Globes still unknown to science. "It looks like a globe." History of the globe Who created the globe at the end of the 15th century

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 spherical shape earth, that's why 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) for the purpose of visual representation geographical discoveries 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.

Be that as it may, the knowledge of the ancients gives confidence that the globes could have been made a long time ago. Martin Beheim had wise and skillful predecessors...

Quiet, cozy rooms of the National Museum. On the wall is a portrait of Behaim in knightly garb.

Martin is rightfully considered the first outstanding German traveler of world significance.

He was born in Nuremberg, probably on October 6, 1459, and died in Lisbon in 1507. Not much is known about his early years.

Obviously, Beheim received a good education, since, having arrived in Portugal in 1484, he was accepted into the highest naval department - the “Council of Mathematicians” ...

Appointed cartographer, he accompanied Diego Cahn on the Portuguese's second voyage along the west coast of Africa.

Boeheim's globe has long remained not only the most venerable in the world, but also the most meaningful. However, it does not stand up to modern criticism.

Behaim's original was an outdated map of the world, based largely on data from the ancient scientist Ptolemy.

The Portuguese discoveries of the 15th century were not taken into account on the globe, although Martin himself participated in them! However, it was not Beheim who drew the continents and islands on the “apple of the earth”, but the master Georg Glochendorf...

At one time, not knowing exactly which of the ancient globes belonged to Behaim, many scientists made curious mistakes.

Thus, Schöner’s globes, also made in Nuremberg, but later, in 1515 and 1520, were taken as “Beheim’s.” They are marked South America. Thanks to this, some believed that Martin sailed to the New World before Columbus!..

Having created in hometown his globe, famous for centuries, Beheim again went to Portugal. It is known that he continued to serve on the “council of mathematicians” and was in charge of preparing maps for future expeditions.

But still, why is the “earthly apple” so imperfect even for those times? German historians of geographical discoveries O. Peschel and T. Ruge pointed out that on the globe errors in determining latitudes reach 16°, while on other maps of the same time these errors rarely exceed 1°.

Consequently, "Behaim was a mediocre scientist and a poor cosmographer." Peschel and Ruge ironically remarked: “The Portuguese could derive little benefit from the learning of our fellow countryman”...

But Beheim, with his education, probably had access to all the then sources of geographical knowledge, both European and Arab! So the reasons for the “old-fashioned” nature of the Nuremberg “ball” remain mysterious...

Finally, I enter the room where the globe itself is kept. It is unexpectedly small, with a diameter of only 51 cm, and is covered by three metal arches, the lower parts of which turn into supports. The height of the entire structure is 133 cm.

The wooden base of the sphere is covered with parchment, on which Europe, Asia and Africa are depicted. Distortions are immediately visible, especially in the outlines of Africa. There are no both Americas, which is why the “earthly apple” seems one-sided; no Australia and Antarctica...

Half a millennium separates us from the time of the creation of Behaim's globe. All continents are open, “white spots” are marked on the map; hundreds artificial satellites They constantly monitor everything that happens on Earth, and the invisible Internet network connects people on different continents.

But, knowing all this, you still look at the small ball with a reverent feeling. Here it is, the one-sided Earth, as the Nuremberger Martin Beheim saw it... and all humanity of that time!

It's interesting to look at the world through the eyes of distant ancestors...

What is famous about the globe created by M. Beheim at the end of the 15th century

Answers:

Behaim's globe represents metal ball 507 mm in diameter, reflecting the knowledge of Europeans about the surrounding world at the end of the 15th century

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The globe is rotating model of the globe or other spherical celestial body, used as a visual teaching aid.

