Willem Janszoon Blaeu was born in the Netherlands; the son of a fishmonger. Between 1594 and 1596 he studied in Denmark as an instrument and globe maker under Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546–1601). He later returned to the Netherlands to produce country maps, atlases and globes using his own printing works. In 1633 he was appointed map-maker to the Dutch East India Company. His maps appeared in Atlas Novus (published 1635). He also edited and published works by astronomers Willebrord Snell, Adriaan Metius, theologian Gerhard Johann Vossius and the historian and poet Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft. He died in Amsterdam.
Blaeu’s sons, Johannes and Cornelis, continued their father's mapmaking and publishing business after his death.
