George Kish

Professor George Kish (November 24, 1914 – July 11, 1989, born György Kiss) was an internationally recognized authority known for work in geography and the history of cartography. His professional papers are held at the Bentley Historical Library in Ann Arbor.

Kish was affiliated with the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, for 46 years as a teacher and researcher. He came to the University in 1939 as a research assistant in geography and was appointed an instructor of geography in 1943. He was promoted to professor in 1956, and was named the William Herbert Hobbs distinguished Professor of Geography in 1981.

Kish was a Fulbright Research Professor in Italy in 1951–1952, and again in 1963. He lectured at the United Nations University in Cambridge, the Stockholm School of Economics, and the Academy of Sciences of both Poland and Hungary, and at universities in Rome, Florence, Naples, Bari, London, Oxford, and Liège. He was the curator of maps at the William L. Clements Library for several years.

Kish's many awards included the Andrée Plaque for Polar Studies from the Swedish Geographical Society, the Greater Linnaeus Silver Medal from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, The University of Michigan's Henry Russel Lectureship and the Honors Award from the Association of American Geographers. In 1981, he received the Jornard Prize of the Paris Society of Geography, an honor awarded just once each decade. He also was a Commander in the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity.

Kish was born in Budapest, Hungary to Dezso Kiss and Ilona Vadnai on November 24, 1914. and her family.

Publications History of Cartography, 200 35mm slides with descriptive booklet A Source Book in Geography, Harvard Press Economic Atlas of the Soviet Union North East Passage: Adolf Erik Nordenskiold, His Life and Times (1973) Heart of Asia: The Life of Sven Hedin by George Kish (1984) History of American Academic Cartography