- The first map to name “America” was created in 1507 by Martin Waldseemüller.
- Only one known surviving copy exists, now held by the Library of Congress.
- The map is a cornerstone artifact in understanding the early conception of the New World.
- Visitors can view it in person at the Library’s Thomas Jefferson Building in Washington, D.C.
The Big Picture
In the year 1507, German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller unveiled a map that would forever alter how Europeans viewed the world. Printed with woodblocks and stretching over eight feet wide, this artifact was the first to depict the newly discovered lands across the Atlantic as separate continents—an audacious departure from the belief that these territories were part of Asia.
What made the map revolutionary was not just its geography. For the first time in recorded history, the name “America” appeared—honoring Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci, whose letters describing his voyages helped Waldseemüller recognize the new lands as a separate entity.
Waldseemüller World Map (1508 Edition) — Image via Wikimedia Commons
Why It Mattered
At the time, explorers like Christopher Columbus were still convinced they had reached the fringes of Asia. Columbus died in 1506 under this belief. But Waldseemüller, inspired by Vespucci’s detailed observations, offered a radical reimagining: this was not Asia, but an entirely “New World.”
The map shows Vespucci’s portrait alongside Ptolemy and others—highlighting his intellectual contribution to geography. By labeling the southern continent “America,” Waldseemüller didn’t just name a landmass—he sparked a conceptual transformation that endures to this day.
Highlights of the 1507 World Map — Source: Library of Congress Exhibition on Early Americas
“A Birth Certificate for a Continent”
Scholars often refer to this map as “America’s birth certificate.” Like Nicolaus Copernicus’s 1543 work “On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres”, which placed the sun—not Earth—at the center of the solar system, Waldseemüller’s vision challenged the status quo and reshaped the boundaries of known reality.
How the Map Survived
Long presumed lost, the only known surviving first edition of Waldseemüller’s map was discovered in 1901 in a castle archive in southern Germany—Schloss Wolfegg. Its existence stunned historians and cartographers alike. In 2003, the Library of Congress acquired the artifact thanks to a collaboration of public and private donors.
Surviving copy of the 1507 Waldseemüller map rediscovered in Schloss Wolfegg, Germany
See It for Yourself
The map is open to the public as part of the Library’s permanent exhibition, free of charge. Visitors are encouraged to explore its intricacies—coastlines, names, artistic embellishments—each a reflection of 16th-century knowledge and ambition.
For those unable to travel, the Library offers digital access to the map, allowing viewers to zoom in and study its remarkable detail from anywhere in the world.
The Bottom Line
More than five centuries after its creation, Martin Waldseemüller’s 1507 map remains a landmark of human imagination and intellectual courage. By naming a continent and challenging the geographic orthodoxy of his time, Waldseemüller didn’t just redraw borders—he redefined how the world saw itself. Today, this singular artifact stands not only as a cartographic milestone but as a symbol of discovery’s power to reshape history. Whether viewed in person or online, the map invites us to reflect on the enduring impact of curiosity, exploration, and the written word..
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