Martin Waldseemuller

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New Copy of 'America's Birth Certificate' Found

Rare America map had been misplaced for centuries

(Newser) - Researchers in Germany have unveiled a newly discovered copy of a map known as "America's birth certificate" just in time for the 4th of July. The 500-year-old map by famous cartographer Martin Waldseemuller is the first to name the New World as America. It had been thought that...

At 500, 1st 'America' Map Baffles
At 500, 1st 'America' Map Baffles

At 500, 1st 'America' Map Baffles

German monk closely mapped South America, unknown Pacific

(Newser) - The Library of Congress this week unveils the first map to use the name "America"—and the 500-year-old mysteries that go with it. The 1507 map by a German monk includes a surprisingly precise rendering of South America, Reuters reports, and seemingly predicts the contours of the continent's...

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