The first application of the concept was in 1832 when Charles Picquet created a map representing cholera outbreak across 48 districts of Paris. This map was an early version of a heat map, which would later revolutionize several industries. But today they use People working in many different fields use GIS technology. GIS technology can be used for scientific investigations, resource management, and development planning. Many retail businesses use GIS to help them determine where to locate a new store.
The history of GIS all started in 1854. Cholera hit the city of London, England. British physician John Snow began mapping outbreak locations, roads, property boundaries, and water lines.
John Snow’s Cholera map was a major event connecting geography and public health safety. Not only was this the beginning of spatial analysis, but it also marked the start of a whole field of study: Epidemiology – the study of the spread of disease.
To this date, John Snow is known as the father of epidemiology. The work of John Snow demonstrated that GIS is a problem-solving tool. He put geographic layers on a paper map and made a life-saving discovery.