Joseph Fischer, S.J. (german: Josef Fischer; 19 March 1858 – 26 October 1944) was a German clergyman 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 ...

. Fischer had an eminently successful career as a cartographer, publishing old maps. In 1901, while he was investigating the Vikings' discovery of America, he accidentally discovered the long-lost map of Martin Waldseemüller, dated 1507. This map, which claims to update

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...

with the voyages of Amerigo Vespucci, is the first known to display the word ''

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

''. The map was purchased from its owner by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The libra ...

in 2001 for ten million dollars.

Biography

Early life and education

Fischer was born in Quadrath (Rhineland), son of Gustav Fischer (1826-1890) and Elizabeth (1819-1902). He was educated at the gymnasium in

Rheine Rheine () is a city in the district of Steinfurt in Westphalia, Germany. It is the largest city in the district and the location of Rheine Air Base. Geography Rheine is on the river Ems, approx. north of Münster, approx. west of Osnabrück a ...

and the universities of

Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state di ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol and the fifth-largest city in Austria. On the River Inn, at its junction with the Wipp Valley, which provides access to the Brenner Pass to the south, it had a p ...

and

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, and Jesuit scholasticates in the Netherlands, Austria and England. In 1881, he entered the

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

and was ordained to the priesthood in 1891. After 1895, he was professor of geography and history at Stella Matutina College, Feldkirch, Austria, where he taught until 1938.

Cartographer

Fischer's research encompassed Western geography and cartography from antiquity to early modern times. His special focus was on the maps of

and Martin Waldseemüller. His scientific achievements comprise the discoveries, starting in 1891, of the maps of Martin Waldseemüller of 1507 and 1516, and of

Jodocus Hondius Jodocus Hondius (Latinized version of his Dutch name: ''Joost de Hondt'') (17 October 1563 – 12 February 1612) was a Flemish and Dutch engraver and cartographer. He is sometimes called Jodocus Hondius the Elder to distinguish him from hi ...

in Schloss Wolfegg,

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Württ ...

. In 1903-04, and again in 1909-10, he visited

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

as a member of the Austrian Institute of Historical Studies for the purpose of cartographical research. After Stella Matutina College was closed by the Nazis in 1938, Fischer moved to Munich and afterwards in 1941 to Schloss Wolfegg, where he oversaw the archives until his death.

Awards and recognition

He was a recognized writer and won numerous awards at home and abroad: he was a member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, of the

Pontifical Academy of Archaeology The Pontifical Academy of Archaeology (''Pontificia Accademia Romana di Archeologia'') is an academic honorary society established in Rome by the Catholic Church for the advancement of Christian archaeological study. It is one of the ten such Pon ...

, honorary member of the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

, fellow of the

American Geographical Society The American Geographical Society (AGS) is an organization of professional geographers, founded in 1851 in New York City. Most fellows of the society are Americans, but among them have always been a significant number of fellows from around the ...

, awarded the

Carl Ritter Carl Ritter (August 7, 1779September 28, 1859) was a German geographer. Along with Alexander von Humboldt, he is considered one of the founders of modern geography. From 1825 until his death, he occupied the first chair in geography at the Univer ...

Silver Medal of the Geographical Society of Berlin (1933), and he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Innsbruck (1935). Fischer wrote a number of articles for the ''Catholic Encyclopedia''.

Vinland Map

Fischer’s knowledge of history, cartography and

palaeography Palaeography ( UK) or paleography ( US; ultimately from grc-gre, , ''palaiós'', "old", and , ''gráphein'', "to write") is the study of historic writing systems and the deciphering and dating of historical manuscripts, including the analysi ...

were the reasons that Norwegian-American writer and historian Kirsten A. Seaver considered him one of the candidates to have forged the

Vinland Map The Vinland Map was claimed to be a 15th-century mappa mundi with unique information about Norse exploration of North America but is now known to be a 20th-century forgery. The map first came to light in 1957 and was acquired by Yale University. ...

. This world map, which emerged in 1957, is supposedly a pre-Columbian map that shows a portion of North America (

Vinland Vinland, Vineland, or Winland ( non, Vínland ᚠᛁᚾᛚᛅᚾᛏ) was an area of coastal North America explored by Vikings. Leif Erikson landed there around 1000 AD, nearly five centuries before the voyages of Christopher Columbus and John ...

); the authenticity of the map has been questioned by many and Seaver’s investigation concluded that Fischer was the most probable author of the map. However, subsequent research into the provenance of the Vinland map documents suggests that they are unlikely to have spent any time in Fischer's possession. Robert Baier, a forensic handwriting analyst, examined the map text and correspondence of Fisher, and his opinion was that “they are not the same writer.”

Writings

His published works include: * ''Die Beziehungen Kaiser Rudolfs II zu Erzherzog Matthias bis zum Vertrage von Lieben'' * ''Der sogennante Schottwiener Vertrag vom Jahre 1600'' (1897) * ''Der Linzer Tag vom Jahre 1605 in seiner Bedeutung für die Österreichische Haus und Reichsgeschichte'' (1898) * * * ''Die älteste Karte mit dem Namen America A.D. 1507, und die Carta Marina aus dem Jahre 1516 des M. Waldseemüller'' (German and English eds., 1903) * * * He collaborated in ''Jahrbuch des historischen Vereins von Liechtenstein'' (1910) and contributed to the ''Innsbrucker theologische Zeitschrift'', ''Innsbrucker Fernandeums Zeitschrift'', ''Historical Records and Studies'', ''Göttinger Gelehrte Anzeigen'', ''

The Catholic Encyclopedia The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...

'', and ''Stimmen aus Maria-Laach''.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fischer, Joseph 1858 births 1944 deaths 19th-century German Jesuits 20th-century German Jesuits German cartographers Contributors to the Catholic Encyclopedia