Captain
William Bowie retired
from active duty on December 31, 1936, after 41-1/2 years of
service,
during which he won national and international recognition in
the science of geodesy and geophysics.
His early education was in public schools and private academies
and St. Johns College at Annapolis, Maryland, and he later
received degrees at Trinity College (B. S., 1893, M. A., 1907,
Sc. D., 1919), Lehigh University (C. E., 1895, Sc. D., 1922),
and University of Edinburgh, Scotland (LL. D., 1936).
Entering the service of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey
July 1, 1895, as a field engineer, his assignments included
operations in many States of the Union, Alaska, the Philippines,
and Puerto Rico. In October 1909 he was appointed inspector
of geodetic work and chief of the Computing Division, a title
later changed to chief of the Division of Geodesy. He held
this position continuously until the time of his retirement.
While chief of the Division of Geodesy, triangulation work
was increased from 10,000 to 68,000 miles; leveling from 30,000
to 261,000 miles, gravity from 60 to 720 stations; and astronomical
Laplace stations from about 32 to 390. Due to his inspiration
and guidance many improvements in instruments, equipment,
and field and office methods were made. When in 1924 a new
method for adjusting a triangulation net was needed because
of the vast amount of labor involved in the method then in
use, he conceived the idea of the establishment of junction
figures and the adjustment of the intervening arcs as separate
sections. This method simplified enormously the work of such
an adjustment.
An ardent advocate of good maps as a measure of national defense
and economy and the conservation of our natural resources,
he took advantage of every opportunity to emphasize the importance
of control surveys as a prerequisite in the Nation-wide problem
of surveying and mapping. He also initiated the movement which
resulted in the adoption for the North American Continent
of a single geodetic datum now known as the North American
Datum of 1927; he was instrumental in the formation of the
Board of Surveys and Maps, later to become the Federal Board
of Surveys and Maps; and he took an active part in the creation
of the division of surveying and mapping of the American Society
of Civil Engineers. Captain Bowie is the author of over 250
publications or articles on triangulation, leveling, gravity,
isostasy, and allied topics, and has contributed innumerable
feature articles for newspapers and magazines. During the
World War, from August 1918 to February 1919, he served in
the Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army, with the rank of Major.
In 1932 he was awarded the Charles Lagrange prize by the Society
of Sciences of the Royal Academy of Belgium in recognition
of his work in unifying the triangulation system of North
America.
He is a member of the following scientific and engineering
societies: Academy of Sciences of Norway; National Academy
of History and Geography (Mexico); Russian Geographical Society;
International Geodetic Association (President, 1919-33); International
Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (President, 1933-36); Pan
American Institute of Geography and History (Honorary President,
1929); National Academy of Sciences; National Research Council;
American Geographical Society; American Astronomical Society;
American Society of Photogrammetry; American Geophysical Union
(Chairman, 1929-32); American Association for the Advancement
of Science; American Society of Civil Engineers (Chairman,
Division of Surveying and Mapping, 1926); American Institute
of Consulting Engineers; National Geographic Society; Society
of American Military Engineers (Vice President, 1934); Seismological
Society of America; Geological Society of America; South Carolina
Society of Civil Engineers; Washington Society of Engineers
(President, 1914 Captain William Bowie, United States Coast
and Geodetic Survey, retired, died in Mt. Alto Hospital in
Washington, D.C. on Wednesday morning, August 25, 1940, after
an illness of about 3 weeks.
Born in nearby Anne Arundel County, Maryland, May 6, 1872,
the son of Thomas John and Susanna (Anderson) Bowie, Captain
Bowie received his early education in the public schools and
at private academies. He received degrees at Trinity College
(B. S., 1893, M. S. 1907, Sc. D. 1919); Lehigh University
(C. E. 1895, Sc. D. 1922); University of Edinburgh, Scotland
(LL. D. 1936); and George Washington University (LL. D. 1937).
Entering the service of the Coast and Geodetic Survey on July
1, 1895, he served as a junior officer in the field and later
as chief of a group engaged on triangulation and base line
measurements in many states of the Union as well as in the
Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Alaska, until his appointment
as Chief of the Division of Geodesy in 1909. He rendered distinguished
service in this position until his retirement December 31,
1936. During the World War he was commissioned a Major in
the Corps of Engineers, United States Army, and was assigned
to the Mapping Division of the Office of the Chief of Engineers
in Washington, D.C.
His brilliantly alert mind and thorough knowledge, coupled
with his untiring energy, won for him a high place among the
leading geodesists of his time. He was widely recognized,
both in this country and abroad, for his notable engineering
and scientific attainments and for his many valuable contributions
to the advancement of his profession.
His development of the theory of isostasy gained him international
recognition. He was awarded the Elliott Cresson medal in 1937
by the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia for his contributions
to the science of geodesy. He was also awarded the Charles
Lagrange prize by the Royal Academy of Belgium, 1932; made
an officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau by the Queen of the
Netherlands in 1937; and received the decoration of the Cross
of Grand Officer of the Order of St. Sava from Yugoslavia
in 1939.
The first impression of the medal of the American Geophysical
Union, known as the William Bowie medal and established for
award for distinguished attainment and outstanding contribution
to the advancement of cooperative research in fundamental
geophysics, was presented to Captain Bowie at the meeting
of the Union in April 1939.
Captain Bowie was interested in many scientific societies
and organizations to which he contributed much of his time.
He was President, Washington Society of Engineers, 1914; President,
Philosophical Society of Washington, 1926; President, Washington
Academy of Sciences, 1930; Chairman, American Geophysical
Union, 1919-22 and 1929-32; Chairman, Board of Surveys and
Maps of the Federal Government, 1922-24; Member, Committee
on Surveying and Mapping, American Engineering Council; President,
Society of American Military Engineers, 1938; Chairman, Division
of Surveying and Mapping of the American Society of Civil
Engineers since its organization in 1926; President, District
of Columbia Chapter of the Society of Sigma Xi, 1935-36; Honorary
President, Pan American Institute of Geography and History,
1929 to date; President, International Geodetic Association,
1919-33; and President, International Union of Geodesy and
Geophysics, 1933-36.
He was appointed Executive Secretary of the Society of American
Military Engineers in December 1939, and served in that capacity
and as editor of the society's magazine, until his death.
Captain Bowie is survived by his widow, Elizabeth T. Bowie;
a son, Clagett Bowie, of Baltimore; and two brothers, John
Bowie of Grassland, Maryland, and Major Edward Bowie of Berkeley,
California.
Funeral services were held at St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Washington,
D.C., at 1:30 p.m. Friday, August 30, 1940, followed by burial
in Arlington National Cemetery.