Wolfgang Louis Gottfried Joerg, better known as W. L. G. Joerg (February 6, 1885 – January 7, 1952), was an American geographer, and in particular an expert in the geography of the

Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...

and

Antarctic The Antarctic (, ; commonly ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the South Pole, lying within the Antarctic Circle. It is antipodes, diametrically opposite of the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antar ...

regions, who exercised broad influence on the field in various positions, ultimately as Chief Archivist of the Cartographic Records Branch of the National Archives.Herman R. Frits, Arctic Institute of North America
W. L. G. JOERG (1885-1952)
John K. Wright,
Obituary: W. L. G. Joerg 1885-1952
, ''Geographical Review'', published by the American Geographical Society, Vol. 42, No. 3 (Jul., 1952), pp. 482-488. Joerg was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. A prodigy, Joerg graduated from the Brooklyn Polytechnic Preparatory School at the age of fourteen. He was fluent in many languages, and studied in Germany, at Thomas Gymnasium and the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...

, from 1901 to 1904, then studied

geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

and

surveying Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the land, terrestrial Plane (mathematics), two-dimensional or Three-dimensional space#In Euclidean geometry, three-dimensional positions of Point (geom ...

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

for a year. After returning to Germany for a five year stint at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...

, Joerg entered into employment with the

American Geographical Society The American Geographical Society (AGS) is an organization of professional geographers, founded in 1851 in New York City. Most fellows of the society are United States, Americans, but among them have always been a significant number of fellows f ...

in 1911, where he would remain until 1937, when he left the Society to accept the post of Chief of the Division of Maps and Charts in the

National Archives and Records Administration The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an independent agency of the United States government within the executive branch, charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It is also task ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Joerg was the first employee of the Society to have had advanced university training in modern geography. Joerg published many books and articles on geography, including volumes on the geography of the polar regions. Although he personally never travelled to the polar regions, he was considered to be the world's greatest expert on the geography of these regions. His early death was caused by a

cerebral hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as hemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain (i.e. the parenchyma), into its ventricles, or into both. An ICH is a type of bleeding within the skull and one kind of stro ...

. Commendation by the United States Board on Geographic Names The

United States Board on Geographic Names The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a Federal government of the United States, federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geogr ...

(BGN), at the 25th Meeting of the Board held on January 15, 1952, adopted a resolution commending W.L.G. Joerg. The commendation reads as follows: WHEREAS in the death of W.L.G. Joerg on January 7, 1952 the Board on Geographic Names has lost a true friend and trusted advisor who served as a member of the

from June 9, 1938 and as its chairman from March 18, 1940 until its replacement by the present Board on July 10, 1947, and WHEREAS he served as a chairman of the Special Committee on Antarctic Names from its inception on July 23, 1943 to July 25, 1947, and as a member of the succeeding

Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names The Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (ACAN or US-ACAN) is an advisory committee of the United States Board on Geographic Names responsible for recommending commemorative names for features in Antarctica. History The committee was established ...

until his death and WHEREAS his extraordinary knowledge of geography, geographers, exploration and scientific literature in several languages, his unwavering devotion to truth and scholarship, and his deep understanding of the principles of geographic nomenclature are reflected in all of the Board's successes from the time he joined it, and WHEREAS his warm human kindness, modesty and integrity generated both affection and respect for him in all who came to know him: Now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the

Board on Geographic Names The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geographic names throughout the federal gover ...

in regular meeting assembled, humbly acknowledges its great debt to the late W.L.G. Joerg, and proudly holds aloft as a beacon his example of selfless service to his fellow men; and be it further RESOLVED, That this resolution be spread upon the minutes of this Board, and that a copy be transmitted to his widow.

References

External links

Works by W. L. G. Joerg
at

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Joerg, W. L. G. 1885 births 1952 deaths Presidents of the American Association of Geographers Poly Prep alumni Leipzig University alumni 20th-century American geographers