What is he famous for? ancient globe Behaima, who created it, when, and where, and also who came up with the idea to create a round Earth? Around 1492, Martin Beheim introduced the world to the first globe, which was a metal circle with a diameter of 507 millimeters. Behaim's globe is famous for being the first model of the Earth; it contains a fairly accurate map of Europe, Asia and Africa. West Africa and America are not on the globe because they were simply not discovered at that time. Many contemporaries are mistakenly of the opinion that Martin Beheim became famous for being the first to suggest that the Earth is spherical. But in fact, this assumption was made by Pythagoras in the 6th century BC.
What is Bayham's globe famous for?
- This is the first globe to survive;
- This is a globe with an equator and meridians;
- The globe contains information about ancient life and astronomy;
- Major continents present;
- The globe has been rotating for 525 years and is perfectly preserved.
Currently, Beheim's globe is located in Nuremberg, in the German National Museum. The product is perfectly preserved; on the Internet you can find maps from this globe, which clearly show what stage humanity was at in the 15th century. There is also a large number of inscriptions on the globe, this is a real outline of the text with references to historical discoveries, for example, Marco Polo. The mention of this traveler, by the way, may indicate that the date of manufacture of the globe is greatly underestimated. Scientists are inclined to believe that Behaim's globe was actually made in the 17th century, or even in a later period. On the other hand, the inscriptions could have been made later.
The proportionality of Beheim's globe map is not true. However, there is an equator and meridians on the globe, the shape of the European continent more or less corresponds to the real one. For that time it was a big breakthrough, it is no wonder that the Germans are very proud of their celebrity.
The exhibit itself evokes a very reverent feeling, especially if you imagine how many hands famous people touched this Earthly Apple. In addition, the darkened globe looks like a real work of art, and the manufacturing method is highly respected.
Of course, it is possible that before Beheim’s globe there were other similar models of the Earth in the shape of a ball, but it is this particular specimen that has survived to this day. Many modern museums have copies of this globe. Also, anyone can buy a copy of Beheim's globe for their home, or a smaller miniature as a souvenir.
Some parapsychologists are also inclined to be of the opinion that this globe has some kind of magical power. Moreover, it partially depicts the signs of the Zodiac.
Each of us has seen a globe at least once in our lives, in a store or in a school closet. A globe, according to S.I. Ozhegov’s dictionary, is “ visual material- rotating model globe or other spherical celestial body."
More precisely, a globe is an image of a map applied to a spherical surface that repeats approximate form Earth, preserving the similarity of contours and areas.
The globe has been created since ancient times. Among ancient writers one can find references to Crates of Mallus, who around 150 BC. ago created the “globe of the earth.”
But still, the oldest globe that has survived to our times is the “earth apple”, which was created by Martin Beheim in 1492, a German geographer from Nuremberg. It is he who is considered the creator of the globe. Martin Beheim was an outstanding scientist in Germany in the 15th century.
He gained his knowledge from sea expeditions and from the great astronomers of that time. When working on the “apple”, Martin used materials famous traveler Mark Polo and the Portuguese with whom he sailed along the coast of West Africa in 1484.
He subsequently received the position of court cartographer and astronomer in Lisbon, and it was to him that Christopher Columbus came for advice before his main discovery.
In 1490, finding himself in his hometown of Nuremberg, Martin met a lover of travel and geographical science, Georg Holzschuer, a member of the city council.
Georg was inspired by Beheim's stories about his African expedition and persuaded him to create a globe that would display all the knowledge of that modern cartography. At that time, this was a truly great discovery.
Work on the globe or the “Earthly Apple,” as the scientist himself called it, dragged on for four whole years. The metal ball, covered with parchment, was painted by a local artist from maps that Behaim gave him.
The boundaries of states and seas, as well as the coats of arms and flags of many countries, as well as elements starry sky, equator, meridians, south and north poles.
But of course, the accuracy of this globe cannot be judged, since it was based on ancient Greek knowledge about the world. Therefore, all locations of land objects on it are very approximate. Also, America is not depicted on this globe, since when the globe was finished, Columbus had not yet returned from his journey.
