Willem Benjamin Craan Willem Benjamin Craan ( Batavia , 23 August 1776 — Schaerbeek , 16 June 1848 ) was a Dutch ( and later Belgian ) surveyor and cartographer , who is best known for his 1816 map of the battlefield of the Battle of Waterloo in which he provided the initial dispositions of all armies concerned , based on information gleaned from many participants in the battle from all sides . Biography . Early career . Craan was born in the Dutch East Indies , a colony of the Dutch East India Company in those days . He was the son of Jacobus Johannes Craan and Johanna Henriëtte Breekpot . His father was an " opperkoopman " ( chief merchant ) , employed by the company . He married Joanna Frederika Hahn on 4 October 1795 in Hillegom . Craan studied at Leiden University and obtained a doctorate in law on 27 August 1795 ( the Batavian Republic had just been established ) . He was not very interested in the law profession , however , dedicating himself in the next fifteen years to mathematical studies and music . When he found himself in Aix - la - Chapelle in December , 1810 , he was appointed by the local prefect to the position of cadastral surveyor for the " département de la Roer " ( one of the " départements " of the First French Empire to which the Netherlands had by then been annexed ) . He performed so well in this function that the next year he was promoted and put in charge of the Cadastre of the " département de la Lippe " ( in Germany ) . The fall of the Empire in 1814 put him out of work , so he travelled to Brussels , then the capital of the former Austrian Netherlands , which now were about to become part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands . The Sovereign Prince of the Netherlands ( the future king William I of the Netherlands ) appointed him as chief of the Cadastre of the department of the Dyle on 21 October 1814 . Map of the Battle of Waterloo . On 18 June 1815 the Battle of Waterloo was fought . As the battlefield was close to Brussels , and many wounded of all armies were taken to that city , Craan was able to interview many prominent French and Allied wounded officers about their experiences during the battle . On the basis of information gained in this way he published a detailed map of the battle , with an explanatory note in September 1816 , under the title " Plan du champ de bataille de Waterloo , avec notice historique " . In the explanatory note he mentions the names of generals Mouton , Lobau , Excelmans and Gérard on the French side . He also mentions a number of high British , Dutch - Belgian and Prussian officers , though he does not give their names . Colonel François Aimé Mellinet ( chief - of - staff of the Young Guard Division ) advised him on the map , as did " a number of Prussian generals " to whom he was introduced by Prince Frederick of the Netherlands . The Prince of Orange , who had commanded an army corps at the battle later viewed the map and approved of it ( as did the Duke of Wellington ) . Finally , Emperor Alexander I of Russia was so enamored of the map that he presented Craan with a precious ring . The map and explanatory note are still relevant , because they contradict a number of " facts " that have been assumed by many historians about the battle . For instance , though in many accounts of the battle the Dutch - Belgian Bijlandt brigade is assumed to have stood " in front of " a ridge ( and so exposed to the opening bombardment of the French artillery ) , Craan ' s map shows the brigade " behind " the ridge ( which is commensurate with the after - battle report of the chief - of - staff of the 2nd Netherlands Division , of which the Bijlandt brigade was a part ) . Introduction of Lithography . Craan is also credited with having introduced the printing technique of Lithography in Belgium in 1817 . A brother of the inventor of the technique , Alois Senefelder , visited Brussels in that year . He soon left for The Hague , but left his son - in - law and together with that gentleman Craan put the new print shop on a sure footing . This helped convince the minister of Public Education , Anton Reinhard Falck , of its value . Though Craan soon shifted his attention to other subjects , this early support helped to establish the technique in Belgium . City plan of Brussels and other scientific contributions . In the 18th century the science of surveying made rapid advances , and many countries were completely overlaid with triangles , using the surveying method of triangulation . In the United Kingdom of the Netherlands such a survey was partially completed by general Krayenhoff , but the Belgian Revolution prevented its completion in Belgium . Craan helped to give new impetus to this effort . His main contribution was his " Plan géométrique de la ville de Bruxelles avec ses faubourgs et communes limitrophes " ( in 4 folios , 1836 ) . He had made the measurements for this city plan already in 1821 . Craan also helped establish the first series of meteorological measurements in Belgium by starting barometric soundings on the steeple of the Brussels city hall in 1825 . Craan died in 1848 , survived by a wife and daughter : Virginie Frederique Wilhelmine Aspasia . The latter , known in Brussels as " la belle hollandaise " , was married to major - general Willem Frederik van Bylandt , the commander of the Bijlandt brigade at Waterloo .