First America on a Map

Martin Waldseemüller’s 1507 world map portrays the “New World” as a separate continent, which until then was unknown to the Europeans. It is the first map to depict the Pacific as a separate ocean and is also the first map that names the new world, America. This map was on display in the Library of Congress, when we visited it earlier this year. Created just over 500 years ago, its preservation gives us a glimpse at how people then viewed our world.