Philipp Cluver (1580-1622) a celebrated geographer was born into a noble family in Danzig (Gdansk), in Royal Prussia, a province of the Kingdom of Poland. His father, a coin master, instilled on young Philipp an education in science but much to his father’s dismay he also studied civil law at the University of Leiden. Eventually Cluver’s studies took him back to history and geography.
Philipp Cluver (1580-1622) a celebrated geographer was born into a noble family in Danzig (Gdansk), in Royal Prussia, a province of the Kingdom of Poland. His father, a coin master, instilled on young Philipp an education in science but much to his father’s dismay he also studied civil law at the University of Leiden. Eventually Cluver’s studies took him back to history and geography.
Cluver traveled on foot during his early years and spent some time in the military in Bohemia. He also traveled to England, Scotland and France but ultimately he returned to Leiden. In 1616 he was appointed as an academic geographer which included an annual salary.
Among his works the most important is Introductio in Universam Geographicam (“Introduction to Universal Geography”) which was published in 1629. The first of its six volumes deals in general with the earth, but it is the remaining five on which Cluver’s reputation rests. They contain short descriptions of countries and stress human and historical considerations. The Introductio remained a standard work through the mid-18th century.
