Editing Martin Behaim (section)

==Unsubstantiated claims==
Numerous assertions have been made regarding Behaim's accomplishments, some made by himself and others by his early biographers. Since the twentieth century, historians have taken a more critical look at these claims and have concluded that many of them are unsubstantiated by any documentary evidence, and in some cases flatly contradicted by existing documentation.<ref name="Görz" /><ref name="Ravenstein" />{{sfn|Beazley|1911}}

Historian [[Johann Christoph Wagenseil]] claimed in 1682 that Behaim had discovered America before Columbus. Other authors say that Behaim at least gave Columbus the idea of sailing west. There is no evidence that Behaim ever sailed west on a voyage of discovery and although it is possible that Behaim and Columbus met in Lisbon, neither Behaim or Columbus ever referenced such a meeting.{{sfn|Beazley|1911}}

Behaim has been hailed as a great mathematician and astronomer but there is no evidence of a scientific education nor are there any extant scientific writings by him. Behaim claimed to be a disciple of the Renaissance mathematician and astronomer, [[Regiomontanus]]. Regiomontanus was a neighbor in Nuremberg when Behaim was a boy, but there is no evidence that they ever studied together.

Biographers have claimed that Behaim accompanied Diogo Cão on his second voyage of discovery. Behaim may have contributed to the misunderstanding by leaving a confused account of an African voyage he made in 1485. The fact is that Behaim's dates do not match the dates of this voyage and there is no independent evidence that Behaim sailed with Cão.{{sfn|Beazley|1911}}

[[Antonio Pigafetta]], an Italian writer who accompanied [[Ferdinand Magellan]] alleges that Magellan had prior knowledge of a passage to the "Southern Sea" derived from a map made by Behaim. Historians now doubt that Behaim had any direct knowledge of such a passage but he may have depicted mysterious passages in an unknown land which Magellan interpreted as the strait he eventually discovered.