Johann Baptist Homann (20 March 1664 – 1 July 1724) was a German

geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...

and

cartographer Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an im ...

, who also made maps of the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

Life

Homann was born in Oberkammlach near

Kammlach Kammlach is a municipality in the district of Unterallgäu in Bavaria, Germany. The town has a municipal association with Erkheim Erkheim is a municipality in the district of Unterallgäu in Bavaria, Germany. Politics Mayors: * 2002–2008: ...

in the

Electorate of Bavaria The Electorate of Bavaria (german: Kurfürstentum Bayern) was an independent hereditary electorate of the Holy Roman Empire from 1623 to 1806, when it was succeeded by the Kingdom of Bavaria. The Wittelsbach dynasty which ruled the Duchy of Ba ...

. Although educated at a

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

school, and preparing for an ecclesiastical career, he eventually converted to

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

and from 1687 worked as a

civil law notary Civil-law notaries, or Latin notaries, are lawyers of noncontentious private civil law who draft, take, and record legal instruments for private parties, provide legal advice and give attendance in person, and are vested as public officers wit ...

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

. He soon turned to

engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a Burin (engraving), burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or Glass engraving, glass ...

and cartography; in 1702 he founded his own publishing house. Homann acquired renown as a leading German cartographer, and in 1715 was appointed Imperial Geographer by Emperor Charles VI. Giving such privileges to individuals was an added right that the

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...

enjoyed. In the same year he was also named a member of the

Prussian Academy of Sciences The Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences (german: Königlich-Preußische Akademie der Wissenschaften) was an academy established in Berlin, Germany on 11 July 1700, four years after the Prussian Academy of Arts, or "Arts Academy," to which "Berlin ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. Of particular significance to cartography were the imperial printing privileges (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

: ''privilegia impressoria''). These protected for a time the authors in all scientific fields such as printers,

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

engravers, map makers and publishers. They were also very important as a recommendation for potential customers. In 1716 Homann published his masterpiece ''Grosser Atlas ueber die ganze Welt'' (Grand Atlas of all the World). Numerous maps were drawn up in cooperation with the engraver

Christoph Weigel the Elder Johann Christoph Weigel, known as Christoph Weigel the Elder (9 November 1654 – 5 February 1725), was a German engraver, art dealer and publisher. He was born at Redwitz, Free imperial city of Eger in Egerland, and died in Nuremberg Nurem ...

, who also published ''

Siebmachers Wappenbuch ''Siebmachers Wappenbuch'' () is a roll of arms first published in 1605 as two heraldic multivolume book series of armorial bearings or coats of arms of the nobility of the Holy Roman Empire, as well as coats of arms of city-states and some bur ...

''. Homann died in Nuremberg in 1724. He was succeeded by his son Johann Christoph (1703-1730). The company carried on upon his death as ''Homann heirs'' company, managed by Johann Michael Franz and Johann Georg Ebersberger. After subsequent changes in management the company folded in 1852. The company was known as "Homann Erben", "Homanniani Heredes", or "Heritiers de Homann" abroad. File:Virginia Marylandia et Carolina by Johann Baptist Homann.jpg, ''Virginia Marylandia et Carolina'', c. 1714. File:1730 Homann Map of Scandinavia, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and the Baltics - Geographicus - Scandinavia-homann-1730.jpg, ''Homann Map of Scandinavia, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and the Baltics'', dated around 1730. File:Homann Planiglobii Terrestris Cumutroq Hemisphaerio Caelesti Generalis Exhibitio 1707 UTA.jpg, ''Planiglobii Terrestris Cum Utroq eHemisphærio Cælesti Generalis Exhibitio'', Nürnberg, 1707. File:Homann Amplissimae Regionis Mississipi c. 1720 UTA.jpg, ''Amplissimae Regionis Mississipi'', circa 1720 File:1725 Homann Map of the Caspian Sea and Kamchatka (as Yedso) - Geographicus - CaspianKamchatka-homann-1725.jpg, ''Homann Map of the Caspian Sea and Kamchatka'', from 1725. File:Homann Schlarraffenlandes 1694 Cornell CUL PJM 1015 01.jpg, ''Schlarraffenlandes'', 1694.

References

* ''Auserlesene und allerneueste Landkarten: der Verlag Homann in Nürnberg 1702–1848: eine Ausstellung des Stadtarchivs Nürnberg und der Museen der Stadt Nürnberg mit Unterstützung der Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin-Preussischer Kulturbesitz im Stadtmuseum Fembohaus vom 19. September bis 24. November 2002''. Hrsg. von Michael Diefenbacher, Markus Heinz und Ruth Bach-Damaskinos. Nürnberg: Tümmels, 2002. (''Ausstellungskatalog des Stadtarchivs Nürnberg'', Nr. 14). * Christian Sandler (1886, 1890, 1905, Reprints 2001–2002) (biography section considered outdated)

External links

* Maps of Homann in Denmar
online
from the ''Royal Danish Library''.
Different Views of the Major Cities in Persia
by Johann Homann {{DEFAULTSORT:Homann, Johann 1664 births 1724 deaths People from Unterallgäu German cartographers German geographers German Lutherans Members of the Prussian Academy of Sciences