Alden Partridge Colvocoresses

Alden Partridge Colvocoresses (September 23, 1918 – March 27, 2007) helped to develop the Space-oblique Mercator projection with John P. Snyder and John Junkins, and developed the first satellite map of the United States in 1974.

Alden Partridge Colvocoresses
Born(1918-09-23)September 23, 1918
Humboldt, Arizona, U.S.
DiedMarch 27, 2007(2007-03-27) (aged 88)
Falls Church, Virginia, U.S.
Buried
Arlington National Cemetery
Allegiance United States
BranchU.S. Army
RankColonel
Unit1st Armored Division
WarsWorld War II, Korean War
AwardsSilver Star (2), Purple Heart

Biography

Early life

Colvocoresses was born in 1918 to George M. Colvocoresses II and Alice Hagen, in Humboldt, Arizona. He is the grandson of George Partridge Colvocoresses and the great-grandson of George Colvocoresses.

Army career

Colvocoresses served in the U.S. Army in World War II, in the 16th Armored Engineer Battalion of the 1st Armored Division, in North Africa and Europe. He was twice wounded in combat and has received the Purple Heart, as well as two Silver Stars; one for destroying a German tank in Tunisia, and another for escaping from his Italian captors in North Africa.[1]

He became involved with aerial photo mapping for the 1st Army, where he oversaw some of the photo mapping as preparation for the Normandy landings. He also served in the Korean War,[1] and retired after playing a large role in mapping operations during the Vietnam War.

Later life

Colvocoresses spent the rest of his career working for the U.S. Geological Survey's national mapping division, retiring in 1990. He was a research cartographer on the Landsat satellite program and received two patents for models of remote sensing systems. Alden helped to develop the first satellite map of the United States.

He died on March 27, 2007. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

gollark: I think people underestimate how complex biology is a lot.
gollark: This whole coronavirus thing has made me worry that my slightly sore throat is a sign of some horrible disease. Which it probably isn't, but still.
gollark: Well, iPhones are basically customizability-free, so definitely not #1.
gollark: Except the PinePhone, I guess, which seems pretty good generally except for the likely lack of warranty and difficulty in obtaining it here in the UK.
gollark: I'm not aware of new phones with good custom ROM support, no ridiculous notch thingy, replaceable batteries, any durability at all, and reasonably sized (~5") screens.

References
  1. "Washington Post obituary". The Washington Post. April 3, 2007. Retrieved April 8, 2013.

Further reading
  • Hessler, J. (2003). Projecting Time: John Parr Snyder and the Development of the Space Oblique Mercator Projection. Library of Congress.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.