Gerardus Mercator

Flemish cartographer (1512–1594)

Gerardus Mercator (5 March 1512 – 2 December 1594) was a Flemish geographer, cosmographer and cartographer. 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 notable maker of globes and scientific instruments.

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