Abraham Ortelius (; also Ortels, Orthellius, Wortels; 14 April 1527 - 28 June 1598) was a Flemish cartographer and geographer, conventionally recognized as the creator of the first modern atlas, the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (Theatre of the World). Ortelius is often considered one of the founders of the Netherlandish school of cartography and one of the most notable representatives of the school in its golden age (approximately 1570s-1670s). The publication of his atlas in 1570 is often considered as the official beginning of the Golden Age of Netherlandish cartography.

In 1564 he published his first map, Typus Orbis Terrarum, an eight-leaved wall map of the world, on which he identified the Regio Patalis with Locach as a northward extension of the Terra Australis, reaching as far as New Guinea. This map subsequently appeared in reduced form in the Terrarum (the only extant copy is in now at Basel University Library). He also published a two-sheet map of Egypt in 1565, a plan of the Brittenburg castle on the coast of the Netherlands in 1568, an eight-sheet map of Asia in 1567, and a six-sheet map of Spain before the appearance of his atlas.  In England Ortelius' contacts included William Camden, Richard Hakluyt, Thomas Penny, puritan controversialist William Charke, and Humphrey Llwyd, who would contribute the map of England and Wales to Ortelius's 1573 edition of the Theatrum.  In 1578 he laid the basis of a critical treatment of ancient geography by his Synonymia geographica (issued by the Plantin press at Antwerp and republished in expanded form as Thesaurus geographicus in 1587 and again expanded in 1596. In this last edition, Ortelius considers the possibility of continental drift, a hypothesis proved correct only centuries later).  In 1596 he received a presentation from Antwerp city, similar to that afterwards bestowed on Rubens. His death on 28 June 1598, and his burial in the church of St. Michael's Abbey, Antwerp, were marked by public mourning. Quietis cultor sine lite, uxore, prole (meaning - "served quietly, without accusation, wife, and offspring." ), reads the inscription on his tombstone.

What is the significance of Abraham publishing his maps?
In 1578 he laid the basis of a critical treatment of ancient geography by his Synonymia geographica (