Subsequently, the globes were transformed, changed, and new knowledge brought from sea expeditions, simple travels or research by great scientists was added to the images on it. But it was Martin Behaim's globe that became the main prototype for modern globes.
And yet, the “Earth Apple” is a unique exhibit, a landmark of the Nuremberg German National Museum. It is there that it is still kept.
Many inquisitive people, wanting to find out who created the first globe, go to Wikipedia, leaf through encyclopedias, study reference books and come to the conclusion that this geographical instrument was originally made in Ancient Greece by the ancient philosopher Crates of Mallus. If you ask the same question to a specialist, he will “without hesitation” answer with confidence that the Globus navigation system was first used in the Soviet Union in 1961 during the landing of descent vehicles spaceships"East". Therefore, before finding out who created the first globe, it is necessary to decide what subject we're talking about– heavenly or earthly, about the surviving model or semi-legendary rumors about it.
Oral legends about who created the first globe
According to the officially recognized version, the first model of the spherical Earth was created by Crates of Mallus (Pergamon), who became famous in antiquity for his comments on Homer, writing “Correction of the Iliad and Odyssey.” At that time, there were disputes about the shape of our planet, and despite the fact that heretics were not persecuted at that time, the first globe in the form of a painted ball was greeted by contemporaries quite skeptically.
In Muslim literature, this invention is attributed to Jamal ad-Din, an astronomer from Bukhara, who, on the orders of Genghis Khan’s grandson Hulagu Khan, produced an armillary sphere, an astrolabe and a model of a globe in Beijing in 1267 as a gift to another Genghisid, Kublai Khan.
Unfortunately, only meager descriptions of these objects have survived to this day, without their images and indications of what was applied to the surface of the ball.
Surviving early globes
The oldest globe that has survived to this day is in the German National Museum (Nuremberg). It was created in 1493 - 1494 and was called the “Earthly Apple” (“Erdapfel”). It was later renamed the “Behaim Globe” after its creator, the German merchant Martin Behaim. When applying the cartographic situation on the surface of the copper ball, Ptolemy's maps as edited by Paolo Toscanelli were used. There is no image of the American continent on the globe, since its independence was proven by Amerigo Vespucci only 20 years after the creation of this instrument.
No less interesting is the question of who was the first globe depicting the celestial sphere. The authorship is attributed to the Indian metallurgist Muhammad Salih Tatawi, who cast it in India on the orders of one of the rulers of the Mughal dynasty.
The invention of the globe is one of the greatest geographical discoveries. With its help, it is easier to remember the locations of continents and oceans, islands and seas, tropical forests and icy deserts. This item was created and improved by many scientists around the world. It has its own history, interesting and very ancient.
History of the globe
On Latin, globe means ball. We came up with it twice. The first time the inventor was attracted by love was not geography at all, but poetry, and this happened before our era, in the 2nd century.
Who invented the globe? The philosopher and philologist, Crates of Malos, could listen to the poem “Odyssey” all day long, and then plot the routes of the main character on the map. But this was not enough for Crates, because at that time it was already known that the earth has round shape. He took and painted the ball. It was he who first invented the globe.
This globe corresponded to the level of knowledge of that time, but still it was a real globe. Contemporaries appreciated his invention, but after a few centuries, descendants forgot Crates's globe.
Secondly, a copy of the earth was invented in 1492 in the city of Nuremberg. It was created with the aim of visually showing the geographical discoveries of Portuguese sailors.
The title of inventor was awarded to the scientist Martin Behaim. This globe was called the “Earthly Apple” - a metal ball no more than half a meter in diameter. There was no America on it yet, since the discovery of Columbus took place much later. There were no indications of latitude and longitude, but there were meridians and tropics, as well as short description countries Now the very first globe is carefully kept in the Nuremberg Museum.
A great many globes of the most unexpected sizes have been created from different materials and designs. But there are two instances that cannot be ignored.
The largest globe in the world
A giant globe with the name Eartha was created by DeLorme, a company that develops maps and GPS navigation systems. Its diameter is 12.6 meters, which is comparable to a four-story building. This creation is located in the USA, in the city of Yarmouth.
