Behaim, Behem, or Boeheim, Martin

Behaim, Behem, or Boeheim, Martin (all: bā'hīm) [key], b. 1436? or 1459?, d. 1506?, German traveler and cosmographer. He studied (possibly under Regiomontanus) astronomy, navigation, and mathematics. He went to Portugal as a merchant c.1480, and in 1486, he went to Fayal in the Azores. He is believed to have developed an astrolabe and other devices for the use of navigators, but is best known for the terrestrial globe that he made in 1492 and gave to his native city Nuremberg (it is in the Germanic Museum there). The globe, however, is inaccurate and does not represent the best geographical information of the period.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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