Definitions for gerardus mercator
ger·ar·dus mer·ca·tor

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Mercator, Gerardus Mercator, Gerhard Kremernoun

   Flemish geographer who lived in Germany; he invented the Mercator projection of maps of the globe (1512-1594)

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Gerardus Mercator

   Gerardus Mercator (; 5 March 1512 – 2 December 1594) was a 16th-century geographer, cosmographer and cartographer from the County of Flanders. He is most renowned for creating the 1569 world map based on a new projection which represented sailing courses of constant bearing (rhumb lines) as straight lines—an innovation that is still employed in nautical charts. Mercator was a highly influential pioneer in the history of cartography. Along with Gemma Frisius and Abraham Ortelius, he is generally considered one of the founders of the Netherlandish school of cartography and geography. He is also widely considered the most notable figure of the school. In his own day, he was a notable maker of globes and scientific instruments. In addition, he had interests in theology, philosophy, history, mathematics and geomagnetism. He was also an accomplished engraver and calligrapher. Unlike other great scholars of the age, he travelled little and his knowledge of geography came from his library of over a thousand books and maps, from his visitors and from his vast correspondence (in six languages) with other scholars, statesmen, travellers, merchants and seamen. Mercator's early maps were in large formats suitable for wall mounting but in the second half of his life, he produced over 100 new regional maps in a smaller format suitable for binding into his Atlas of 1595. This was the first appearance of the word Atlas in reference to a book of maps. However, Mercator used it as a neologism for a treatise (Cosmologia) on the creation, history and description of the universe, not simply a collection of maps. He chose the word as a commemoration of the Titan Atlas, "King of Mauretania", whom he considered to be the first great geographer. A large part of Mercator's income came from sales of terrestrial and celestial globes. For sixty years they were considered the finest in the world, and were sold in such numbers that there are many surviving examples. This was a substantial enterprise involving the manufacture of the spheres, printing the gores, building substantial stands, packing and distributing them all over Europe. He was also renowned for his scientific instruments, particularly his astrolabes and astronomical rings used to study the geometry of astronomy and astrology. Mercator wrote on geography, philosophy, chronology and theology. All of the wall maps were engraved with copious text on the region concerned. As an example, the famous world map of 1569 is inscribed with over five thousand words in fifteen legends. The 1595 Atlas has about 120 pages of maps and illustrated title pages, but a greater number of pages are devoted to his account of the creation of the universe and descriptions of all the countries portrayed. His table of chronology ran to some 400 pages fixing the dates (from the time of creation) of earthly dynasties, major political and military events, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and eclipses. He also wrote on the gospels and the Old Testament. Mercator was a devout Christian born into a Catholic family at a time when Martin Luther's Protestantism was gaining ground. He never declared himself as a Lutheran but was clearly sympathetic, and he was accused of heresy by Catholic authorities; after six months in prison he was released unscathed. This period of persecution is probably the major factor in his move from Catholic Leuven (Louvain) to a more tolerant Duisburg, in the Holy Roman Empire, where he lived for the last thirty years of his life. Walter Ghim, Mercator's friend and first biographer, describes him as sober in his behaviour, yet cheerful and witty in company, and never more happy than in debate with other scholars. Above all he was pious and studious until his dying days.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. gerardus mercator

   Gerardus Mercator was a 16th-century geographer, cartographer, and cosmographer from the County of Flanders in the Spanish Netherlands. He is best recognized for creating a world map based on a new projection, the "Mercator Projection," which represented sailing courses of constant bearing (rhumb lines) as straight lines—an innovation that is still used in nautical charts today.

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Gerardus Mercator

   Gerardus Mercator was a cartographer, philosopher and mathematician. He is best known for his work in cartography, particular the world map of 1569 based on a new projection which represented sailing courses of constant bearing as straight lines. He was the first to use the term Atlas for a collection of maps.

Matched Categories

1. • Geographer

How to pronounce gerardus mercator?

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Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of gerardus mercator in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of gerardus mercator in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=gerardus mercator
2. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerardus_Mercator
3. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
4. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=gerardus mercator