts and the process of thinking about data at a level hat makes the topic accessible to multiple categories of readers
2020	Colin Ware [quotes]	"Information Visualization: Perception for Design" ★★★	•
2020	Ben Jones [quotes]	"Avoiding Data Pitfalls: How to Steer Clear of Common Blunders When Working with Data and Presenting Analysis and Visualizations" ★★★	•  explores the data-reality gap, respectively the common mistakes made in data analysis, visualization and presentation •  provides guidance on selecting and utilizing data visualization tools, and provides a step-by-step process for data visualization •  provides advices on how to create clear, accurate and effective data visualizations, respectively on how to avoid common pitfalls
2020	Tim Harford [quotes]	"The Data Detective: Ten easy rules to make sense of statistics" ★★★	• provides a roadmap for the readers advising them to embrace their ignorance, identify the back story, consider the various elements to identify how visualizations can lie or be used effectively • builds on how emotional intelligence can be used in interpreting the numbers individually and in aggregate, respectively on how the interpretation process is influenced by the various factors
2020	Murray Dick	"The Infographic: A History of Data Graphics in News and Communications" ★★	• explores the development, impact and adoption of infographics and data visualization within the context of data journalism  • provides a set of best practices for creating effective infographics for news
2021	Colin Ware [quotes]	"Visual Thinking for Information Design"	• provides a theoretical basis on how perception, cognition and other factors can be used in design, respectively how the mind uses visual queries to interact with the world and designs • shows how effective design aids the processing and understanding of information • provides many examples and diagrams in supporting the various ideas considered
2021	Steve Wexler [quotes]	"The Big Picture: How to use data visualization to make better decisions - faster" ★★	• discusses the various types of charts, their appropriate uses, respectively the use of color and other elements to enhance clarity and impact • emphasizes the importance of developing graphical literacy in interpreting and understanding the data visualizations, respectively of engaging the audience and driving cultural change
2021	Stephen Few [quotes]	"Now You See It: An Introduction to Visual Data Sensemaking" ★★★	• emphasizes the use of interactive and static visual tools to understand and interpret data within the context of sensemaking • outlines the main principles and practices for creating effective data visualizations and provides guidance on how to develop the needed skills
2021	Michael Friendly & Howard Wainer [quotes]	"A History of Data Visualization and Graphic Communication" ★★★	• provides a historical testimony of the beginnings of data visualization and graphical methods, respectively their more recent evolution and aspects • puts the graphical communication in the context of cognitive evolution, problem solving and other aspects of daily life
2021	Jack Dougherty & Ilya Ilyankou	"Hands-On Data Visualization: Interactive Storytelling from Spreadsheets to Code"	• emphasizes the importance of telling compelling stories with data through interactive visualizations • provides real-word examples, case-studies, respectively tutorials on designing interactive charts and maps • introduces basic coding concepts, free and open-source tools
2022	Alan Smith [quotes]	"How Charts Work: Understand and explain data with confidence"  ★★★★★	• provides an overview of the different chart types and how people can engage with them • outlines the principles and rules of data presentation • emphasizes the role of stories, respectively of identifying the true story
2022	Vidya Setlur & Bridget Cogley [quotes]	"Functional Aesthetics for data visualization" ★★★	• explores the interplay between perception, semantic, and intent in functional aesthetics with emphasis on understanding and communication • emphasizes the importance of design, ethics and theory in data visualizations • provides examples and case studies on how the various principles can be applied
2023	Scott Berinato [quotes]	"Good Charts : the HBR guide to making smarter, more persuasive data visualizations" ★★★★★	• emphasizes the importance of well-designed charts  and the role of data visualization in the bigger context • provides good categorizations on the complexity and anatomy of charts with practical examples • introduces a systematic approach for creating good charts and discusses the Gestalt Theory of visual perception	USA
2023	Kate Strachnyi [quotes]	"ColorWise: A Data Storyteller’s Guide to the Intentional Use of Color" ★★★	• explores the fundamentals of color theory and how to use color effectively in communication • provides examples and case studies on the effective use of color • provides a historical and cultural context regarding the significance of colors
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(*) provides a historical account on the development of data visualization techniques, typically in respect to the period before the book was published;
(**) only the books on graphical representation-related topics were rated with stars (★); even if the further quoted material is still important, its focus might be in other direction. 

References:
[1] Michael Friendly (2000) Milestones in the History of Thematic Cartography,  Statistical Graphics,  and Data Visualization [link] see [link]
[2] Wikiepdia (2021) Early World Maps [link]
[3] Daniel Rosenberg & Anthony Grafton (2010) "Cartographies of Time"
[4] Michael Friendly (2006) A Brief History of Data Visualization [link]
[5] H Gray Funkhouser (1936) "A Note on a Tenth Century Graph", Osiris, Vol. 1 [link]
[6] Wikipedia (2024) Economic Diagram [link]