John Ogilby

author

John Ogilby

1600–1676

Best known for turning England and Wales into one of the earliest practical road atlases, this restless 17th-century writer also moved through careers in dance, theater, translation, and publishing. His life was unusually varied, and his books helped shape both literary and cartographic history.

1 Audiobook

America: Being the Latest, and Most Accurate Description of the Nevv VVorld Containing the Original of the Inhabitants, and the Remarkable Voyages Thither. The Conquest of the Vast Empires of Mexico and Peru, and Other Large Provinces and Territories, with the Several European Plantations in Those Parts. Also Their Cities, Fortresses, Towns, Temples, Mountains, and Rivers. Their Habits, Customs, Manners, and Religions. Their Plants, Beasts, Birds, and Serpents. With an Appendix, Containing, Besides Several Other Considerable Additions, a Brief Survey of What Hath Been Discover'd of the Unknown South-land and the Arctick Region.

America: Being the Latest, and Most Accurate Description of the Nevv VVorld Containing the Original of the Inhabitants, and the Remarkable Voyages Thither. The Conquest of the Vast Empires of Mexico and Peru, and Other Large Provinces and Territories, with the Several European Plantations in Those Parts. Also Their Cities, Fortresses, Towns, Temples, Mountains, and Rivers. Their Habits, Customs, Manners, and Religions. Their Plants, Beasts, Birds, and Serpents. With an Appendix, Containing, Besides Several Other Considerable Additions, a Brief Survey of What Hath Been Discover'd of the Unknown South-land and the Arctick Region.

by John Ogilby

About the author

Born in November 1600 and active across several trades, John Ogilby became known as a translator, publisher, impresario, and cartographer. He had a notably changeable career: early on he worked in dance and theater, and later became an important figure in the London book world.

For readers, he is often remembered for ambitious translations of classical authors including Virgil and Homer, as well as for editions of Aesop. But his widest historical reputation comes from mapmaking. His 1675 Britannia is commonly described as one of the first major road atlases of England and Wales, and it helped set a pattern for later road mapping.

Ogilby died in London on September 4, 1676. What makes him especially interesting now is the breadth of his work: he was not simply an author in the narrow sense, but a practical, inventive figure whose projects connected literature, performance, printing, and geography.