The very first atlas can be traced back to 1570 when a man by the name of Abraham Ortelius developed the first atlas. This atlas consisted of 70 maps bound together to form a book. Over the years as more knowledge of the world was acquired, this atlas was updated to include newer maps.
Ortelius was promoted to geographer for the King of Spain in 1575. Originally when the map was first produced, it was made only in Latin, which was popular at the time. The atlas was soon translated into 3 languages, Dutch, French and German and this atlas remained in use until the early 1600's. During it contained the most accurate maps that were available at that time. It contained not only maps, but also many explanations of each map.
Today, the Library of Congress in the United States is fortunate to have an original of this first atlas called “Theatre of the World” or in Latin, “Theatrum Orbis Terrarum”.
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