Program Provides Biographical Histories Via Maps

People and Their Places: Biography Maps Class from the Ball State University Libraries

The Ball State University Libraries GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) will provide a workshop featuring biographical maps on Wednesday, September 20 from 6:30 to 7:30 at the Cornerstone Center for the Arts in downtown Muncie. Geography Biographies: Mapping Historic Lives will include custom maps created by the GRMC that identify important places in the lives of historic figures from around the world.

The maps include well known subjects like President John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., Amelia Earhart, Princess Diana, and famed Indiana outlaw John Dillinger.  Compilation maps include Indiana Governors, Indiana Vice Presidents, and Indiana authors that feature interesting stories about some of the persons.

But many of the maps were created to commemorate lesser known heroes of history:  A map about Margaret Hamilton tells the story of the Indiana-born NASA Apollo space program software engineer. Ann Cole Lowe, the first African American haute couture fashion designer, is featured on a custom map. Gus Grissom, one of the pioneering Mercury astronauts, is also the subject of a special commemorative map. And many of the compilation maps include interesting figures from Negro League Baseball, Suffragettes, World War II correspondents, and activists from the civil rights movement. And maps about local Muncie figures will also be featured.

A new map about the life of Billie Jean King will be included in the program and is the “Map of the Month” for September on display in the front windows of the GRMC on the second floor of Bracken Library. This map identifies the locations of her hometown and university, the Grand Slam and Virginia Slims tennis tournaments won by King, and the locations of organizations honoring King. The map also includes the location of the epic “Battle of the Sexes” tennis match—the Houston Astrodome—that is depicted in the upcoming movie of the same name.

The program will be presented in the Colonnade Room at the Center (520 East Main Street), and free parking is available. The program is free of charge and open to the public.

For more information, please contact the GRMC at 765-285-1097.