When it was discovered that the world was a spinning sphere I guess they realised there were only 2 fixed points but who decided that North should go at the top of the page and not to the bottom?
If you’re looking for a name then the answer appears to be the Greek philosopher Ptolemy.......
From Wikipedia....
Up is a metaphor for north. The notion that north should always be up and east at the right was established by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy. The historian Daniel Boorstin suggests that perhaps this was because the better-known places in his world were in the northern hemisphere, and on a flat map these were most convenient for study if they were in the upper right-hand corner.[8]
TP that makes sense especially as the early map makers were operating in the Northern hemisphere. Had they been in the Southern hemisphere South might have been at the top.
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