Philipp Apian (14 September 1531 – 14 November 1589) was a German

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

and

medic A medic is a person trained to provide medical care, encompassing a wide range of individuals involved in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of health conditions. The term can refer to fully qualified medical practitioners, such as physic ...

. The son of Petrus Apianus (1495–1552), he is also known as the

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 ...

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

Life

He was born in

Ingolstadt Ingolstadt (; Austro-Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian: ) is an Independent city#Germany, independent city on the Danube, in Upper Bavaria, with 142,308 inhabitants (as of 31 December 2023). Around half a million people live in the metropolitan ...

as Philipp Bienewitz (or Bennewitz). At age eleven, the son of

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...

and

Peter Apian Petrus Apianus (April 16, 1495 – April 21, 1552), also known as Peter Apian, Peter Bennewitz, and Peter Bienewitz, was a German Humanism, humanist, known for his works in mathematics, astronomy and cartography. His work on "cosmography", the fie ...

started to study mathematics at the University of Ingolstadt. Later, aged 18, he studied in

Burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...

, Paris and

Bourges Bourges ( ; ; ''Borges'' in Berrichon) is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre (Cher), Yèvre. It is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Cher (department), Cher, and also was the capital city of the former provin ...

. Returning in 1552 he became a professor. As a

Protestant 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 ...

he had to leave in 1569 due to

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 ...

s and the

Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also sometimes called the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to, and as an alternative to or from similar insights as, the Protestant Reformations at the time. It w ...

. At the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (; ), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The University of Tübingen is one of eleven German Excellenc ...

he lectured for 14 years until he lost this position in 1583 for refusing to negate

Calvinism Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyteri ...

. He died in

Tübingen Tübingen (; ) is a traditional college town, university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer (Neckar), Ammer rivers. about one in ...

Cartography

In 1554, Duke Albrecht of Bavaria ordered Apian to create a map of Bavaria for the ''Bairische Chronik'' of Johannes Aventinus written 1526 to 1533. Over the course of seven years, Apian travelled through Oberbayern and Niederbayern, Oberpfalz, Archbishopric Salzburg and Bishopric Eichstätt. After two years work, a 5 x 5 meter sized map in scale 1:45.000 was finished, to be coloured by ''Bartel Refinger''. The map, which had been in the residence's library since 1563, was destroyed by a fire in 1782. Smaller ''Bairische Landtafeln'' based on the map were ordered by Philipp Apian in 1566 from

Jost Amman Jost Amman (June 13, 1539 – March 17, 1591) was a Old Swiss Confederacy, Swiss-German artist, celebrated chiefly for his woodcuts, done mainly for book illustrations. Early life Amman was born in Zürich, the son of a professor of Cl ...

as 24 tables of scale 1:144.000. This second version was issued in 1568. It was considered the official map of Bavaria until the 19th century. Amman, Jost.
Philipp Apian’s Drawings, Watercolors, and Woodcuts.
' Accessed May 11, 2015. It is said that the accuracy was not surpassed until 19th century, and that

Napoléon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

used them when invading Bavaria.

Abraham Ortelius Abraham Ortelius (; also Ortels, Orthellius, Wortels; 4 or 14 April 152728 June 1598) was a cartographer, geographer, and cosmographer from Antwerp in the Spanish Netherlands. He is recognized as the creator of the list of atlases, first modern ...

published them as ''ex tabula Philippi Apiani.''

References

*Hans Wolff (Hg.): Philipp Apian und die Kartographie der Renaissance (Ausstellungskataloge der Bayerischen Staatsbibliothek 50) 237 Seiten, Weißenhorn 1989, (Anton H. Konrad Verlag), *Ralf Kern: ''Wissenschaftliche Instrumente in ihrer Zeit''. Vol. 1. Cologne, 2010. pp 320–333.

External links

* ''Bairische Landtafeln'', 1568, at commons */
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Apian, Philipp 1531 births 1589 deaths 16th-century German mathematicians Apian 16th-century cartographers 16th-century German writers 16th-century German male writers