Matthew Edney

Matthew Edney is a Professor of Geography and Osher Professor in the History of Cartography at the University of Southern Maine. He holds dual roles as a faculty scholar at the Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education and directs the History of Cartography Project at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His affiliations include the Muskie School of Public Service and the Department of Geography-Anthropology.

Edney’s education includes a B.Sc. (hons.) in Geography from University College London (1983), an M.S. in Cartography from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1985), and a Ph.D. in Geography from the same institution (1990). His research focuses on map history, particularly Enlightenment-era mapping, the ideal of cartography, and the intersection of mapping processes with imperial and colonial contexts.

He teaches courses such as Global History: Mapping the World Across Cultures and Mapping Environments and People: Data Visualization. His work extends to curating exhibitions, authoring monographs like *Cartography: The Ideal and Its History* (2019), and editing volumes in *The History of Cartography* series. Edney’s leadership roles include chairing the International Society for the History of the Map and serving as president of the American Friends of the J.B. Harley Research Fellowships.

Edney’s scholarly contributions span over 300 publications, including essays on mapping processes, colonial cartography, and the historiography of map history. His recent work critiques the 'ideal of cartography' and explores methodologies in comparative map history.