Andreas Cellarius (–1665) was a Dutch–German
cartographer and
cosmographer
The term cosmography has two distinct meanings: traditionally it has been the protoscience of mapping the general features of the cosmos, heaven and Earth; more recently, it has been used to describe the ongoing effort to determine the large-scal ...
best known for his 1660 ''
Harmonia Macrocosmica
The ''Harmonia Macrocosmica'' is a star atlas written by Andreas Cellarius and published in 1660 by Johannes Janssonius. The first part of the atlas contains copper plate prints depicting the world systems of Claudius Ptolemy, Nicolaus Coper ...
'', a major
star atlas
Celestial cartography, uranography,
astrography or star cartography is the aspect of astronomy and branch of cartography concerned with mapping stars, galaxies, and other astronomical objects on the celestial sphere. Measuring the position ...
.
Life
He was born in
Neuhausen, and was educated in
Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
. The Protestant Cellarius may have left Heidelberg at the onset of the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...
in 1618 or in 1622, when the city came in Catholic hands. His activities are unclear at this time but based on his later works it is conjectured that he spent time in Poland where he may have worked as a military engineer.
In 1625, he married Catharina Eltemans in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
, where he worked as school master of a Latin school. After a brief stay in
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...
, the family moved to
Hoorn. From 1637 until his death, he was rector of the Latin School in Hoorn, where
Pieter Anthoniszoon Overtwater was conrector.
The minor planet
12618 Cellarius is named in his honour.
See also
*
Dutch celestial cartography in the Age of Discovery
The history of cartography refers to the development and consequences of cartography, or mapmaking technology, throughout human history. Maps have been one of the most important human inventions for millennia, allowing humans to explain and navig ...
References
External links
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17th-century Dutch cartographers
1590s births
1665 deaths
Dutch celestial cartography in the Age of Discovery
Astronomy in the Dutch Republic
German geographers
German Protestants
People from Hoorn
People from Worms, Germany
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