Category: mapping

Major Events in 1925 Mapped

As H.G. Wells wrote, “Human history in essence is the history of ideas.” 1925 was certainly a year of big ideas — and resulting events — around the world.

Let’s take a look back at 1925 and the political, cultural, and social milestones that continue to impact the world today.

Between January and December, Wikipedia notes a number of major 1925 events, such as the Scopes Monkey Trial in Tennessee, which challenged the teaching of evolution in schools; the publication of The Great Gatsby in New York, which became a cultural icon; the opening of the first Surrealist art exhibition; and Britain’s return to the gold standard. 

These events and more are easily mapped using our Batchgeo tool.

View 1925 Events in a full screen map

The 14 Categories of 1925 Events

Here’s the full breakdown of the 14 categories the above article puts these major 1925 events into:

CategoryNo. of 1925 Events
Politics16
Sports3
Crime3
Technology5
Social & Culture7
Education2
Disaster5
Conflict2
Business3
Exploration2
Aviation1
Art & Music6
Massacre1
Historical2

Let’s take a closer look at where they occurred.

Events in the United States

Of the 58 major events that took place 100 years ago, 18 focus on one country: the United States. The most common categories mentioned are political, technology, and disasters. However, art and culture also made a strong showing, with two major events each.

Some notable events include Nellie Tayloe Ross becoming the first female governor (Wyoming) in the United States on January 5th. She was followed 12 days later by Ma Ferguson, who became the first female governor of Texas.

Nellie Tayloe Ross medal. Image by Wehwalt; medal by John R. Sinnock. Source: Wikipedia

The Grand Ole Opry was first broadcast on radio as the “WSM Barn Dance” on November 28, starting what was soon to become a 100-year-old institution. And the Scopes trial (also known as the “Scopes Monkey Trial”) took place in Tennessee between July 10 and July 21, bringing intense scrutiny to the teaching of evolution.

Ryman Auditorium, the “Mother Church of Country Music”, home of the Grand Ole Opry from 1943 to 1974, and seasonally since 1999. Source: Wikipedia

Check out the rest of the US events on the map before moving on to the ones that occurred elsewhere in the world in 1925.

International Events

There may have been 18 major events taking place in the US, but the majority (40) happened internationally. History isn’t US-specific, after all. 

In January, the year started with a bang when the Federation of the Autonomous States of Syria was officially dissolved. The State of Syria replaced the States of Aleppo and Damascus. 

In February, Benito Mussolini gave a pivotal speech that’s largely seen as the start of his dictatorship. 

And March saw the first issue of the newspaper Pravda in what was then the Soviet Union; the publication continues in Russia today.

Later in the year, the Locarno Treaties were signed in London, intended to secure the post-war continental European territorial settlement. In Portugal, the money forgery and fraud activity of Alves dos Reis was exposed. Margaret Mead landed in American Samoa to begin nine months of fieldwork, which culminated in her book Coming of Age in Samoa

Margaret Mead By Edward Lynch, World-Telegram staff photographer. Source: Wikipedia & The Library of Congress

Meanwhile, 1925 was a year of technological advancements that continue to resonate a century on. Notably, in London, John Logie Baird successfully transmitted the first television pictures, in grayscale of course. And English racing motorist Malcolm Campbell became the first man to exceed 150 mph (241 km/h) on land.

The first known photograph of a moving image produced by Baird’s “televisor,” as reported in The Times, January 28, 1926. Source: Wikipedia

We also can’t forget about the popular category of sports, which saw the formation of multiple football clubs. April saw the founding of the now well-known football club Colo-colo in Chile. And June brought the founding of the Turkish football club Göztepe.

Group Your Data with Batchgeo

You can group your data in a similar way when you map it with BatchGeo. And check out our previous posts highlighting the events that happened more than 100 years ago — these include major events in 1917, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, and 1924.

Use Grouping to Make the Most of Your Map

Online maps can be indispensable to navigate, explore, and visualize information. However, the power of these maps is often underutilized.

In this post, we’ll showcase how you can maximize your online maps by grouping data using markers. But before you can make the most of your online maps, let’s cover some basics.

Map-Making on the Web

You don’t need a background in geography or any programming knowledge to create custom maps on the web, but there are some important pointers to keep in mind as you create them.

Typically, web-based mapping tools rerquire a spreadsheet of the data you want to map — this can be in Excel, Google Sheets, or other compatible alternatives.

The data should include at least some location information, with separate columns for address, city, state, country, etc. If your data isn’t already separated, you can use the “Text to Columns” functionality to do so quickly.

In addition to location details, your data may include other information; one example is the height metric you can see on our map of the tallest lighthouses in the US.

This brings us to map grouping, through which you can select only the markers that meet certain requirements, filtering out the rest. Let’s talk about the benefits of map grouping.

What Is Map Grouping?

Groups can be combined to zero in on specific results, giving you insight into the story behind the map. While no prep work is required (BatchGeo will intuitively find a home for any additional data you have), you can certainly make the most of grouping by doing a bit of data manipulation, which we’ll show you next.

View Global city rating in a full screen map

The map above of every city’s globalization rating contains location information (in this case, city and country names). It also includes the classification, which becomes available for group selection.

