Ortelius, a Flemish cartographer, is believed to be one of the first persons to imagine the theory of continental drift - that continents were joined together before drifting apart to their present day positions. Born in Antwerp in 1527, Ortelius started working as a map engraver. He travelled extensively across Europe. In 1564 he published his first map, Typus Orbis Terrarum, an eight-leaved wall map of the world.
While aggregating his maps, Ortelius collected information from scientists, cartographers and geographers from across the world. He made it a point to add sources and names to the creators of the original maps.
The first edition of Theatrum Orbis Terrarum contained 53 maps. Till his death in 1598, 25 editions of the map had come out. The last edition of the atlas came out in 1612. The atlasappeared in Latin and was translated into Dutch, German, French, Spanish, and English.
Born on April 4, 1527, Ortelius was a true art scholar. He had read classical literature and history. Hence he was a keen learner of languages.
He could converse in Dutch, Greek, Latin, Italian, French, Spanish and also some German and English. He used to collect coins and have dealt in antiques, maps, and books.
He used to produce well-detailed maps, for he had developed an interest in learning about the evolution of understanding the earth's surface.
He was in fact born in the era of revolutions -- 16th century is famous for great revolutions, discoveries in the history.
The world was viewed under a new light; there were journeys of exploration, revolutionary inventions, and rediscovery of classical authors. The printing press was also a development of this era.
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