Joseph Nisbet LeConte (February 7, 1870 – February 1, 1950) was a noted

explorer Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

of the Sierra Nevada. He was also a cartographer, a

photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographers As in other ...

and a professor of

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, an ...

Early life

Joseph Nisbet LeConte was born in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

to Joseph and Caroline (Nisbet) LeConte. He went by "Little Joe" among friends, because he was of short stature and was the son of geology professor Joseph LeConte. He often went by J. N. LeConte in photographs and articles. He entered the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

in 1887, earning a B.S. degree in 1891. He received a Master of Mechanical Engineering from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

in 1892, and was appointed assistant professor of mechanical engineering at U.C. Berkeley that August, beginning by teaching kinematics of machinery.

Career

Starting in 1912, he taught analytical mechanics for over 20 years. German physicist

Wilhelm Röntgen Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen (; ; 27 March 184510 February 1923) was a German mechanical engineer and physicist, who, on 8 November 1895, produced and detected electromagnetic radiation in a wavelength range known as X-rays or Röntgen rays, an achie ...

discovered

x-rays An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 picometers to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30&nbs ...

in 1895, and his first research paper was published at the end of December. An Austrian newspaper reported the results a week later. After reading those reports, LeConte found

cathode ray tubes A cathode-ray tube (CRT) is a vacuum tube containing one or more electron guns, which emit electron beams that are manipulated to display images on a phosphorescent screen. The images may represent electrical waveforms (oscilloscope), pictur ...

that his late uncle

John LeConte John LeConte (December 4, 1818 – April 29, 1891) was an American scientist and academic. He served as president of the University of California from 1869 to 1870 and again from 1875 to 1881. Biography LeConte was born in Liberty County, Georgi ...

had obtained for the university's physics lab. LeConte and his associates were able to construct an x-ray machine and produce images of a bullet lodged in the arm of a young boy within a week of the newspaper reports of Röntgen's discovery. LeConte also studied the materials problems of gas turbines, and built a harmonic analyzer to study the performance of electric power transmission lines. He was a professor at U.C. Berkeley for his entire career that lasted 45 years. LeConte loved mountaineering from the time he was a teenager and went all over the Sierra Nevada exploring, sometimes for several weeks. He produced the first map of the central Sierra Nevada for the Sierra Club, based on his exploration. At that time,

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, a ...

maps were not available. Along with James S. Hutchinson and

Duncan McDuffie Duncan McDuffie (September 24, 1877 – 1951) was a real estate developer, conservationist, and mountaineer based in Berkeley, California, United States. Developer McDuffie is best known for developing the Claremont and Northbrae neighbo ...

, he pioneered a high mountain route in 1908 from

Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an ...

to Kings Canyon, roughly along the route of the modern

John Muir Trail The John Muir Trail (JMT) ( Paiute: Nüümü Poyo, ''N-ue-mue Poh-yo'') is a long-distance trail in the Sierra Nevada mountain range of California, passing through Yosemite, Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks. From the northern terminus a ...

. In 28 days, they completed a trip of 228 miles through the high mountains, including several previously unexplored sections. An avid photographer, he took many photos of the Sierra Nevada, including the High Sierra and

Hetch Hetchy Valley Hetch Hetchy is a valley, a reservoir, and a water system in California in the United States. The glacial Hetch Hetchy Valley lies in the northwestern part of Yosemite National Park and is drained by the Tuolumne River. For thousands of years bef ...

before it was flooded by the

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

. He worked with heavy, fragile dry glass plates that had to be transported with great care throughout the wilderness. In 1944, Ansel Adams evaluated his work: "Never intentionally 'arty', most of his compositions reveal a sensitive reaction to the finest moments of the mountain scene. It is this quality that differentiates between a mere ''record'' and a ''creative, sympathetic statement''." A charter and lifelong member of the Sierra Club, he held several positions of leadership in it. After

John Muir John Muir ( ; April 21, 1838December 24, 1914), also known as "John of the Mountains" and "Father of the National Parks", was an influential Scottish-American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, glaciologist ...

died, he served as the club's second president (1915-1917). He was instrumental in helping create the

through the High Sierra as a tribute to his predecessor. He sat on the Sierra Club Board of Directors from 1898 through 1940, and at various times was vice president, secretary, treasurer, and outings chair. In 1901 he married Helen Gompertz, whom he met in the Sierra Club. LeConte Point in Hetch Hetchy Valley and Le Conte Avenue at the southern border of

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

in Westwood Village, Los Angeles are named after him.

References

* Joseph N. LeConte, ''A Yosemite Camping Trip 1889'' (Bancroft Library, 1990). Diary and Kodak snapshots of a family camping trip. * Holway R. Jones, ''John Muir and the Sierra Club: The Battle for Yosemite'' (Sierra Club, 1965). Has portrait of Joseph N. LeConte and about 16 large photographic plates taken by him of Hetch Hetchy Valley.

External links

*
Guide to the LeConte Family Papers
at

The Bancroft Library The Bancroft Library in the center of the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, is the university's primary special-collections library. It was acquired from its founder, Hubert Howe Bancroft, in 1905, with the proviso that it retai ...

John Muir Exhibit (Sierra Club) sketchThe Peaks and The Professors by Ann LageThe role of the Engineer's Office in the development of the University of California campuses : transcript, 1960
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leconte, Joseph Nisbet 1870 births 1950 deaths Sierra Club presidents Explorers of California American mountain climbers Photographers from California People from Oakland, California History of the Sierra Nevada (United States) 20th-century American photographers