Charles-Joseph Minard was born on March 27, 1781. Most who know the name associate it with Minard’s map of the Napoleon Russian campaign, but that work came later in life, post-retirement, at the ripe age of 88 years old. He had already been making flow maps for decades as a civil engineer.
From The Minard System by Sandra Rendgen:
Tarbé de Saint-Hardouin, who published a collection of biographies on the engineers of the Corps des ponts et chaussées in 1884, described Minard as a person of independent spirits: “The slowness of his advancement, compared to his contemporaries, was without doubt the result of the independence of his mind, and of the occupations he chose, with the single goal of satisfying his affinity for research and without considering the progress of his administrative career too much.”
Slow and curious is my jam.
See also Michael Friendly’s collection of Minard resources and inspiration.
