Norman Joseph William Thrower
Thrower (1919–2020) was an American scholar noted for his work in history, geography, and surveying practices. His areas of expertise included mapping, surveying, Sir Francis Drake, Isaac Newton, Edmond Halley. He was also a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles and authored several books.
Also recorded as Norman J. W. Thrower · Norman Thrower · Norman J. Thrower
Norman Joseph William Thrower
- Name
- Norman J.
- Born
- Oct. 23, 1919
- Birthplace
- Crowthorne, England.
- Died
- Sept. 2 2020
- Place of death
- Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, U.S.
- Occupation
- Historian, professor, writer, cartographer
- Nationality
- United Kingdom and United States.
- Fields
- geography and cartography.
- Education
- University of Virginia and University of Wisconsin–Madison.
- Honours
- Guggenheim Fellowship.
- Languages
- English.
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Documentary summary
Thrower (1919–2020) was an American scholar noted for his work in history, geography, and surveying practices. His areas of expertise included mapping, surveying, Sir Francis Drake, Isaac Newton, Edmond Halley. He was also a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles and authored several books.
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Norman Joseph William Thrower (1919–2020) was a cartographer, geographer and historian of cartography, among other activities, of British and American nationality. The cartographer was born in Crowthorne and died in Pacific Palisades.
Norman Joseph William Thrower was educated at University of Virginia and University of Wisconsin–Madison. The cartographer worked for University of California, Los Angeles and was a member of American Association of Geographers, California Map Society and Society for the History of Discoveries. Norman Joseph William Thrower held the position of professor emeritus. Activity centred on cartography, geography and science.
Languages used include English. Honours include Guggenheim Fellowship.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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wikidata · Q93435593
In this article
Biography
Biography
Norman Joseph William Thrower studied at University of Virginia and University of Wisconsin–Madison. The recorded working language is English. The field of work recorded is geography and cartography. Employment is recorded with University of California, Los Angeles. Positions recorded include professor emeritus. Distinctions recorded are Guggenheim Fellowship.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Norman J. W. Thrower • Born — Oct. 23, 1919 • Birth Name — Norman J. W. Thrower • Birthplace — Crowthorne, England. • Died — Sept. 2 2020 • Place of death — Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, U.S. • Occupation — Historian, professor, writer, cartographer • Genre — History, geography • Subject — mapping, surveying, European history
Personal life
Personal life
Norman Thrower was born in England in 1919 and died in 2020. He was a veteran of World War II and served in India. After the war, Thrower became involved with the Directorate of Colonial Surveys which was later re-named the Directorate of Overseas Surveys.
Professional life
Professional life
In 1953, Thrower was awarded his Bachelor of Arts in geography from the University of Virginia. Subsequently, he attended the University of Wisconsin and earned his Ph.D. in 1958, also in geography. The subject of Thrower’s dissertation was cadastral surveying, and in 1966 the dissertation was published by the Association of American Geographers. In 1957, Thrower began working at the University of California, Los Angeles as a professor and retired from the university in 1990. While at UCLA, Thrower specialized in cartography, remote sensing, and Europe. He was associated with the director of the UCLA Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies and directed the Christopher Columbus Quincentenary Programs at the UCLA Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies. He was also the director of UCLA’s William Andrews Clark Memorial Library. Thrower has notes, papers, and correspondence archived at UCLA. In addition to his work at UCLA, Thrower was also involved with other organizations. From 1973 to 1975, he was President of the Society for the History of Discoveries. Thrower held the position as the founding President of the California Map Society in 1979. And from 1975 to 1981 Thrower served as President for the State of California’s Sir Francis Drake Commission.
Websites
Websites
* *
Career and activity
Career and activity
Norman Joseph William Thrower worked in geography and cartography. He was employed by University of California, Los Angeles. Recorded position is professor emeritus. He belonged to American Association of Geographers, Society for the History of Discoveries and California Map Society.
Identity
Identity
Norman Joseph William Thrower is recorded as geographer, historian of cartography, university teacher and cartographer.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1919
Norman Joseph William Thrower born at Crowthorne.
2020
Norman Joseph William Thrower died at Pacific Palisades.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Crowthorne.
Birth place
Pacific Palisades.
Death place
Primary material
Documents and archives
scholarly publication
- Norman Joseph William Thrower (23 October 1919–2 September 2020), Imago Mundi, 2021
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 2021
authority file
reference work
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q93435593: Norman Joseph William Thrower
Reputable secondary · Wikidata
Selected bibliography of Thrower’s works
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Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
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References
Citations
References
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scholarly publication
Norman Joseph William Thrower (23 October 1919–2 September 2020), Imago Mundi, 2021Crossref registry
Institutional witnessauthority file
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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