photo credit: IdeaMensch

Key Takeaways

• Dr. Rod Gardin of Valparaiso, Indiana, blends leadership, education, and counseling with strong community service values.
• The first globe is credited to Crates of Mallus, marking a key milestone in early cartography and scientific thought.
• Martin Behaim’s 1492 globe remains the oldest surviving globe and symbolizes Europe’s age of exploration.
• Globes evolved from decorative and educational tools to accurate navigational instruments over the centuries.
• Modern globes still hold value by accurately depicting Earth’s geography, avoiding distortions found in flat maps like the Mercator projection.

Dr. Rod Gardin of Valparaiso, Indiana, brings together expertise in leadership, education, and counseling with his commitment to community service. As the founder of Butter & Grace LLC and Building Hope Therapeutic Counseling Services, he exemplifies both entrepreneurial and humanitarian values. Dr. Gardin has worked extensively in mental health and addictions counseling while supporting local outreach programs through food service initiatives. His professional dedication and compassion reflect an understanding of history, growth, and progress—qualities that align well with the exploration of human innovation, such as the development of the globe. This article offers readers a brief yet fascinating look at how humanity has represented our planet throughout the centuries.

A Brief History of the Globe

A globe is a three-dimensional representation of the planet Earth. Globes may depict the world at varying time periods and with different degrees of detail, ranging from Earth during the time of the Pangaea supercontinent to modern globes that label hundreds of countries, provinces, cities, and various geographical features. Historians typically credit the Greek scientist Crates of Mallus with the creation of the first globe, though individuals must first understand the concept of the spherical Earth before exploring the history and development of the globe.

Well-educated people have understood the nature of Earth’s curvature since at least the 5th century BC. By the 3rd century BC, Hellenistic astronomers had determined the planet’s spherical shape as a physical fact and had approximated Earth’s circumference. Ferdinand Magellan and Juan Sebastian Elcano laid to rest any lingering doubts about the shape of the planet during their famed circumnavigation of Earth between 1519 and 1522.

Cartography, the process of making maps, is far older than the discovery of the spherical Earth. The earliest maps known to modern man date back to 2,300 BC, though maps may have existed as early as 16,500 BC. Historians believe that early cartographers made the first recorded world map around 546 BC. Cartography and knowledge of the spherical Earth finally came together to form the Globe of Crates, developed by Mallus. While a critically important work of science and cartography, Mallus’ globe comprised numerous errors and did not accurately represent the planet’s geography or topography in any meaningful way.

Martin Behaim made the first globe still in existence today. The German geographer developed his globe in 1492, slightly before Christopher Columbus’s famous journey across the Atlantic Ocean. Popular misconception holds that Columbus set out, at least in part, to prove that the world was round, but Columbus, his patrons, and other explorers knew very well that the world was spherical, hence his plan to sail west from Spain to reach India.

By the 17th century, globes had become popular decorations, often crafted with a focus on aesthetic beauty. Many innovations influenced the globe during this time, such as the creation of the first pocket globes. More notably, “furniture globes” became popular during the 17th century, that is, globes set on a stand that allowed people to rotate the globe and easily look at different parts of the planet.

The globe became a more practical navigation tool during the 18th century, with a focus on accurate latitudinal and longitudinal measurements. Throughout the 19th century, globe development and manufacturing shifted to education, including globes intended to help children understand geography and astronomy.

While the functional use of globes may seem rote in the digital age, particularly with the advent of global positioning system (GPS) technology, globes serve many practical and educational purposes, particularly when it comes to the issue of Mercator projection (a type of projection on flat maps that distorts landmass, especially the farther a way a place is from the equator). Because the Earth is a sphere, mapmakers cannot accurately depict the size of different continents on a flat map, resulting in certain regions of the Earth looking smaller or larger than they really are, particularly the further a landmass is from the equator.

North America and Europe look especially large via Mercator projection, with Canada and Russia comprising 25 percent of the planet’s surface, while in actuality, they make up just five percent. Africa, meanwhile, remains roughly the same size, with only slight distortions occurring in the northern region, while South America experiences minor distortion at its southernmost end. Due to their spherical shape, globes allow for a far more accurate representation of the Earth’s surface and the size of different continents in relation to one another.

About Rod Gardin

Dr. Rod Gardin is a licensed psychotherapist and entrepreneur based in Valparaiso, Indiana. He leads Butter & Grace LLC and Building Hope Therapeutic Counseling Services, combining counseling expertise with community outreach. Dr. Gardin holds advanced degrees from Purdue University and Indiana Wesleyan University and remains committed to education and service.

FAQs

Who is Dr. Rod Gardin?

Dr. Rod Gardin is a licensed psychotherapist and entrepreneur from Valparaiso, Indiana, known for combining leadership and counseling with community outreach.

Who created the first known globe?

The Greek scientist Crates of Mallus is credited with creating the first known globe, representing an early understanding of Earth’s spherical shape.

What is the oldest surviving globe?

The oldest surviving globe was created by Martin Behaim in 1492, just before Christopher Columbus’s voyage across the Atlantic.

Why are globes still important today?

Globes provide an accurate representation of Earth’s geography, avoiding distortions found in flat maps caused by Mercator projection.

How did globes evolve through history?

Globes began as scientific tools, became decorative items in the 17th century, evolved into navigation aids in the 18th century, and are now educational tools worldwide.