The Man Who Mapped The World

Hitherto, you have wondered “what is life? How can I make something good out of my life? I bet you; by the time you are through with this piece something must have changed in you…

Geradus Mercator was born 1512 in Rupelmonde, Belgium. After graduating from the University of Louvain, he studied the teachings of the philosophers and discovered they did not conform to the Moses version of the creation of the world. In respect of this, Mercator started a quest which he was on throughout his life.

In 1534, Mercator began to study Mathematics, Astronomy, and Geography. By 1536, he had greatly evolved and worked as an engraver with Gemma Frisius and Van der Heyden in the production of a terrestrial globe. By 1537, Mercator made his first map – the map of the Holy Land, which identified more than 400 places and showed the route followed by the Israelites on their journey through the desert after the Exodus. In 1538, this time when mapmakers knew little about North America, calling it the Unknown Distant Land. Mercator published a world map that made him the first to apply the name “America” to both North and South America.

In February 1544, Mercator was accused of heresy and convicted. On his release after 7 months of imprisonment, all his belongings were confiscated (but not his mind and vision). In his search for more tolerant religious climate, in 1552, he moved to Duisburg, Germany.

Mercator continued in his quest, devoted to making a synthesis, or overview, of the entire creation of heaven and earth. In his aim to help readers understand their place in time and history, in 1569, Mercator published the first part of his synthesis, entitled Chronologia. In the years that followed, Mercator devoted much time to develop drawings and engraved plates for the maps of his new geography.

In his days, the major problem faced by mapmakers is how to project the globe on a flat map. Mercator, a diligent and unyielding trendsetter solved the problem by introducing a system that is known as the Mercator projection (used in ocean maps and modern Global Positioning System). In 1590, Mercator suffered a stroke that made it extremely difficult for him to continue his work. However, he still continued till he died at the age of 82 in 1594. His son Rumold completed his five unfinished maps and the completed collection of Mercator’s maps was published in 1595. It was the first collection of maps to bear the name atlas.

Today, whenever we consult an atlas or switch on a GPS, we are benefiting from the labours of Mercator, a trendsetter who programmed his life to seek to know his time and place in God’s creation. No wonder he called titled his study “The Goal of My Labour”.

What is your goal? What is your vision? What do you want to be remembered for? Map out your life today and live by the map, then you are great.