Gerardus Mercator (1512–1594) was a Flemish geographer, cartographer, and cosmographer best known for creating the Mercator projection, a groundbreaking map projection introduced in 1569 that represents rhumb lines as straight lines, an invaluable tool for marine navigation.
Born in Rupelmonde, Flanders (now Belgium), he gained early acclaim with maps of Palestine (1537), the world (1538), and Flanders (1539/40). Mercator also produced globes and published a large, detailed map of Europe in 1554. Despite hardships including imprisonment for heresy, he developed a new method of mapmaking that allowed sailors to plot straight-line courses over long distances. He was also the first to publish an atlas as a collection of maps in book form and updated Ptolemy’s maps with corrections and commentary. His innovations significantly advanced cartography during the Renaissance and his legacy persists in modern navigation.
