Oronce Fine (or Finé;[1] Latin: Orontius Finnaeus or Finaeus; Italian: Oronzio Fineo; 20 December 1494 – 8 August 1555) was a French mathematician, cartographer, editor and book illustrator.

[2] Born in Briançon, the son and grandson of physicians, he was educated in Paris (Collège de Navarre) and obtained a degree in medicine in 1522.

[3] Although he leaves a great legacy in regard to his published papers of mathematics, he suffered financial problems and legal issues throughout his career.

[3] He worked as an illustrator and proof reader for Paris's print houses in hopes relieving the financial strain brought on by his six children and his father's death.

[citation needed] In 1542 Fine published the astronomy textbook De mundi sphaera (On the Heavenly Spheres), which included woodcut illustrations.

[8] His writing on astronomy included guides to the use of astronomical equipment and methods (e.g. the ancient practice of determining longitude through the coordinated observation of lunar eclipses from two fixed points with enough distance between them to make the phenomena appear at different times of the night).

[9] Fine's heart-shaped (cordiform) map projection of 1531 was frequently employed by other cartographers, including Peter Apian and Gerardus Mercator.

[10] The map bore a dedicatory inscription that said: Oronce Fine of the Dauphiny to the Reader: We offer to you, Dear Reader, a representation of the entire world according to the views of modern Geographers and Hydrographers, preserving the proportion of the centre to both the Equator and the latitudes, laid out on a plane in the form of a double human heart; of which the left comprises the northern part and the right the Southern part of the World.

On the same map, Fine drew Terra Australis to the south, including the legend "recently discovered but not yet completely explored", by which he meant the discovery of Tierra del Fuego by Ferdinand Magellan.

Wieder, Gallois was forced to argue that Fine, who said he had been working on his mappemonde since 1521, had had direct or indirect personal communication with Schöner or had drawn upon his 1515 Luculentissima descriptio.

And so, augmented and corrected by many observations of modern hydrographers, the same heart-shaped geographical image we present to yourself, devoted reader and to all men of goodwill of a wise and liberal mind.

Finally, while we strive ever more earnestly for the favour and generosity of our Most Christian and magnificent King, whose happiness and success you eagerly desire, we have shared this with you.

In the famous engraving Fool's Cap Map of the World, the name Orontius Fineus is inscribed in one corner, which is thought to be a Latinized form of Oronce Finé.