Gerardus Mercator, Flemish Cartographer

Colorized drawing of Gerardus Mercator (March 5, 1512 - December 2, 1594), a Flemish cartographer. He was born Gerard de gemor or de Cremer (Mercator is the Latinized form of his name). In 1538 he produced a map of the world and a map of Flanders in 1540. He was appointed Court Cosmographer to Wilhelm, Duke of Julich-Cleves-Berg in 1564. He constructed a the Mercator projection, a cylindrical map projection. It became the standard map projection for nautical purposes because of its ability to represent lines of constant course, known as rhumb lines or loxodromes, as straight segments

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1512 1594 Cartographer Gerardus Measures Mercator Projection Scales Weights

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