Bartholomew came from a celebrated line of map-makers. He was the son of Annie McGregor (d. 1872) and
John Bartholomew Junior, and the grandson of the founder of
John Bartholomew and Son Ltd. He was educated at the
Royal High School, Edinburgh and the
University of Edinburgh. Under his administration the family business became one of the top operations in its field. Bartholomew himself was not merely a specialist in production, but also a talented
geographer and
cartographer. It was he who introduced the use of coloured contour layer maps developed by his father; he also anticipated the needs of late nineteenth and early 20th century travellers by publishing street maps of major cities, cycling maps, railway timetable maps, and road maps for automobiles. He collaborated with major scientific figures and travelers of the period on projects involving their studies. Bartholomew's
Atlas of Meteorology and
Atlas of Zoogeography were issues from a planned five-volume series that was never completed. Before he died he was able to plan out the first edition of the
Times Survey Atlas of the World; this and its succeeding editions represent the most successful atlas project of the twentieth century. John was a great friend of geographer and writer
John Francon Williams. Correspondence between the two friends is held in the Bartholomew Archive at the
National Library of Scotland. Williams also acted as a literary agent for Bartholomew in America, the UK and other territories in the world. In 1889, he married Janet Macdonald. He handed the reins of the business to his son
John (Ian) Bartholomew (1890–1962). He died in 1920 in
Sintra,
Portugal, and is buried in the Cemitério de
São Pedro de Penaferrim. A memorial to Bartholomew, sculpted by
Pilkington Jackson, exists on the northern wall of the 20th century extension to
Dean Cemetery in
Edinburgh. His wife Jennie, sons Hugh and
Ian Bartholomew, and grandson
John Christopher Bartholomew are buried at the monument. His daughter Margaret married Philip Francis Hamilton-Grierson, grandson of Sir Philip James Hamilton-Grierson. On the centenary of Bartholomew's death (14 April 2020), he was commemorated publicly and named as a publisher who helped to put 'Edinburgh on the map'. ==References==