Gerard Mercator : his books and instruments

Graeve. Jan de

To day I would like to give you an overview of the library of GERARD MERCATOR or GERARD CREMER, born Rupelmonde 1515 and died in Duisburg 1694, one of the greatest surveyors of the 16th century, better known for his cartographic work. You all have studied his cartographie projection (still in use to-day in navigation on seas and in the airs) from 1569 when he published his system of increasing latitudes and in which a loxodrome becomes a straight line and as you know the shortest distance between two points is the straight line. It is just a bit more complicated when your surface is the sea on a spheroid globe

Event: XXIII International FIG Congress : Shaping the change

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