The following sections of this BookRags Literature Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare & Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources.
(c)1998-2002; (c)2002 by Gale. Gale is an imprint of The Gale Group, Inc., a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Gale and Design and Thomson Learning are trademarks used herein under license.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction: "Social Concerns", "Thematic Overview", "Techniques", "Literary Precedents", "Key Questions", "Related Titles", "Adaptations", "Related Web Sites". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults: "About the Author", "Overview", "Setting", "Literary Qualities", "Social Sensitivity", "Topics for Discussion", "Ideas for Reports and Papers". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
All other sections in this Literature Study Guide are owned and copyrighted by BookRags, Inc.
1459-1507
German-Portuguese cartographer and navigator who created the first world globe. Behaim was born to a well-to-do merchant family in Nuremberg, Germany. After studying with the famed astronomer Regiomontanus, he traveled to Lisbon, Portugal, where he was appointed to the "junta dos mathmaticos" commission of King John II. The purpose of this commission was to find a better method for determining latitude, which Behaim accomplished by ascertaining the position of the Sun, Moon and stars. Behaim gained the respect of the Portuguese elite, and was offered the chance to set sail with Diogo Cão to the west coast of Africa (1485-1486). On this journey, Cão discovered the mouth of the Congo River. Upon his return to Nuremberg in 1490, Behaim constructed the very first globe, with the assistance of painter Georg Glockendon. On it is represented the equator, one meridian, the tropics and the constellations of the zodiac.