Miles Rock (October 10, 1840 – January 29, 1901) was an American civil engineer, geologist and astronomer. He was part of the first graduating class of Lehigh University in 1869. He assisted

Benjamin Apthorp Gould Benjamin Apthorp Gould (September 27, 1824 – November 26, 1896) was a pioneering American astronomer. He is noted for creating the ''Astronomical Journal'', discovering the Gould Belt, and for founding of the Argentine National Observatory and ...

in the creation of the Observatorio Astronómico de Córdoba in Argentina between 1870 and 1873. He worked on the

Wheeler Survey The Wheeler Survey, carried out in 1872-1879, was one of the "Four Great Surveys" conducted by the United States government after the Civil War primarily to document the geology and natural resources of the American West. Supervised by First Lieu ...

which mapped parts of the western United States from 1878 to 1879 and as Chief of the Guatemala Boundary Commission from 1883 to 1898 which defined the disputed

Guatemala–Mexico border The international border between Guatemala and Mexico measures . It runs between north and west Guatemala (the Guatemalan departments of San Marcos Department, San Marcos, Huehuetenango Department, Huehuetenango, Quiché Department, El Quiché a ...

Early life and education

He was born in

Ephrata, Pennsylvania Ephrata ( ; ) is a borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located east of Harrisburg and about west-northwest of Philadelphia and is named after Ephrath, the former name for current-day Bethlehem. In its early hist ...

, on October 10, 1840. He was the youngest of nine children. His father died when Rock was only five years old and he was raised by a

Mennonite Mennonites are a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of ...

farmer. At age 14, he moved to

Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...

and worked in a book store. He attended the local public schools and Lancaster High School. He attended

Franklin & Marshall College Franklin & Marshall College (F&M) is a private liberal arts college in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1787 as Franklin College and later merged with Marshall College in 1853, it is one of the oldest colleges in the United St ...

but left early to serve in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. He served in the

1st Pennsylvania Reserve Regiment The 1st Pennsylvania Reserve Regiment, also known as the 30th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, was a regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was a part of the famed Pennsylvania Reserve division in the Army of the Potomac ...

as secretary to the commanding officer and in the U.S. Signal Corps. After the war, he enrolled in the first class of the newly founded

Lehigh University Lehigh University (LU), in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States, is a private university, private research university. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer. Lehigh University's undergraduate programs have been mixed ...

. He served as chairman of ''The Junto'' literary society and worked with Henry Sturgis Drinker to survey and map the Friedensville Zinc Mine in

Center Valley, Pennsylvania Center Valley is an unincorporated community located one mile north of Coopersburg, at the intersection of Pennsylvania State Routes 309 and 378 in Upper Saucon Township in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Lehigh ...

. He graduated in 1869 with a degree in civil engineering and worked as an instructor of math and mineralogy at Lehigh for one year after graduation.

Career

Rock and three others, including John M. Thome and

William Morris Davis William Morris Davis (February 12, 1850 – February 5, 1934) was an American geographer, geologist, geomorphologist, and meteorologist, often called the "father of American geography". He was born into a prominent Quaker family in Philadelphi ...

, assisted Benjamin Apthorp Gould in the creation of the Observatorio Astronómico de Córdoba in Argentina between 1870 and 1873. While there, Gould, Rock and others created the

Uranometria Argentina Benjamin Apthorp Gould (September 27, 1824 – November 26, 1896) was a pioneering American astronomer. He is noted for creating the ''Astronomical Journal'', discovering the Gould Belt, and for founding of the Argentine National Observatory and ...

, which formalized the southern astronomical constellations. Trained as a civil engineer, he held multiple roles that leveraged his skills in different ways. From 1874 to 1877, he worked with the

United States Hydrographic Office The United States Hydrographic Office (USHO) prepared and published maps, charts, and nautical books required in navigation. The office was established by an act of 21 June 1866 as part of the Bureau of Navigation, Department of the Navy. It wa ...

, mapping the West Indies and Central America. He was part of the

between 1878 and 1879 mapping western states and territories. He worked at the

United States Naval Observatory The United States Naval Observatory (USNO) is a scientific and military facility that produces geopositioning, navigation and timekeeping data for the United States Navy and the United States Department of Defense. Established in 1830 as the ...

as an assistant astronomer under

Simon Newcomb Simon Newcomb (March 12, 1835 – July 11, 1909) was a Canadians, Canadian–Americans, American astronomer, applied mathematician, and autodidactic polymath. He served as Professor of Mathematics in the United States Navy and at Johns Hopkins ...

from 1879 to 1883. In 1882, he participated in the observation of the

Transit of Venus A transit of Venus takes place when Venus passes directly between the Sun and the Earth (or any other superior planet), becoming visible against (and hence obscuring a small portion of) the solar disk. During a transit, Venus is visible as ...

from

Santiago, Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

. He was a member of the Anthropological Society of Washington and in 1879 made presentations titled "Indian pictographs in New Mexico" and "On the Effacing Power of Tropical Forest-growth in Trinidad Island". From 1883 to 1898, he was chief of the Guatemala Boundary Commission, whose goal was to clearly define and map the contentious boundary between

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

and

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Personal life

In 1870, he married Susan Clarkson and together they had a son, Alfred Rock, and a daughter, Amy Cordoba Rock. Rock died on January 29, 1901, on his coffee farm in Guatemala due to severe

food poisoning Foodborne illness (also known as foodborne disease and food poisoning) is any illness resulting from the contamination of food by pathogenic bacteria, viruses, or parasites, as well as prions (the agents of mad cow disease), and toxins such ...

. He was interred in the

Guatemala City General Cemetery The Guatemala City General Cemetery was built in 1880, during general Justo Rufino Barrios presidency. Ruined by 1917 Guatemala earthquake, 1917–18 earthquakes, it never recovered its old splendor; originally it was exclusive for the elites and ...

Guatemala City Guatemala City (, also known colloquially by the nickname Guate), is the Capital city, national capital and largest city of the Guatemala, Republic of Guatemala. It is also the Municipalities of Guatemala, municipal capital of the Guatemala Depa ...

with public honors under the supervision of President

Manuel Estrada Cabrera Manuel José Estrada Cabrera (21 November 1857 – 24 September 1924) was the President of Guatemala from 1898 to 1920. A lawyer with no military background, he modernised the country's industry and transportation infrastructure, via granting c ...

in recognition of his service to Guatemala. His son retrieved his belongings which were passed down through his descendants until they were donated to Lehigh University in 2021.

Publications

*
Telegraphic Determination of Longitudes in Mexico and Central America and on the West Coast of South America
', Washington: Government Printing Office, 1885 *
Guatemala Forests
', The American Naturalist, Vol. XXII, No. 257, pages 385-399, May 1888

References

External links

Rediscovering the Life and Legacy of Miles Rock lectureMap of the Guatemala Mexico border by Miles RockRediscovering Miles Rock - online exhibitUniversity of Alabama collections of Miles Rock and the Guatemala Boundary CommissionHis civil war uniform
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rock, Miles 1840 births 1901 deaths 19th-century American anthropologists 19th-century American astronomers 19th-century American geologists American civil engineers American topographers Deaths from foodborne illnesses Lehigh University alumni Lehigh University faculty People from Ephrata, Pennsylvania People of Pennsylvania in the American Civil War Union army soldiers