Ralph Ehrenberg - Biography
Ralph Ehrenberg is an internationally recognized authority on the history of cartography. During his distinguished federal career, he directed two of the most important map collections in the world -- the Geography and Map Division of the Library of Congress and the Cartographic Records Division of the U. S. National Archives -- and served on the prestigious United States Board on Geographic Names. Prior to these appointments, he was an aerial photographer during active military duty with the U. S. Navy and a cartographer and photogrammetrist with the Aeronautical Chart and Information Center, Department of Defense, St. Louis, Missouri.
A graduate of the University of Minnesota, Mr. Ehrenberg has lectured widely on cartographic collections, the history of cartography, and geographical exploration, including a series of presentations in Australia as Honorary Scholar in Residence at the Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales in Sydney.
His published works include The Mapping of America (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1980), the acclaimed cartographic survey of North America; Scholars' Guide to Washington, D.C. for Cartography and Remote Sensing Imagery (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1987); and Library of Congress Geography and Maps: An Illustrated Guide (Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 1996).
Recently retired from the Library of Congress, Mr. Ehrenberg and his wife reside in Annandale, Virginia.