Born 1667-Died 1727: An English clergyman and cartographer, regarded as “one of the most accurate geographers of his time.”[1] Later in his life, he became a teacher of geography. As a cartographer he issued two maps of Africa, A New Map of Libya or Old Africa (1718) and A New Map of Africa (1718).[2] These two maps “give meager details” a common trait among maps of the early 18th century, as intellectual curiosity had not sparked yet. He dedicated an atlas of his to William, Duke of Gloucester.
[1] R.V. Tooley, “Wells, Edward,” Collectors’ Guide to Maps of the African Continent and Southern Africa, London: Carta Press, 1969: 122.
[2] Robert J. Mayhew, “Wells, Edward,” Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004, http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/29012?docPos=1.
