William Playfair

William Playfair (22 September 1759 – 11 February 1823) was a Scottish engineer and political economist who made important innovations in the field of information graphics. Playfair, who argued that charts communicated better than tables of data, has been credited with inventing the line, bar, and pie charts. His time series plots are still presented as models of clarity.

Types of charts[編集]

Barchart, 1786.
Line chart, 1786
Interest of the National Debt, 1786
Thematic map, 1793
Piecharts, 1801.
Piecharts, 1801.
Barchart, 1822.
Line chart or "Linear Chronology," 1824

History[編集]

The Commercial and Political Atlas, 1786[編集]

Table of Content (edition 1801)
1. All the import and exports to and from England
2. Ireland
3. East Indies
4. West Indies
5. North America
6. France
7. Spain
8. Germany
9. Flanders
12. Denmark & Norway from 1700 to 1780
16. Africa
16. Guernsey, Jersey and Alderney
import and exports of England to and from all North America from the year 1770 to 1782
Exports and Imports of Scotland to and from different parts for one Year from Christmas 1780 to Christmas 1781

Financial part[編集]

19. Annual Revenues of England and France
20. National Debt of England
21. Reduction of the national debt by the Sinking Fund already Established
23. Expense of the Ordnance
24. Expenditure of the British Army
25. Interest of the national Debt from the Revolution

The series of chart were republished in William Playfair. Lineal arithmetic, Applied to Shew the Progress of the Commerce and Revenue of England During the Present Century. 1798. The second part was then called "National finances ".

The Statistical Breviary, 1801[編集]

Piecharts, 1801.
Piecharts, 1801.

Other images[編集]

Tableaux d'Aritmetique Lineaire, 1789
A Map of France with the Proposed Divisions. 1793
Chart of Universal Commercial History, 1805
Chart Shewing the Value of the Quarter of Wheat in Shillings & in Days Wages of a Good Mechanic from 1565 to 1821, 1821
Barchart, 1822.
Linear Chronology, Exhibiting the Revenues, Expenditure, Debt, Price of Stocks & Bread, from 1770 to 1824, 1824