Martin Behaim

Martin Behaim (6 October 1459 – 29 July 1507), also known as Martin von Behaim and by various forms of Martin of Bohemia (Latin: Martinus Bohemus and de Boëmia; Portuguese: Martinho da Boémia; German: Martin Behaim von Schwarzbach) was a German mariner, artist, cosmographer, astronomer, philosopher, geographer, and explorer in service to King John II. His maps are sometimes held to have been influential on the Age of Discovery but he is now best known for his Erdapfel, the world's oldest surviving globe, which he produced for the Imperial City of Nuremberg.

Behaim was born in Nuremberg, according to one source, about 1436; other sources suggest as late as 1459; while others indicate that he was born in Bohemia to Martin Behaim and Agnes Schopper, the oldest of seven sons. Martin Behaim, the father, had many businesses including some in Venice, and later became an elected senator (1461), dying in 1474 (Agnes Schopper died on 8 July 1487). Their son received a scientific education, attending the highest schools where students were obligated to learn the languages of Europe and devote themselves to commercial pursuits and studies, before being sent to apprenticeships abroad.

With a vocation in commerce, he parted around 1477 for Flanders, settling in Malines where he joined the business of Jorius van Dorpp, a vendor of clothing. They visited Frankfurt fairs in 1477, where van Dorpp sold his wares to a German merchant from Antwerp, and Behaim was motivated by his mother to return in the fall where he worked with Bartels von Eyb (a friend of the family). Writing to his uncle, Leonhard Behaim (18 September 1478), he expressed his desire not to return to Malines and wanted to improve his commercial skills. He eventually worked for another merchant, Fritz Heberlein (a native of Nuremberg but established in Antwerp) who allowed him to learn arithmetic and improve his skills. In 1480, trade between Portugal and Flanders attracted Behaim to Lisbon, and he became involved with the mercantile interests and overseas exploration that was occurring in the capital (from Flanders, Germany and the Hanseatic League). He was attracted to the knowledge of the navigators, cosmographers and explorers, acquiring a scientific reputation, and supposedly meeting with Christopher Columbus and Ferdinand Magellan and other celebrities then at the court of King John II of Portugal.

...
Wikipedia