Adolf Stieler (26 February 177513 March 1836) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

cartographer Cartography (; from , '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 imagined reality) can ...

and

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

who worked most of his life in the Justus Perthes Geographical Institute in

Gotha Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine Wettins from 1640 until the ...

. Although he studied law and would serve in government for his entire career, he maintained an interest in cartography and published many famous works. His Handatlas was the leading German world atlas until the middle of the 20th century.

Education and government career

Stieler spent much of his early youth in Gotha, where his father was the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

. In his adolescence, he showed an affinity for map-making, an interest he maintained throughout his adult life. However, he studied law at the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The university was established in 1558 and is cou ...

and the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...

from 1793 to 1796. He served as a legation councillor in Gotha from 1813 to 1829, and served the remainder of his career as a counsel to the local government until his retirement in 1835.

Works and adult life

Cartography

Stieler's cartographic career began with a position as a geography teacher at a girls' school in Gotha. However, he began work with

Franz Xaver von Zach Baron Franz Xaver von Zach (''Franz Xaver Freiherr von Zach''; 4 June 1754 – 2 September 1832) was an Austrian astronomer born at Pest, Hungary (now Budapest in Hungary). Biography Zach studied physics at the Royal University of Pest, and ...

, the director of the Gotha Observatory. His works during this period include publishing cartographic representations of a number of von Zach's observations. Such illustrations were completed in von Zach's "Allgemeinen Geographischen Ephemeriden" or "General Geographical Ephemeris," published in 1798. In 1804, Stieler worked in the Geographical Institute of Weimar, continuing his goal of starting a geographical publishing business. He also produced a number of regional and international maps. With von Zach, Stieler published his "Atlas Gaspari," which included maps of many European nations, including

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. In 1806, his map of the East Indies was published. Later he would publish a 25 sheet military map of Germany that was part of a larger 204 sheet work. His maps were well known for their inclusion of new information from exploration and culture. He also incorporated a "System der fortwährenden Modernisierung," or "System of Ongoing Modernization," in his map creation and issuing. However, he began work on his most famous and long-lasting work, the Handatlas, in 1816 after a long hiatus from cartographic work. By 1826, when he completed the Handatlas, his career was nearing its end. His 1836 map of Germany would remain unfinished.

Other works and later life

In addition to his contributions to cartography and law, Stieler also proposed mathematical methods in the

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to protect ...

industry. He founded an insurance bank in 1828 with merchant and founder of Gothaer Versicherungsbank, Ernst-Wilhelm Arnoldi. Stieler died on March 13, 1836, in Gotha.

Legacy

Stieler had a significant impact on his contemporaries. Johann Christoph Bär, a

protégé Mentorship is the patronage, influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the perso ...

of Stieler's who also worked at the Justus Perthes Institute, continued much of Stieler's work after his death. Stieler's "System der fortwährenden Modernisierung" for maps was incorporated into Bär's Handatlas, completed with fellow cartographer Johann Friedrich von Stülpnagel. Bär's 1833 "Das Herzogthum Gotha und umliegende Länder" (The Duchy of Gotha and Surrounding Lands) also explained much of Stieler's style. Stülpnagel also supervised the completion of an edition of Stielers Handatlas. The Handatlas became one of his most recognized and long-lasting works. Editions remained in print as late as 1945. Other works by Stieler also remained in print. The ''Neue Kriegskarte'', to which he contributed, had an edition in print as late as 1904.

Gallery

Image:India and Inner Asia.jpg, Map of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

, Stieler's Atlas. Image:Stielers Handatlas 1891 59.jpg, Map of

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

and

Turan Turan (; ; , , ) is a historical region in Central Asia. The term is of Iranian origin and may refer to a particular prehistoric human settlement, a historic geographical region, or a culture. The original Turanians were an Iranian tribe of th ...

, Stieler's Atlas. File:StielerWorld.jpeg, A mercator projection map of the World by Stieler. File:Stieler, Adolf. Das Mittellandische Meer Und Nord-Afrika. 1875 BE.jpg, Map of

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

by Stieler

References

External links

*
1848 Schul Atlas Online
at the University of Pennsylvania
95 Karte
from Stieler's Handatlas, 1891
Allgemeine Geographische Ephemeriden
at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stieler, Adolf 1775 births 1836 deaths German cartographers Map publishing companies 18th-century German lawyers