Let’s try grouping some markers. Let’s say you want only the cities with the best globalization classification (Alpha + and Alpha ++):

  • Hover above the dropdown in the lower left of the map to reveal the grouping columns.
  • Choose ‘Classification’ from the menu. Each marker on the map will change color based on its group.
  • Select the top two ranges (‘Alpha +’ and ‘Alpha ++’). As you select each, the map will filter to include only the markers that match your selection.

Troubleshoot Missing Map Groups or Ranges

One common hiccup in grouping is missing groups or unexpected formatting within your mapped data. But there are ways to troubleshoot these issues, as we’ll cover next, starting with missing groups.

Fix Missing Groups with “N/A”

If you find that a column eligible for grouping is not showing up in the dropdown menu at the lower left-hand corner of your map, follow these steps for effective troubleshooting:

  • First, return to your spreadsheet and identify the column or columns that aren’t showing up for grouping.
  • Next, look for any empty cells in columns that normally contain data.
  • Sort the column(s) to push the empty cells to the bottom.
  • Input “N/A” into the first empty cell, ensuring it’s in all caps.
  • Drag this entry down to apply “N/A” to all empty cells.

Once completed, edit your map with the new data, and the missing groups should appear.

Adjust the Format of Non-Ranging Numbers

If your numerical data is grouping correctly but is lacking your desired ranges, it’s time to make further adjustments in your spreadsheet. Follow these steps to rectify the issue:

  • Identify the column with the numerical data that isn’t ranging.
  • Head to the “Format” menu and check the current format under “Number.”
  • Toggle to “Plain text” or “Automatic”, whichever is not currently selected.

Of course, if you’d rather not have your data grouped, you can disable it by editing your map. In “Validate and Set Options,” select “Single Color” for the Group By option.

Maps Work Better with Grouping!

Thanks to online maps and the grouping feature from BatchGeo, understanding your location data is easier than ever.

Show Wikipedia Images on a Google Map

Compared to spreadsheets, maps are better at visualizing your information and helping you make sense of your data’s geography. Yet, even the most customized map doesn’t always tell the whole story.

You can give your location markers more context by going beyond textual information — we’re talking about incorporating images. After all, a picture is worth 1,000 words.

BatchGeo is already the easiest way to map your spreadsheet data. If images are part of that information, BatchGeo maps can display those, too. And while there are many places to find free-to-use photos, nothing beats Wikipedia for images.

The Best Wikipedia Pages Have Tables and Images

To level up your map, start by finding some images. Since we’re focusing on images from Wikipedia, we’ll start there.

Pop your topic into a Google search bar. While Wikipedia may organically top the results, you can further filter your search by adding “site:Wikipedia.org.”

You will likely see quite a few options. Those starting with “List of” will be your best bets, as these Wikipedia pages often contain images as well as text.

Automatically Capture Wikipedia Table and Image Data

While Wikitables make copying and pasting the data into a spreadsheet easier than the alternative, you still don’t want to manually do so for rows and columns of information, including the image links. Instead, you can use a tool that automatically grabs the data for you to paste into your spreadsheet while maintaining the table format from Wikipedia.

We recommend the Table Capture browser extension in Chrome. Here’s how to use it:

  • Add the Table Capture extension to your Google Chrome browser.
  • Because we want to pull in images, click the extension in the upper right corner of your browser and choose “Options.”
  • In the “Options” tab, check “Extract Image and Icon Attributes” and make sure “Ignore Images Completely” is unchecked.
  • Hit “Save.”
  • Navigate to the Wikipedia page where you want to pull a data table.
  • Once again, click on the Table Capture extension.
  • Select your desired table(s).
  • Click the icon representing the action you want, such as “Copy table data to the clipboard.”
  • Paste to your spreadsheet.

Now that you’ve gathered your data, you may still need to do a few clean-up tasks, such as splitting the associated text into different columns from the actual image links. You can prepare your data in Excel, but follow these steps if you’re a Google Sheets user:

  • Select the column containing the information you want to split.
  • In the “Data” tab, opt to “Split text to columns.”
  • In the pop-up box, choose “Custom” and type in the “Separator” (in our case, an open parenthesis).

Most of your data should now be separated into two columns, though you can manually fix any that weren’t formatted properly. Update each heading to better distinguish the two, and now you’re ready to create a custom map of your data and images.

Map Your Data and Images

Follow the usual steps of creating a BatchGeo map:

  • In your spreadsheet, select (Ctrl+A or Cmd+A) and copy (Ctrl+C or Cmd+C) your data, including image links.
  • Open your web browser and navigate to batchgeo.com.
  • Click on the location data box with the example data, then paste your data (Ctrl+V or Cmd+V).
  • Check that you have the proper location data columns by clicking “Set Options.”

Here’s the important part: Before you click “Map Your Data,” select “Show Advanced Options” and select the correct column for your image data in the “Image URL” dropdown. Now you can watch the geocoder perform its process while also incorporating your images into the map, which should look something like this:

View National flowers and trees in a full screen map

There you have it! Your map of Wikipedia data is complete with images thanks to BatchGeo!