The known father of cartography

• A. Claudius Ptolemaeus
• B. Mercator
• C. Copernicus
• D. Galileo

Answer: (A)

Systematic geographic mapping with a coordinate grid marks the birth of cartography as a discipline. Claudius Ptolemy wrote the Geographia in antiquity, assembling and detailing how to locate places on Earth using latitude and longitude, and showing how to translate a spherical surface into flat maps using a graticule. This framework gave mapmakers a repeatable method and influenced many later cartographers across the medieval and Renaissance periods, solidifying his role as the father of cartography. While Mercator later revolutionized navigation with his projection, and Copernicus and Galileo are famed for astronomy rather than mapmaking technique, Ptolemy's work established the essential practice of using a coordinate system to map the world.