The globe consists of 792 map fragments. All of them are secured with hidden bolts on a huge frame constructed from 6 thousand aluminum pipes. But its highlight is not only its scale. It is housed in a glass building, and at night it is illuminated from the inside - it is a truly memorable sight.
On weekdays, anyone can take a picture of themselves against the backdrop of a huge world map. In addition, the masterpiece is listed in the Guinness Book of Records.
America's Oldest Globe
Scientists have found that the globe is made from two halves of an ostrich egg, glued together with a natural polymer (shellac). The map is cut out on eggshells, and the carving itself is covered with blue paint. It was not possible to accurately identify the creator; there were no signatures on the item. Researchers suggest that the globe is related to the workshop of Leonardo da Vinci. There are sketches that are reminiscent of his work. It depicts: continents signed in Latin, various animals and even a shipwrecked sailor.
Map collector and philologist Dr. Missinet dates the find to 1504. And according to him, this globe is the first of those on which America was marked, and which has survived to this day.
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, icy deserts, etc. Subsequently, this amazing object was improved by numerous scientists around the world. It has its own ancient and quite fascinating history.
Who created the first globe? Passions still rage around this invention.
What is a globe?
Globe from the Latin word globus means ball.
This is an image of a map on the surface of a ball, preserving the similarity of the contours and the ratio of sizes (areas). There are different geographical globes that display the surface of the Earth, the lunar surface, celestial globes etc.
Before the idea of a spherical object appeared, the first celestial globes had already been created. These spherical images of the starry sky were already known in Ancient Egypt.
History of the globe
The first globe appeared before our era (2nd century), and it was created by one inventor who was very fond of poetry. It was a learned philologist-philosopher named Crates of Malos. He could listen to the poem “The Odyssey” for days, and often after listening to it, he would plot on the map all the routes he had walked. main character. And at that time it was already known about the spherical shape of the earth, so he painted the ball.
Although this object corresponded to the level of knowledge of those times, it was a real globe. It was well 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 Nuremberg (Germany) with the purpose of visual image geographical discoveries of Portuguese sailors. Thus, the scientist 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 more than 50 cm in diameter. It should be noted that the continent of America was not yet on it, due to its discovery by Columbus at a later time. Also, there were no latitudes and longitudes on the globe yet, but there were tropics and meridians, and there was a short description of the countries. Now the first globe (1492) is kept in the Nuremberg Museum.
From those ancient times to the present day, a large number of the most unique, even unexpected, globes have been created, with amazing sizes, designs and materials. But two of these specimens cannot be ignored here: the largest and the most unusual and the oldest.
Who created the first globe - the largest in the world
The American company DeLorme has created a giant globe called Eartha. This organization develops maps and GPS navigation systems.
The diameter of the globe is 12.6 meters, which is the height of a 4-story building. Now this unique creation is located in the city of Yarmouth in America.
The giant globe consists of 792 map fragments fastened together with hidden bolts on a large frame. The last element was constructed from 6 thousand aluminum pipes. The special feature of this magnificent structure is that it is housed in a glass building and is illuminated from the inside, which gives it an extraordinary appearance.
This masterpiece is included in the Guinness Book of Records.
American oldest globe
Who created the first globe in America? The next similar item described here is also the oldest.
Scientists have established that it is made from halves of an ostrich egg glued together with shellac (a natural polymer). The card itself is carved into the shell.
But to the question of who created the first globe depicting America, we can answer that this is unknown. Why?
The globe, made from 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 of any signs or signatures on the object.
Scientists have an assumption that this globe was created in the workshop of Leonardo da Vinci, since there are certain sketches characteristic of the works of the great artist. This item depicts continents signed in Latin, various animals, and even a man-sailor who was shipwrecked.
Dr. Missinet (philologist and map collector) believes that the find dates back to 1504.
Celestial globe
Who created the first celestial globe? Many versions exist. For example, in Naples there is a statue of Atlas (marble), dating back to the 3rd century BC. On his shoulders the hero holds a sphere with the image of constellations. There is an opinion that it also has a prototype - 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. This means that there are still many reasons for controversy on this matter.
