Gerardus Mercator

High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Gerardus Mercator (5 March 1512 - 2 December 1594) was a cartographer, born in Rupelmonde in the Hapsburg County of Flanders, part of the Holy Roman Empire. He is remembered for the Mercator projection world map, which is named after him. This proved very useful to many later navigators who could (using his map) sail across the entire ocean on approximately straight paths (called rhumb lines). He died in Duisburg.