John Senex (1678–1740) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

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 ...

, engraver and

explorer Exploration is the process of exploring, an activity which has some Expectation (epistemic), expectation of Discovery (observation), discovery. Organised exploration is largely a human activity, but exploratory activity is common to most organis ...

. He was also an

astrologer Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that propose that information about human affairs and terrestrial events may be discerned by studying the apparent positions ...

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and geography to perform research in the Field research, ...

, and

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 ...

to Queen Anne of Great Britain, editor and seller of antique maps and most importantly creator of the pocket-size map of the world. He owned a business on

Fleet Street Fleet Street is a street in Central London, England. It runs west to east from Temple Bar, London, Temple Bar at the boundary of the City of London, Cities of London and City of Westminster, Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the Lo ...

in London, where he sold maps. He was born in

Ludlow, Shropshire Ludlow ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road which bypasses the town. The town is near the confluence of the rivers Corve and Teme. The oldes ...

and died in London.

Importance

He was one of the principal cartographers of the 18th century. He started his apprenticeship with Robert Clavell, at the

Stationers Company The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers (until 1937 the Worshipful Company of Stationers), usually known as the Stationers' Company, is one of the livery company, livery companies of the City of London. The Stationers' Company ...

, in 1692. Senex is famous for his maps of the world, some of which have added elevations, and which feature minuscule detailed engravings. Many of these maps can be found in museum collections; rarely, copies are available for private sale. Some copies are held in the

National Maritime Museum The National Maritime Museum (NMM) is a maritime museum in Greenwich, London. It is part of Royal Museums Greenwich, a network of museums in the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. Like other publicly funded national museums in the Unit ...

; many of his maps are now in the possession of

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

. Having worked and collaborated with Charles Price, Senex created a series of engravings for the London Almanacs, and in 1714 he published together with Maxwell an English Atlas. In 1719 he published a miniature edition of ''Britannia'' by

John Ogilby John Ogilby, Ogelby, or Oglivie (17 November 16004 September 1676) was a Scottish translator, impresario, publisher and cartographer. He was probably at least a half-brother to James Ogilvy, 1st Earl of Airlie, though neither overtly acknowl ...

. He became particularly interested in depicting California as an island instead of part of mainland North America, a trait which makes many of his maps appealing to collectors. In 1721 he published a new general atlas. He used the work of cartographer Guillaume de L’Isle as an influence. In the 1720s he produced a series of celestial charts in conjunction with

Edmond Halley Edmond (or Edmund) Halley (; – ) was an English astronomer, mathematician and physicist. He was the second Astronomer Royal in Britain, succeeding John Flamsteed in 1720. From an observatory he constructed on Saint Helena in 1676–77, Hal ...

, using Halley's pirated edition of

John Flamsteed John Flamsteed (19 August 1646 – 31 December 1719) was an English astronomer and the first Astronomer Royal. His main achievements were the preparation of a 3,000-star catalogue, ''Catalogus Britannicus'', and a star atlas called '' Atlas ...

's star catalogue. In 1728 Senex was elected into the Fellowship of the

Royal Society of London The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, r ...

Gallery

File:A new map of Virginia, Maryland and the improved parts of Pennsylvania & New Jersey. LOC 2007625604 (cropped).jpg, ''A new map of Virginia, Maryland and the improved parts of Pennsylvania & New Jersey'', 1719 File:Senex A map of Louisiana and of the River Mississipi 1721 UTA.jpg, A map of Louisiana and the Mississippi River by John Senex (1721) File:1721 John Senex Map of Rome - Geographicus - Rome-sennex-1721.jpg, A map of Rome by Senex (1721)

References

Footnotes

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External links