Who discovered the earth was not flat?

Answer 1

The ancient Greeks knew (most likely discovered too) the earth was not flat contrary to the popular myth that Columbus thought he would fall of the Earth if he sailed to far West.

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We have no way of knowing which ancient civilizations realized that the Earth was spherical, but it was likely the Phoenicians, those sea-faring traders who roamed the Mediterranean and on to England and the Norse lands.

Answer 2

Many cultures have discovered this fact on their own, earliest recorded mention is the Ancient Greeks. For centuries, navigational methods and instruments have been based on a round Earth theory. There were people who did believe it is flat - such as the Flat Earth Society who base it on Biblical references to the Earth having 'four corners'.

Columbus is often thought to have aimed to disprove a flat earth theory, but in truth, no one at the time actually thought that was true. Rather, Columbus wanted to find an alternate route to India, and the disagreements he had with other people was about the Earth's size, not shape. He thought he'd find a shorter route, while everyone else said it was the longer route, and they were right. In the end he landed on an island off North America, though still believed he had arrived in India (which is where the term 'Indians' to describe Native Americans has come from).

Answer 3

According to Diogenes Laeritus, Pythagoras was the first person to actually claim that the world was round - although other people have also been claimed to have done so. Perhaps Pythagoras was the most famous person to do so. Early Greek philosophers had thought the world was round before, but were not very sure of the fact.

Answer 4

cris chaplain, tom sandercock and callum stoll were the founders

Answer 5

The entire human race (at first) thought the world was flat, because to a person at ground level, the world does look flat.

Answer 6

Ancient peoples all over the world knew the Earth was not flat.

Answer 7

Eratosthenes

Answer 8

Gallileo