Alden Partridge Colvocoresses
| Alden Partridge Colvocoresses | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 23, 1918 Humboldt, Arizona |
| Died | 27 March 2007 (aged 88) Inova Fairfax Hospital |
| Buried at | Arlington National Cemetery |
| Allegiance |
 United States
|
| Service/branch | United States Army |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Unit | 1st Armored Division |
| Battles/wars |
World War II Korean War |
| Awards | |
| Other work | Pioneer in satellite mapping techniques |
Colonel Alden Partridge Colvocoresses (1918-March 27, 2007), US Army (Ret.), developed in 1973–1979 the Space-oblique Mercator projection with John Parr Snyder and John L. Junkins. Colvocoresses was the first to realize that such a projection was needed and mathematically feasible, and in 1974 defined it geometrically as a projection that maps images from Landsat satellites, which he used to develop the first satellite map of the United States.
Alden P. Colvocoresses was born the son of George M. Colvocoresses II and Alice Hagen in Humboldt, Arizona, in 1918. He is the grandson of George Partridge Colvocoresses and the great-grandson of George Colvocoresses. He served in the United States Army in World War II, in the 16th Armored Engineer Battalion of the 1st Armored Division, pulling duties 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 capturing and destroying a German Mark IV tank in Tunisia and another for escaping from Italian captors in North Africa.
Alden became involved with aerial photo mapping for the 1st Army, where he oversaw some of the photo mapping as preparation for the D-Day assault on Normandy.
He also served in the Korean War and retired after playing a large role in mapping operations during the Vietnam War.
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