Web Platform & API
The World Historical Gazetteer is an open-source platform for linking, visualizing, and sharing data about historical places. Built with Python/Django and PostgreSQL/PostGIS, WHG provides researchers and institutions with powerful tools for managing spatial-temporal historical data.
- Data Integration – Upload and reconcile historical place data against global authorities
- Collaborative Curation – Built-in provenance tracking and multi-user workflows
- Advanced Visualization – Interactive maps and timelines for spatial-temporal analysis
- REST API – Programmatic access to the full WHG dataset and services
Complete documentation is available at docs.whgazetteer.org, including:
- API reference and authentication guides
- Data models and schemas
- Developer setup instructions
- User tutorials and best practices
We welcome contributions from the community! Whether you're fixing bugs, adding features, or improving documentation, your help is appreciated.
Before contributing:
- Check existing issues or open a new one to discuss your idea
- Review our contribution guidelines (if available)
- Follow PEP 8 and Django conventions for code style
Ways to contribute:
- 🐛 Report bugs and suggest features via GitHub Issues
- 💻 Submit pull requests with bug fixes or new features
- 📖 Improve documentation and examples
- 📊 Contribute historical place datasets
See CHANGELOG.md for detailed release notes and version history.
This project is licensed under the BSD 3-Clause License. See LICENSE for details.
World Historical Gazetteer | Website | Documentation | Issues