Joseph Nisbet LeConte (February 7, 1870 – February 1, 1950) was an American

explorer Exploration is the process of exploring, an activity which has some Expectation (epistemic), expectation of Discovery (observation), discovery. Organised exploration is largely a human activity, but exploratory activity is common to most organis ...

of the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

. He was also 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 ...

, 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 uses a camera to make photographs. Duties and types of photograp ...

and a professor of

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...

Early life

Joseph Nisbet LeConte was born in

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

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 Joseph Le Conte (alternative spelling: Joseph LeConte) (February 26, 1823 – July 6, 1901) was a physician, geologist, professor at the University of California, Berkeley, early California conservationist, and eugenicist. Early life Of Huguen ...

. 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 university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

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

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

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

kinematics In physics, kinematics studies the geometrical aspects of motion of physical objects independent of forces that set them in motion. Constrained motion such as linked machine parts are also described as kinematics. Kinematics is concerned with s ...

of machinery.

Career

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

Wilhelm Röntgen Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen (; 27 March 1845 – 10 February 1923), sometimes Transliteration, transliterated as Roentgen ( ), was a German physicist who produced and detected electromagnetic radiation in a wavelength range known as X-rays. As ...

discovered

x-rays An X-ray (also known in many languages as Röntgen radiation) is a form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than those of ultraviolet rays and longer than those of gamma rays. Roughly, X-rays have a wavelength ran ...

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 tube 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 on an oscilloscope, a ...

s 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 from 1875 to 1881. Biography LeConte was born in Liberty County, Georgia, to ...

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 Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become mounta ...

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 The Sierra Club is an American environmental organization with chapters in all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded in 1892, in San Francisco, by preservationist John Muir. A product of the Pro ...

, based on his exploration. At that time,

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an government agency, agency of the United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geograp ...

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 neighb ...

, he pioneered a high mountain route in 1908 from

Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in California. It is bordered on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The p ...

to Kings Canyon, roughly along the route of the modern

John Muir Trail The John Muir Trail (JMT) is a long-distance trail in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada mountain range of California, passing through Yosemite National Park, Yosemite, Kings Canyon National Park, Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Park, Se ...

. 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, reservoir, and 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 before ...

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, aqua ...

. He worked with heavy, fragile dry glass plates that had to be transported with great care throughout the wilderness. In 1944,

Ansel Adams Ansel Easton Adams (February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984) was an American landscape photographer and environmentalist known for his Monochrome photography, black-and-white images of the American West. He helped found Group f/64, an association ...

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 park, National Parks", was a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, glaciologi ...

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, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

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 is the primary special-collections library of the University of California, Berkeley. It was acquired from its founder, Hubert Howe Bancroft, in 1905, with the proviso that it retain the name Bancroft Library in perpetuity. ...

John Muir Exhibit (Sierra Club) sketch

The 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 American explorers 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