One of the greatest discoveries in geography is the invention of the globe, with the help of which it is easier to remember the location of oceans, seas, continents, islands, tropical forests, ice deserts, etc. Subsequently, this amazing subject has been improved by numerous scientists all over the world. He has his own ancient and rather fascinating history.
Who created the first globe? Around this invention, passions still boil.
What is a globe?
The globe from the Latin word globus means ball.
This image of the map on the surface of the ball, preserving the similarity of the contours and the ratio of sizes (areas). There are geographical globes that display the surface of the Earth, the lunar surface, celestial globes, etc.
Before the idea of the spherical shape of the Earth appeared, the first celestial globes were already created. These spherical images of the starry sky were already known in ancient Egypt.
Globe History
The first globe appeared even before our era (II-century), and it was created by one inventor who was very fond of poetry. It was a learned philologist and philosopher named Krates Malosky. For days he could listen to the poem "Odyssey", and often after listening to it, he plotted on the map all the routes along which the protagonist walked. And at that time it was already known about the spherical shape of the earth, so he painted the ball.
Although this subject corresponded to the level of knowledge of those times, it was a real globe. He was perfectly appreciated by his contemporaries, but for several centuries, who was the author of the first globe was forgotten.
In 1492, another globe was created in the city of Nuremberg (Germany) with the goal of visualizing the geographical discoveries of Portuguese sailors. Thus, the scientist Martin Beheim received the title of the first inventor of the globe.
That globe was called the "Earth apple." It represented a ball made of metal, no larger than 50 cm in diameter. It should be noted that the continent of America was still absent on it, in connection with its discovery by Columbus at a later time. Also on the globe there were no latitudes and longitudes, however, there were tropics and meridians, and there was a short description of countries. Now the first globe (1492) is stored in the Nuremberg Museum.
Since that time to the present day, a large number of the most unique, even unexpected, globes have been created, which have amazing sizes, designs and materials. But two of these specimens cannot be omitted here: the largest and most unusual and oldest.
Who created the first globe - the largest in the world
The American company DeLorme has created a giant globe Eartha. This organization is developing maps and GPS navigation systems.
The diameter of the globe is 12.6 meters, which is the height of a 4-storey building. Now this unique creation is located in the city of Yarmouth in America.
The giant globe is a 792 fragment of a map fixed between itself by hidden bolts on a large frame. The last element was built from 6 thousand aluminum pipes. The peculiarity of this magnificent building is also that it is placed in a glass building and is illuminated from the inside, which gives it an unusual look.
This masterpiece is listed in the Guinness Book of Records.
American oldest globe
Who created the first globe in America? The following similar item described here is also the oldest.
It was established by scientists that it is made of halves of an ostrich egg glued with shellac (natural polymer). The card itself is carved on the shell.
But the question of who created the first globe with the image of America, you can answer that this is unknown. Why?
The globe of a huge ostrich egg is the first to depict America, and it has survived to this day. But it was not possible to establish the exact date and its creator, due to the absence on the subject of any signs and signatures.
Scientists have the assumption that this globe was created in the workshop of Leonardo da Vinci, as there are certain sketches inherent in the works of the great artist. Depicted on this subject are continents signed in Latin, various animals, and even a man-sailor who crashed.
Dr. Missine (philologist and card collector) believes that the find dates back to 1504.
Sky globe
Who created the first celestial globe? Many versions exist. For example, in Naples there is a statue of Atlanta (marble), dated to the 3rd century BC. On his shoulders the hero holds a sphere with the image of constellations. There is an opinion that he also has a type - the globe of Eudoxus of Cnidus (Greek astronomer).
However, existing information about the existence of Earth globes in the ancient period is not entirely reliable. So, there are still many reasons for disputes about this.