Martin Hotine

Brigadier Martin Hotine CMG CBE
Born 17 June 1898[1]
Wandsworth, London[2]
Died 12 November 1968 (aged 70)[1]
Surrey, England
Resting place
Municipal Cemetery, Weybridge, Surrey, England
51°21′59″N 0°27′56″W / 51.366442°N 0.465578°WCoordinates: 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(s) Kate Amelia Hotine (1895–1987)

Brigadier Martin Hotine CMG CBE (1898–1968)[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 (1946–1985).[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]

Retriangulation of Great Britain

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".

Personal life

Hotine was married to Kate Amelia Hotine (née Pearson)(1895–1987). Nickname to family and friends was 'Ajax'[3]

Honours

Publications

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Edge, R C A (March 1969). Bulletin Géodésique (Springer Berlin / Heidelberg) 91 (1): 8–12. ISSN 0007-4632 http://www.springerlink.com/content/1361g11w5k345p14/. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Humphries, G J (March 1969). "Martin Hotine obituary". The Geographical Journal (Royal Geographical Society) 135 (1): 156–157. JSTOR 1795667.
  3. 3.0 3.1 "Martin Hotine grave monument details". Gravestone photographic resource. Gravestone Photographic Resource. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Crane, Nicholas (30 October 2004). "Britain: Master of all he surveys". The Daily Telegraph. London, England: Telegraph Media Group Limited. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 Macdonald, Alastair (1996). Mapping The World (1st ed.). Norwich, England: HMSO. pp. ii. ISBN 0-11-701590-3.
  6. List of Past Royal Geographical Society Gold Medal Winners