Leo Otis Colbert

Add links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Leo Otis Colbert
United States of America
Service/branch
  • United States Coast and Geodetic Survey Corps
    (1917; 1919–1950)
  • United States Naval Reserve Force
    (1917–1919)
Rank
Commands heldUnited States Coast and Geodetic Survey
Battles/warsWorld War I

World War II

Cold War
Awards Department of Commerce Gold Medal (1950)

Rear Admiral Leo Otis Colbert (31 December 1883 – 24 December 1968) was the third director of the

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps
.

Early life

Colbert was born in

Boston, Massachusetts, he attended Tufts University, from which he graduated with a degree in civil engineering in 1907.[1]

Career

Early career

On 1 July 1907, Colbert began his career with the

survey ships, serving as navigator and executive officer, and in 1912 he became a commanding officer for the first time, taking command of a survey ship in Alaskan waters.[1][2]

World War I

After the United States entered

Seattle, Washington.[2]

On 23 February 1918, Colbert reported aboard the U.S. Navy

United States Naval Reserve Force and became the ship's first lieutenant

In all, Colbert made nine voyages aboard Northern Pacific carrying troops from New York to Brest and returning to New York through Atlantic Ocean waters in which German submarines were conducting an antishipping campaign against Allied ships.[1][2] After the conclusion of the war on 11 November 1918, Colbert made two more New York-to-Brest-and-return voyages.[2] During one of these, Northern Pacific ran aground off Fire Island, New York, on 1 January 1919 while carrying many wounded troops back to the United States from France, necessitating transfers of the wounded to other vessels over the next four days as weather permitted.[2] Northern Pacific was not refloated for 19 days.[2]

Colbert's assignment to U.S. Navy duty came to an end on 29 March 1919.[2]

Later career

On 30 March 1919,[2] Colbert returned to duty in the Coast and Geodetic Survey Corps. In April 1920, the U.S. Steamboat Inspection Service issued him a certificate as Master of Steam Vessels, Unlimited Tonnage, Any Ocean.[1] He had a tour of duty at Coast and Geodetic Survey headquarters in Washington, D.C., then served as Director of Coast Surveys in the Philippines from 1928 to 1930. From 1933 to 1938, he was the Chief of the Division of Charts at the Coast and Geodetic Survey's Washington, D.C., office, and during his tour the Division of Charts completed 87 aeronautical charts and began work on other series of special charts for long-distance flying.[1]

In 1938, Colbert became the third director, Coast and Geodetic Survey, reaching the rank of rear admiral. During his 12 years as director, he oversaw the expanded activities of the Coast and Geodetic Survey as it supported the U.S. war effort during the U.S. participation in World War II from December 1941 to August 1945.[1] He later guided the Coast and Geodetic Survey through the earliest years of the Cold War.

Retirement

Colbert retired as director of the Coast and Geodetic Survey on 7 April 1950 after a career of nearly 43 years, nearly 33 of them as an officer in the Coast and Geodetic Survey Corps.[1]

Professional life

Colbert was a member of the

American Society of Photogrammetry, the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, the Institute of Navigation, the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association, and the advisory council of the department of civil engineering at Princeton University. He was a director of the Society of American Military Engineers, a fellow of the Arctic Institute of North America, a life trustee of the National Geographic Society, and an honorary trustee of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.[1]

doctor of science degree in 1938 or 1939 (sources differ).[1]

Awards

Department of Commerce Gold Medal

In a ceremony on 14 February 1950 in Washington, D.C., Colbert was awarded the Department of Commerce Gold Medal for "outstanding contribution to the public service, the nation, or humanity."[3]

Death

Colbert died on 24 December 1968 at

Baltimore, Maryland, on 27 December 1968.[1]

Commemoration

The

Colbert Medal – a NOAA Association decoration awarded to a member of the National Ocean Service, officer or civilian, active or retired, for the most outstanding contribution to military engineering through achievement in design, construction, administration, research, or development – is named for Colbert.[citation needed
]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j history.noaa.gov Profiles in Time: C&GS Biographies: Leo Otis Colbert
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j NOAA History: World War I Military Records of Coast & Geodetic Survey Personnel: Leo Otis Colbert
  3. ^ Program of the Second Annual Honor Awards, United States Department of Commerce, February 14, 1950: Exceptional Service Awards: Gold Medal
Military offices
Preceded by Director, United States Coast and Geodetic Survey
1938–1950 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Leo_Otis_Colbert&oldid=1173424519"