Albert Hoit Bumstead (1875–January 9, 1940) was an American cartographer and inventor. Bumstead was born in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

in 1875 to American educator Horace Bumstead as the first of his three sons, the same year his father joined the faculty of

Atlanta University Clark Atlanta University (CAU or Clark Atlanta) is a private, Methodist, historically black research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded on September19, 1865, as Atlanta University, it was the first HBCU in the Southe ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, and would serve as its longtime second president. Albert attended

Worcester Academy Worcester Academy is a co-ed private boarding school in Worcester, Massachusetts serving grades 6-12. It is the oldest school founded in Worcester, Massachusetts, and one of the oldest day-boarding schools in the United States. A coeducation ...

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the list of United States cities by population, 113th most populous city in the United States. Named after Worcester ...

for one year, graduating in 1894, then went on to

Worcester Polytechnic Institute The Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) is a Private university, private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1865, WPI was one of the United States' first engineering and technology universities and now h ...

(WPI) and studied

civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

. After WPI, he was a surveyor for the

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on Mar ...

. In 1910 he resided in Townsend Harbor, Massachusetts. In 1912, he became the topographer of the

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

expedition to

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

under explorer

Hiram Bingham III Hiram Bingham III (November 19, 1875 – June 6, 1956) was an American academic, explorer and politician. In 1911, he publicized the existence of the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu which he rediscovered with the guidance of local indigenous farm ...

, and by 1916 he was a

cartographer Cartography (; from , 'papyrus, sheet of paper, map'; and , 'write') is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an imagined reality) can ...

at the

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, where he would remain for 25 years. To solve a navigational challenge faced by Admiral Richard E. Byrd and his first 1925 flights into North Greenland, because magnetic readings become less reliable in polar regions, Bumstead invented the Bumstead sun compass, which uses sun-cast shadows to determine direction. Bumstead also made compasses for the Navy aviators in the Arctic expedition led by

Donald Baxter MacMillan Donald Baxter MacMillan (November 10, 1874 – September 7, 1970) was an Americans, American explorer, sailor, researcher and lecturer who made over 30 expeditions to the Arctic during his 46-year career. He pioneered the use of radios, air ...

, and for

Roald Amundsen Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (, ; ; 16 July 1872 – ) was a Norwegians, Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He was a key figure of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Born in Borge, Østfold, Norway, Am ...

for his trans-polar flight of the dirigible ''Norge'' in 1926. In addition, Bumstead devised a method for making marble

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

s from photographs using a dual vision device, a prime with two reflecting surfaces. In 1916 Bumstead and his younger brother Ralph W. Bumstead (1881-1964) were granted a patent for a device which would encode and decode telegraphic transmissions. Albert died on January 9, 1940.

Mount Bumstead The Grosvenor Mountains () are a group of widely scattered mountains and nunataks rising above the Antarctic polar plateau east of the head of Mill Glacier, extending from Mount Pratt in the north to the Mount Raymond area in the south, and from ...

in the

Grosvenor Mountains The Grosvenor Mountains () are a group of widely scattered mountains and nunataks rising above the Antarctic polar plateau east of the head of Mill Glacier, extending from Mount Pratt in the north to the Mount Raymond area in the south, and from ...

in the Antarctic was named by Admiral Byrd in his honor. Posthumously, a patent for a "photographic apparatus" to be used for phototypography was submitted in 1941 and issue late 1943.

References

1875 births 1940 deaths People from Boston American cartographers 20th-century American inventors American surveyors Worcester Academy alumni Worcester Polytechnic Institute alumni National Geographic people {{US-inventor-stub