According to ancient sources, the first globe was made around 150 BC. ancient Greek philosopher Crates of Mallus, also known as Crates of Pergamon. Mentions of his globe can be found in the Greek scientists Strabo and Herminus. Strabo wrote that for a detailed and clear image of the Oikoumene (inhabited earth), the globe needed to be 10 feet in diameter. Geminus reported that Crates equipped his globe with a system of circles and placed an ocean between the tropics. From some indications of Strabo, it can be assumed that on the globe of Crates the main equatorial ocean was depicted, from which two meridional oceans emanated, which together divided the land into four parts. Known parts of the world (Asia, Africa and Europe) Crates named common name"Ecumene". A continent possibly located beyond Atlantic Ocean, received the name “Periocumene”, and the parts of the world inaccessible due to the equatorial heat zone were “Antoicumene” and “Antichthonous Continent”. The idea of ​​a four-part globe put forward by Crates predetermined ancient and Western European ideas about the world until the end of the Middle Ages.

The first globes depicting Earth, were made during the “golden age” of Islam (VIII-XIII centuries). The most famous is the globe created by the geographer Al-Mamun in the 9th century. And the globe, made by Jamal ad-Din in 1267, was later taken to Beijing.
The first real globe to survive to this day is the Earth Apple globe, made in Nuremberg by the German scientist Martin Beheim in 1493-1494.

There is evidence that the globe was intended as a model for subsequent printing, as well as to encourage merchants to finance expeditions. Nuremberg mathematics teacher Ruprecht Kohlberger covered a clay ball with cloth and covered it with glue. Then the Nuremberg artist and carver Georg Glockendon painted it, dividing it into 24 segments and designating two poles, using as a basis a map Beheim bought in Portugal.

Behaim's Globe is a metal ball 507 mm in diameter, reflecting European knowledge of the world at the end of the 15th century, including the discoveries of the Portuguese in West Africa. There is no New World on the globe, but Europe, most of Asia and Africa are present. Eurasia is presented too elongated, and the location of Africa is inaccurate. The map does not indicate latitude and longitude for modern method, but there is the equator, meridians, tropics and images of the zodiac signs. Also on the globe are brief descriptions various countries and images of their inhabitants. The Earth's Apple map does not take into account the results of Columbus's voyage, since he returned to Europe no earlier than March 1493, and the existence of America as a separate continent was proven by Amerigo Vespucci about 20 years later.

The globe quickly became one of the city's landmarks and until the 16th century was exhibited in the reception hall of the Nuremberg Town Hall. Then it came into the possession of the Beheim family, and since 1907 it has been exhibited in the German Museum national museum Nuremberg.

Another globe, created at the end of the 15th century before the discovery of America, is known under the name of Laonian. It was accidentally found by an antiquarian dealer in Laon in 1860 and was later described by d'Avezak. The globe had 170 mm in diameter, was carved on copper and gilded.


America first appears on the globe of the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller in 1507. This globe has not survived to this day.



The second oldest surviving globe is the Hunt-Lenox globe. The author of the globe is unknown. The globe dates from 1510. The globe has 112 mm in diameter and is made of copper. It was purchasedin Paris in 1855 architect Richard Hunt, who gave it to the American philanthropist James Lenox, whose collection became part of the New York Public Library, where the globe is now kept.


Just like Beheim's globe, Hunt-Lenox's globe shows only one ocean between Europe and Asia. In addition, the globe is interesting because the image East Asia Latin phrase applied : " HC SVNT DRACONES" (His sunt dracones - dragons live here).
Another oldest globe is the Jagiellonian Globe. The globe was made in France around 1510 and was purchased at the end of the 18th century for the Krakow Observatory of the Jagiellonian University. According to some sources, this globe is the oldest on which the outlines of America are depicted.

What is the ancient Behaim globe famous for, who created it, when, and where, and 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 is not on the globe, because in those days they simply were not discovered. 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, the globe has an equator and meridians; the shape of the European continent more or less corresponds to the real one. For that time it was a big breakthrough, no wonder the Germans are very proud of their celebrity. The exhibit itself evokes a very reverent feeling, especially if you imagine how many hands 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.

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