Gerardus Mercator
On March fifth, 1512, a boy soon to be one of the greatest influences on the exploration of our planet, was born. Originally named Gerard de Cremere, Gerardus Mercator first studied at Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands, then in 1530, at the age of 18, entered the University of Louvain, studying humanities and philosophy. From there he graduated with an M.A. in 1532.After graduating, Mercator began to have worries on how to reconcile the account of the origin of the universe given in the Bible with that given by Aristotle. Although traveling to many places, including Antwerp and Mechelen, the only result he obtained from his travels was that he became deeply interested in geography. Mercator returned to Louvain after realizing his true passion, and studied mathematics under Gemma Frisius, instrument making and engraving under Gaspar a Myrica, and learned how top apply mathematics to geography and astronomy, and in 1534 married Barbara Schellekens, by whom he had six children. By the time he was 24, Mercator was a superb engraver, an outstanding calligrapher
Long lasting effects of Mercator's works include greatly aiding the age of exploration, and helping people navigate the globe for 400 years after he first published his projection. If it wasn't for Mercator, the world probably would not be as far technologically, not as significantly as Newton, but slightly. His maps helped people to navigate the globe for centuries, and for that, we thank him. Mercator also first used the term "Atlas" (see project) to refer to a collection of maps. He updated Ptolemy's maps in1578, and included them in the first part of Atlas, which continued with maps of France, Germany, and the Netherlands in 1585. Although the project was never completed, Mercator did publish a further series in 1589 including maps to the Balkans (then called Sclavonia) and Greece. Some maps that were incomplete at the time of his death, in 1594, were completed and published by his son in 1595. From the beginning, Mercator was met with huge success, but also a few little problems. Other than being imprisoned for heresy for seven months, trying to deal
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Approximate Word count = 718
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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