Franz Ritter

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A German mathematician, cartographer and astronomer admired for his introduction of an innovative gnomonic projection that he used in his maps. Ritter worked in his native city of Nuremberg, and seems not to have taken on any apprentices, unfortunately meaning that much information about his life and works has been lost. All that is known is his keen interest in scientific and navigational instruments, as witnessed by his book on sundials, the ‘Speculum solis’, or Mirror of the Sun.

Black and white portrait of German Cartographer, Franz Ritter, who's sat on a stool and writing on parchment with a globe in the background.