US623561A - Chart-form - Google Patents

Description

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ARTHUR H. RICE, OF BUFFALO, NEV YORK.

CHART-FORM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 623,561, dated April 25, 1899.

Application tiled October 30, 1897. Serial No, 656,917. (No model.)

To @l whom t may concern.-

Beit known that I, ARTHUR I-I. RICE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Chart-Forms, of which the fol` lowing is a full, clear, and exact description.

In the construction of chart-forms which present in a graphic form the essential events and features of history it is a'desideratum that the forms should be so arranged and constructed as to be capable of adaptation to the historic events relative to any political subdivision. It is, moreover, necessary that the mechanism of such a chart-form should be so simple and so logical in arrangement that the time and attention of the stndentwill not be occupied by s'uch mechanism rather than by the subjectin hand.' It is also an essential in the construction of chart-forms of this kind that the graphic representation should be so simple and natural that the extensive aid of color or configuration will be unnecessary, since such coloring or ornamentation results in thefpresentation of a picture rather than the facts sought to be taught. In order to accomplish these ends, I have devised a chart-form having a central charactercolumn and parallel Iindex date-columns on either side of said central character-column and directly contiguous thereto and means for referring every incident and character directly to said date-columns and said central character-column simultaneously, so that by asingle act and in a single concept such event or character is established in point of time and in relation to and association with the characters of said central character-column. This is most essential, for unless all intervening steps or processes, mechanical or intellectual, are to the last degree eliminated the mind of the student fails to grasp and retain the concept sougt to beimpressed. In the construction of such chart-forms Ifollow the natural, as well as the most easy, method of general arrangement of making the central series of starting-points the heads of the political organizations with which they are connected, whether imperial or republican, and the dates at which they assumed power. By

this arrangement I at once present tothe eye the principal political actors and the principal political dates of any political division. But as it is necessary for the accurate and careful study of history that all facts, events, and persons should be referahle to exact dates Iprovide, directlyadjacent and contiguous to this central series of starting-points on either hand, an index date-column, which enables the student to locate every fact or person with exactness in point of time, as hereinafter more fully explained.

It is further` desirable that the various events and persons should be classified, and to that end I provide columns on either hand which serve to classify such events and persons, and as the events and persons naturally subdivide themselves into civil and military, it is natural that these should be classified upon the one side and upon the other of this central character-column and the contiguous index date-columns. I also provide graphic means for indicating the period and limit of ruling dynasties, families, or parties, and by a similar arrangement indicate the different and well recognized literary periods connected with such history. My system also provides graphic means, in connection with the other features, of representing the leading characters, both literary and political, connected with the period covered by the chart.

Referring now to the drawing herewith, in which like lettersrefer to like parts, A represents the main central column, in which are given the names of the several political leaders, Whether they be kings, emperors, presidents, or governors, as indicated at a. The horizontal lines K K represent the limits of their political leadership with reference to the date-columns hereinafter more fully described. The column B is headed in each instance by the date marking the beginning of the reign or political supremacy of the leader whose name appears in the corresponding space in the column A and are placed as indicated at b.

C. and O are date index-columns in which each year is recorded and which operate as parallel scales, an interval of space being accorded to each year, which may be large or small, according to the number of events to be recorded in connection with it.

IOO

D is a column in which are to be recorded u nder the adjacent dates in the date-columns the important civil events of that period. D' is a similar column in which are arranged, with reference to the adjacent index datecolumn, the several military events of the period. rlhe column E is devoted to wars, and I indicate the beginning, length, and termination of such wars by means of brackets, as shown at N, the upper horizontal portion of the bracket indicating the beginning and the lower the closing of each war period. In a similar manner and by the use of similar brackets I indicate the relationship of the several rulers or political leaders in the column II, as shown at L andM. These brackets may be readily made to distinguish diiferent relationships either by their size and position, as here indicated, or by printing them in different colors.

At the left ofthe date index-column C, I provide for recording-thc names and indicating the dates of the birth and death of the several literary characters connected with the period. This I do by means of an oblique line,as shown at c, the top and bottom of which are connected by means of horizontal lines with the date index-column. In l[his manner the name of any particular literary characteris readily found, and the period of his lite is readily traced and directly established in relation with a character of said central charactercolumn at the same time. In like manner and by like means at the right of the righthand index date-column I provide for the names of the political characters of note,usin g similar oblique lines and parallel lilies connecting with the date indexcolumns,as shown at (l.

To indicate the extentof a ruling dynasty, family, or party, I employ oblique lines, as shown at I, the obliqueness and direction changing with each change of the political family or dynasty or party. For the purpose of indicating the different literary periods I use similar lines, as shown at J. It will therefore he seen that I have provided means for the arrangement of those facts which are substantially common to allpeoples, and that my chart instead of being a mere literary production and arrangement of the facts of a given country consists rather of mechanical means l'or the arrangement of facts common to the history of all countries.

It should be noted that the various literary characters maybe further classified graphically by making the oblique lines adjacent to their names, say, solid lines for prose writers, broken lines for poets, and dotted lines for dramatists; but these are details of construction which are merely supplemental to the general mechanism of my invention.

I am aware that ithas been proposed to construct a historical chart having a central character-column, columns on either side thereof for the classiiication of historical facts, and,

at the outer edges of the chart, date indexcolumns. I do not claim such a construction as this; but my invention possesses marked advantages over such a form of chart. ly arranging date index-columns adjacent to the central character-column and the columns for the classification of historical facts outside such date index-columns the reference of all the facts recorded or exhibited upon the chart to the date of their occurrence and of all historical facts to a political period is lnuch facilitated,and the mechanical arrangement can be much simplified for the reason that the horizontal lines between the date index-column aud the central character-celumn-by which direct reference is made between the fact recorded in such column and the date ot' its occurrence-are entirely distinct from the horizontal reference-lines between the outer columns for historical events and the date index-columns, each set of reference-lines being confined to its own vertical column.

llaving thus describcdmy invention, what I claim isl. A chart-form comprising a main character-column, an index date-column parallel with and contiguous thereto, a separate column for the record of historical facts arranged on the side of the date index-column opposite to the character-column,and independent sets of lines whereby the facts recorded in the said character-colum n and the said historical-facts column are respectively and independently referred directly to the date index-column, substantially as set forth.

2. A chart-form consisting of a central character-column, index date-columns on either side thereof and contiguous thereto, parallel columns for the record of historical facts contiguous to said date columns and outside thereof, a set of lines whereby the facts recorded in the central character-column are referred directly to the index date-columns, and another set of lines, independent of the iirst set, whereby the historical events recorded in the outer columns are referred directly to the date index-columns, substantially as set forth.

3. Achart comprising adate index-column, a column contiguous thereto for the record of historical facts, and a means for indicating a period including certain historical facts and referring it to the said date index-column, consisting of an inclined line extending diagonally across the said record-column to indicate the duration of said period, and horizontal lines connecting the ends of said inclined line with the date index-columns, to indicate the beginning and the end of such period, substantially as set forth.

e. In a chart-form, a column arranged to receive a record of historical facts, a parallel date index-column contiguous thereto, means for indicating successive periods in the historical facts recorded, consisting of inclined lines extending diagonally across said record- IOO IIO

[o the date index-columns, and columns, F and G, outside the date index-columns for the-re- .cording of literary and political facts, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the invention above set forth I affix my signature in. presence of two witnesses. v

ARTHUR H. RICE. Vitnesses:

CHARLES M. I-IUGHsoN, JOHN LORD OBRIAN.

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