On August 9, 2004, Steve Coast, then a physics student at University College London, took the first step towards revolutionizing the world of mapping by registering the openstreetmap.org domain. This act marked the official birth of OpenStreetMap (OSM).
The creation of OpenStreetMap was a response to the failure of the United Kingdom’s national mapping agency, the Ordnance Survey, to release its tax-payer funded data to the public under free licenses. Coast envisioned a free, editable map of the world that would democratize access to geospatial data, making it available for everyone from hobbyists to professionals.
OpenStreetMap ushered in a new era in cartography, one where community collaboration and open data would challenge traditional, closed-off mapping systems.
Today, OpenStreetMap is supported by millions of contributors worldwide, all working together to map our world in unprecedented detail and accuracy.
