Wolfgang Lazius

Wolfgang Laz, better known by his Latinized name Wolfgang Lazius (October 31, 1514 – June 19, 1565), was an Austrian humanist who worked as a cartographer, historian, and physician.

Lazius was born in Vienna, and first studied medicine, becoming professor in the medical faculty at the University of Vienna in 1541. He later became curator of the imperial collections of the Holy Roman Empire and official historian to Emperor Ferdinand I. In that capacity, he authored a number of historical works, in research for which he traveled widely, amassing (and sometimes stealing) documents from numerous monasteries and other libraries. He also produced many maps of Austria, Bavaria, Hungary, and Greece, now considered important in the history of cartography; in particular, his Typi chorographici provinciarum Austriae (1561) is sometimes seen as among the earliest historical atlases.