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 , '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 ...

, who also made maps of the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

Life

Homann was born in Oberkammlach near Kammlach in the Electorate of Bavaria. Although educated at a

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

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

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

and from 1687 worked as a

civil law notary Civil-law notaries, or Latin notaries, are lawyers of contentious jurisdiction, noncontentious private law, private civil law (legal system), civil law who draft, take, and record legal instruments for private parties, provide legal advice and gi ...

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

. He soon turned to

engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design on 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 ar ...

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 Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI. Giving such privileges to individuals was an added right that the Holy Roman Emperor enjoyed. In the same year he was also named a member of the

Prussian Academy of Sciences The Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences () 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 Academy" may also refer. In the 18th century, when Frenc ...

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

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

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

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) 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 pinkish-orang ...

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, who also published ''

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

''. 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 17th-century German cartographers German geographers German Lutherans Members of the Prussian Academy of Sciences