Johannes Gigas (cartographer)

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Johannes Gigas: Map of the Principality of Paderborn

Johannes Michael Gigas ( Graecized , actually giant ; * 1582 in Lügde , Prince Diocese of Paderborn , † 1637 in Münster ) was a German cartographer , physician ( personal physician to Elector Ferdinand I of Bavaria ), mathematician and physicist .

Life

Gigas completed his first studies from 1597 to 1600 at the University of Helmstedt , further studies followed in Wittenberg and Basel . On September 25, 1603, he married Maria von Dorsten at the age of 21. On September 25, 1603 he was awarded his doctorate in medicine in Basel, his dissertation dealt with the dysentery. In 1607 he became a professor of mathematics and medicine at the high school in Burgsteinfurt , where he also gave lectures on physics. He also worked at the university pharmacy, but resigned from office in 1614, possibly for financial reasons. Gigas moved to Münster, where he converted to Catholicism and became the bishop's personal physician; he treated numerous well-known personalities, including the military leader of the Catholic League and later successor of Wallenstein Tilly .

His first calendar was published in 1610. He developed a method of land surveying and was the first to make true-to-scale maps. His quadrant land surveys were very accurate. So he calculated the circumference of the earth to be 38,642 km. His measurement error was only 1300 km, which was very good given the possibilities at the time. His two-volume handbook of the globe "Enchiridion Sphaericum" , a work on the beginnings of the description of the world, was published in Hanau in 1615 . In 1664 it was also published by Oxford University . From 1616 he published maps of individual Westphalian territories in quick succession, the neat drawing of which was partly based on his own measurements and which impressed with their artistic presentation. His Cologne atlas Prodromus Geographicus contains nine maps and was published in 1620. He dedicated it to the Elector and Archbishop of Cologne , Ferdinand I.

Gigas envisioned a world atlas as the ultimate goal of his work - a utopian plan that far exceeded the powers of any individual. Because he saw this, he soon lost interest in cartographic work. Medical practice and calendar making filled the rest of his life.

Johannes Gigas died in Münster in 1637.

output

  • Johannes Gigas: New description of the Archdiocese of Cologne and its adjacent areas. Prodromus Geographicus hoc est archiepiscopatus Coloniensis annexarumque et vicinarum aliquot regionum descriptio nova. The first atlas of North Rhine-Westphalia. 7 maps and 9 city views from the year 1620. Edited as a reprint, explained and commented on by Werner Bergmann, Henselowsky Boschmann Verlag , Bottrop 2012, ISBN 978-3-942094-28-3 .

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personal data
SURNAME Gigas, Johannes
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gigas, Johannes Michael (full name); Giant, Johannes (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German cartographer, physician (personal physician to Elector Ferdinand I of Bavaria), mathematician and physicist
DATE OF BIRTH 1582
PLACE OF BIRTH Lügde , Principality of Paderborn
DATE OF DEATH 1637
Place of death Muenster