WORLD MAP MEDAL |
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Halliday, T.?: USA, c.1820, White Metal, 74 mm The projection system used on this medal was originally created by the Dutch cartographer Gerard Mercator, the man best known for the Mercator Projection. Gerard Mercator was born in Rupelmonde, Flanders, in 1512, and in his 80 years of life, he fundamentally changed the way people looked at maps and at the world. In 1569, Mercator unveiled his famous projection, a new way of making a map that was designed to show accurate distances between various points. Like so many other scientists of the period, Mercator was persecuted for his religious beliefs. His inclination towards Protestantism caused him to move for a time from Louvain to Antwerp, partly to avoid inquiry into his religious beliefs, but in 1544 he was arrested and prosecuted for heresy. Though he himself escaped serious consequences, two of the forty-two arrested with him were burnt, one beheaded, and two buried alive. This map medal has a projection system similar to that made by the grandson of Gerard Mercator, Michael Mercator, commemorating Sir Francis Drake's voyage (1577-1580). LINK to medal commemorating the Voyage of Sir Francis Drake (From National Maritime Museum) LINK to Mercator Silver Medal of the World residing at the Library of Congress LINK to Biography of Gerard Mercator (from NNDB) LINK to Biography of Gerard Mercator (from Mark Monmonier)
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