Martin Hotine | |
---|---|
Born | [1]
Wandsworth, London
[2] | 17 June 1898
Died | 12 November 1968[1]
Surrey, England | (aged 70)
Resting place | Municipal Cemetery,
Weybridge, Surrey, England 51°21′59″N 0°27′56″W / 51.366442°N 0.465578°W |
Nationality | British |
Education |
Southend Technical School (now SHSB)
[2] Magdalene College, Cambridge [2] |
Known for | Founder and first Director General of the Directorate of Overseas Surveys |
Spouse | Kate Amelia Hotine (1895–1987) |
Brigadier Martin Hotine CMG CBE (17 June 1898 – 12 November 1968) [3] was the head of the Trigonometrical and Levelling Division of the Ordnance Survey responsible for the 26-year-long retriangulation of Great Britain [4] (1936–1962) and was the first Director General of the Directorate of Overseas Surveys (1946–1955). [5]
He served on the North-West Frontier during the First World War and later in the Persian and Mesopotamian campaigns. He has been described as "decisive, ingenious and tough". [4]
Hotine was responsible for the design of the triangulation pillars constructed during the Geodetic resurvey of Britain. [4] 6,173 of these were built. [4] They provided a solid base for the theodolites used by the survey teams during the survey, thereby improving the accuracy of the readings obtained. [4] They are sometimes referred to as "Hotine Pillars".
In the 1940s, Hotine developed a map projection for the Malay Peninsula and Borneo that is known as the Hotine oblique Mercator projection. [6]
Hotine was married to Kate Amelia Hotine (née Pearson)(1895–1987) whose nickname to family and friends was 'Ajax'. [3]