Gerard Mercator Biography

Gerard Mercator Flemish geographer and one of the most famous cartographers in the world was born in the year in the Netherlands, he lived to G. according to his name a cartographic projection. Mercator is a latinized pseudonym, the real name of the scientist is Kremer. His name is familiar today not only to sailors, geographers and cartographers, but also to everyone who, in the process of training or work, has to use geographical maps and atlases.

Features of the Mercatorsky projection, it was he who was the first to portray the world map in an unusual cylindrical equangible projection for that time. Center was carried out on Greenwich counting from the Greenwich Meridian. In the projection of Gerard Mercator, the meridians were indicated by parallel straight lines, which in the South and North Pole rushed into infinity.

The latitude was located perpendicular to them, as they approached the poles, the distance between them increased. At the same time, distortions of the areas of the depicted territories are also increasing in the polar regions. Given the specifics of the Gerard Mercator Gerard World map in such a projection, it was later decided to use it only to designate land and water area located directly near the equator.

It is near the equator that the proportions are preserved, and the forms and angles at the distance from it are very distorted. Therefore, the projection was applicable to navigation maps in the seas of the Pacific Ocean. In the modern world, it formed the basis of online cards, and became the standard for them. What is the merit of Mercator? In addition to developing a world map in a previously unused projection, the Renaissance cartographer has gained popularity thanks to numerous works.

Gerard released its own version of Ptolemy cards. There were many inaccuracies in the works of that time, for example, a large area of ​​land in the Arctic and the southern mainland. The latter was portrayed on the maps until Cook's travel to that part of the world. In the city of labor, he included biblical events, cultural, political and scientific knowledge collected by the author from various sources.

Despite the exact tables of lunar and sunny eclipses, as well as many other valuable information, the Catholic Church banned the “chronology” due to mentioning a number of heretics and Martin Luther. The name Mercator in history at the end of his life Gerard difficultly suffered two strokes. After his death, the son published work with the biography of the great scientist.

In addition, it included essays on the creation of the world and maps. Of these, the plates were engraved by the Mercator himself during his lifetime. Contemporaries note the uniqueness of the published assembly and that it included a map of Russia. Not the earliest, but high -quality and quite accurate for its era. Another merit of Gerard Mercator was as follows - the collection of geographical maps was first called Atlas.

The term was fixed in the minds of people, was recognized as a scientific community. Subsequently, he entered households, was included in the school curriculum. Atlases with original copper plates were bought out, complemented and reprinted in other meetings of cards. But the name of the Flemish cartographer has forever remained in history. The publisher from Amsterdam, after the ransom of the rights to reprint cards in several issues of pocket and fundamental options for the atlas, left on the cover next to his iodoku Hondi and the name of the mercator.

The texts were translated into different languages, the work done by scientists spread around the world. After the year of the birth of a cartographer - in the year - in Belgium minted a coin of gold with the dignity of Euro.

In the cities of Europe, a number of monuments were erected. Ground and flood transport, as well as the observatory in South America, are named after Gerard Mercator.