Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1892-06-16
Gerard Mercator.

Gerard MercatOr.
Gerard Mercator. whose real name
was Kremer, which according to the
fashion OF the day, he translated into
Latin, was born in 1912 at a small
town in Flanders, where his parents,
who were Germans, were staying for
time. He was educated at school OF
Christian Brothers at Herzogenbusch,
anu there laid the foundation OF that
piety for which he was afterwards so
| distinguished. Later he studied at
the University OF Louvain, AMI after
obtaining his bachelors degree he left
that institution and taught mathe.
mates in the schools. Soon after his
marriage at the age OF twenty-four he
turned his attention to practical me.
| chanical works; be learned how to en-
grave maps, and as the fruit OF the
Biblical labors he published in 1887 q
map OF Palestine.
AS the Gothic characters, then al.
ways used in printing, were unsuited
to maps, Mercator adopted the Latin
characters, which since then have been
generally used in all maps. His me.
chanicel labors, too, found a favor
able reception, and fine globes as we'll
as other works of art which he con.
structed for the Regent Granvella, as
well as for the Emperor Charles ",
proved his extraordinary talent in
his department.
In q letter which Mercator wrote to
the Bisnop OF Arras in 1915, he ex.
planned the variations OF the magnetic
needle. which Columbus had observed
in 1892, but which had never before
been clearly understood. twas Merca.
tor, too, who laid the foundations OF
the DRY Of the magnetism OF the earth,
and calculated the situation OF the
magnetic pole, the fixed position OF
which ne considered OF great impor.
lance.
In 1859 be lett Louvain and settled
at Duisburg in Germany, where most
OF his great works were undertaken.
The first of these was his large map OF
Europe, which gained him lame as the
first geographer OF his day. For three
years he was teacher OF mathematics
in the University OF Dulsburg, and his
renown continued to spread. When in
1854 the Duke OF Lorraine wished his
country surveyed and map OF it
drawn, he sent for the celebrated Duis.
burg geographer.
Mercator was q most versatile man;
be WAS all astronomer, q chronologian,
q writer OF history and theology,
draughtman OF maps. an eugraver on
copper, q mechanic and q mathema.
tician. But he considered all shese
branches OF knowledge only 80 founda.
tion.stones for his "Cosmograpny,"
which was to be complete history OF
the heavens, the earth and the human
race, but of which only one portion
the Chronology-appeared.
Mercator's publication OF his map
of the world in 1869 was an era in the
history OF geography and navigation.
In the letter press which was published
with his map, Mercator explain
ed the principles on which it
was drawn, with a view to
spread out the globe as fit were in
reality fat surface, so that the posi-
ton OF all the different points should
not only be correct according tolati.
tude and longitude, but also as regard.
ed their relative positions, and that
the shape OF the various countries
should be as similar to those on the
globe as it was possible to make them.
To effect this, he gradually enlarged
the distance between the degrees OF
latitude as they approached the poles,
diminishing them as they neared the
| equator.
Mercator continued to work on
bravely. Everything which he did
bore the stamp OF genius. For a
quarter OF a century he labored in the
production OF collection OF maps OF
all the countries in the world, but he
did not live to see it completed.
he died in 1894, at the age OF eighty
two, and was buried in the church Of
St. Saviour at Duisburg. His son
Romoldus completed the collection OF
maps, and published it in 1894, under
the title OF "Atlas." This was the
title which his father had chosen for
his work, and it has ever since been
universally applied to books OF maps.