Joseph Fischer (cartographer)

The former Stella Matutina, Fischer's home institution, now an Austrian cultural monument.
Schloss Wolfegg (Castle Wolfegg), 1855
Universalis Cosmographia, Waldseemüller's 1507 world map which was the first to show the Americas separate from Asia

Joseph Fischer, S.J. (German: Josef Fischer; 19 March 1858 – 26 October 1944) was a German clergyman and cartographer. Fischer had an eminently successful career as a cartographer, publishing old maps. In 1901, while he was investigating the Vikings' discovery of America, he accidentally discovered the long-lost map of Martin Waldseemüller, dated 1507. This map, which claims to update Ptolemy with the voyages of Amerigo Vespucci, is the first known to display the word America.[1] The map was purchased from its owner by the United States Library of Congress in 2001 for ten million dollars.[2][3]

  1. ^ Straßenberger SJ, Georg (1961). "Fischer, Josef.". Neue Deutsche Biographie (NDB) (in German). Vol. 5. Berlin: Duncker & Humblot. pp. 194–195. ISBN 978-3-428-00186-6. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  2. ^ The Map That Named America, Library of Congress, September 2003
  3. ^ "Library of Congress Acquires Only Known Copy of 1507 World Map Compiled by Martin Waldseemüller", Library of Congress, 2001-07-23