John George Bartholomew was the man who mapped the world.

The Scottish cartographer was synonymous with excellence in map-making and is credited with devising innovative techniques which continue to be used today.

Long before the invention of satellite navigation, Bartholomew’s maps were tucked away in the glove compartments of any self-respecting car owner of the late-Victorian era and ensured drivers stayed on the right path and were tucked away in the glove compartments of any self-respecting car owner of the late-Victorian era.

He also welcomed some of the greatest explorers to Scotland from all over the world and was the brains behind the creation of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society (RSGS).

Bartholomew’s achievements were many, but he was known to be a modest, self-effacing Scotsman who encouraged others to take the limelight.

However, today it is his turn as the RSGS marks the centenary of the death of its founder.

RSGS chief executive Mike Robinson said: “Back in 1884, aged only 24, John George Bartholomew was the driving force behind the founding of the RSGS – determined as he was to ensure Scotland benefited from having its own geographical charity.

“He saw it as an essential plank of education and critical in cementing Scotland’s place in international relations, trade and education.

“His greatest legacy surely is that 136 years later this small charity continues to deliver for Scotland, producing publications, journals, magazines and 100 public talks a year, and with a continuing network of some of the greatest minds, and most adventurous spirits of our age.”

Born in Edinburgh in 1860, the Bartholomew family’s maps had been guiding travellers for two generations before he took over the business at the age of 28. The family went on to live in the large mansion home of Falcon Hall in Morningside, Edinburgh, from 1899 to 1907 before it was demolished.

Full of enthusiasm and far-sightedness, he went on to ensure the firm’s success while also building on Scotland’s place in field of cartography.

With an instinct for crowd-sourcing that was ahead of his time, Bartholomew came up with a brilliant way of keeping his road maps updated.

He invited the Cyclists’ Touring Club of Great Britain to submit route reports to him in return for a discount on his maps and the wealth of information that provided allowed him to create road maps that were up-to-date and accurate.

Another technique he came up with was the use of coloured shading on maps to show heights.

His maps were beautiful works of art, with soft greens and browns indicating low-lying areas, darker browns for high ground, and white for mountain summits.

Water depth was illustrated by carefully graduating tints of blue.

This system was an innovation that Bartholomew worked passionately to establish, and from 1880 onwards it became a much-loved feature of his maps and is still used today.

When asked about Barthlomew’s greatest achievement, his great-grandson John Eric Bartholomew – also a cartographer – said: “Beyond a doubt, I have to say his perfection of coloured layer shading on maps, a technique for showing heights now adopted the world over by mapmakers.”

Bartholomew was also the first map-maker to establish the name of Antarctica on maps. The name first appeared in 1886 when Bartholomew prepared a map to accompany a report to the RSGS by the oceanographer Sir John Murray.

The following year, Antarctica was clearly labelled on Bartholomew’s Handy Reference Atlas.

In 1884, while walking at North Berwick with Agnes Livingstone Bruce, the daughter of David Livingstone, Bartholomew mooted the idea of a Scottish geographical society.

The suggestion was well received and a number of Scottish peers, scientists and businessmen stepped in to support the fledgling society.

As honorary secretary of the RSGS, Bartholomew welcomed a succession of guest lecturers in the form of eminent explorers and scientists and worked tirelessly to ensure that Scotland’s new geographical society grew in scope and stature.

Bartholomew enjoyed close acquaintance with leading academics and travellers of the time, including Sir Ernest Shackleton, Dr William Bruce, HM Stanley, and Cecil Rhodes, and he worked with many of them to represent their discoveries in map form.

He collaborated with Sir John Murray to produce the maps from the HMS Challenger expedition, and in the early 1900s he worked with Murray again on a publication on the fresh-water lochs of Scotland.

Bartholomew’s extraordinary achievements were recognised in 1910 when he was invited to become Geographer and Cartographer to the King for Scotland.

He died 10 years later, in Sintra, Portugal, on April 14, 1920.

To mark the 100th anniversary of his death, a three-day gathering had been planned in Edinburgh for more than130 of his direct descendants and cousins to celebrate his life and achievements.

However, due to the coronavirus outbreak, this reunion has now been postponed until a date in April next year.