Gerardus Mercator

Mercator, Gerardus (Gerhard Kremer; 1512–94), geographer and cartographer best known for his world map. With this map Mercator introduced a new map projection, or method of transferring features of the earth's surface onto a flat sheet of paper. On a map using the so-called Mercator projection, the lines of latitude, which are equidistant on a globe, are drawn with increasing separation as their distance from the equator increases. While this exaggerates the sizes of areas as they move away from the equator, it preserves their shapes. Mercator's method is still in use today by navigators.

See also: Geography.