William Bowie | |
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![]() William Bowie
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Born | May 6, 1872 Grassland, Annapolis Junction, Maryland |
Died |
August 28, 1940 (aged 68) Washington, DC |
Nationality | American |
Fields | Geodesy |
Notable awards | William Bowie Medal (1939) |
William Bowie, B.S., C.E., M.A. (May 6, 1872 – August 28, 1940) was an American geodetic engineer.
He was born at Grassland, an historic estate near Annapolis Junction, Anne Arundel County, Maryland, to Thomas John Bowie and Susanna Anderson. He was educated in public schools, at St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland, Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut (B.S. 1893; M.A. 1907; Sc.D. 1919), and Lehigh (C.E. 1895; Sc.D. 1922). He received honorary degrees (LL.D. 1936) from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, at the meeting of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics of which he was President, and from George Washington University (Sc.D. 1937).
In 1895 he entered the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey. During World War I he served in the United States Army Corps of Engineers as a major.
He represented the United States at various international geodetic conferences and congresses. His scientific researches had to do with the theory of isostasy and its applications to dynamic and structural geology. He retired from government service at the age of 64 in 1936.