Figurative map of the successive losses in men of the French Army in the Russian campaign 1812–1813

Charles Joseph Minard was born on March 27th, 1781, and worked as a civil engineer in France throughout his early life. Later, he started creating revolutionary information graphics to depict complex numerical data quickly to the viewer instead of numbers that required mental calculations. His most famous map was of the losses of French troops suffered during Napoleon's Russian campaign, which he created when he was 88 years old, fifty years after the campaign. Minard was able to show the staggering losses of the French army, the distance traveled, the temperature, and the location in a single infographic map.

The description given with the map translated into English is, 

"Figurative Map of the successive losses in men of the French Army in the Russian campaign 1812–1813.
Drawn by Mr. Minard, Inspector General of Bridges and Roads (retired). Paris, November 20, 1869.
The numbers of men present are represented by the widths of the colored zones at a rate of one millimeter for every ten thousand men; they are further written across the zones. The red (beige) designates the men who enter Russia, the black those who leave it. — The information which has served to draw up the map has been extracted from the works of M. M. Thiers, de Ségur, de Fezensac, de Chambray and the unpublished diary of Jacob, the pharmacist of the Army since October 28th.
In order to better judge with the eye the diminution of the army, I have assumed that the troops of Prince Jérôme and of Marshal Davout, who had been detached at Minsk and Mogilev and have rejoined near Orsha and Vitebsk, had always marched with the army."

Notable additions to the design of this map include Minard's decision to color the lines differently to show a contrast between a lighter, hopeful feeling and a darker, defeated one. Also, his inclusion of rivers on the map helps to show the location while also showing how they affected the army's march, as with each river crossing, we see the line get smaller and the death toll rise.