Johannes Wild

From 1838 to 1842, Wild conducted measurements for the Dufour Map, the first official topographical map of Switzerland. He had previously participated in the basic triangulation work under the direction of Johannes Eschmann. During this period, he also worked on railway projects and conducted a survey of hydraulic energy resources in the Canton of Zurich.^[1] In 1842-1843, Wild performed glaciological surveys for the naturalist Louis Agassiz.^[1]

Wild's most significant cartographic achievement was the creation of a detailed map of the Canton of Zurich. The project was undertaken from 1843 to 1851 under his direction and published between 1852 and 1865 in thirty-two sheets. This map, known as the "Wild map", was innovative for its time due to its representation of terrain relief using contour lines, a technique that was not yet widely adopted in Swiss cartography. The map set new standards for topographical accuracy and visual representation of landscape features.^[1]

In 1852, Wild was appointed as director of the Federal Telegraph Administration in Bern, where he oversaw the development of Switzerland's early telecommunications infrastructure. From 1853 to 1854, he served as a director of the Zurich-Lake Constance and Northeast railway companies.^[1]

In 1855, Wild was appointed as a full professor of geodesy and topography at the newly established ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology). He held this position for 34 years until his retirement in 1889, making him one of the institution's longest-serving faculty members. His teaching and research contributed significantly to the development of surveying and mapping techniques in Switzerland.^[1] In recognition of his scientific contributions, Wild was awarded an honorary doctorate (honoris causa) by the University of Zurich in 1883.^[1]

Johannes Wild died on 22 August 1894 in his hometown of Richterswil, where he had been born 80 years earlier.^[1]

 This article incorporates text from a free content work. Licensed under CC-BY SA. Text taken from Wild, Johannes​, Urban Schertenleib, Historical Dictionary of Switzerland. Translated by Véronique Wezranowska-Jacot.