William Lambton
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Lieutenant-Colonel William Lambton ( 1753 – 20 or 26 January 1823) was a British
soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The wo ...
,
surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. These points are usually on the ...
, and
geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...
who began a triangulation survey in 1800-1802 that was later called the
Great Trigonometrical Survey The Great Trigonometrical Survey of India was a project that aimed to carry out a survey across the Indian subcontinent with scientific precision. It was begun in 1802 by the British infantry officer William Lambton, under the auspices of t ...
of
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. His initial survey was to measure the length of a degree of an arc of the meridian so as to establish the shape of the Earth and support a larger scale trigonometrical survey across the width of the peninsula of India between
Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...
and
Mangalore Mangaluru (), formerly called Mangalore ( ), is a major industrial port city in the Indian state of Karnataka and on the west coast of India. It is located between the Laccadive Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bengaluru, the st ...
. After triangulating across the peninsula, he continued surveys northwards for more than twenty years. He died during the course of the surveys in
central India Central India refers to a geographical region of India that generally includes the states of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. The Central Zonal Council, established by the Government of India, includes these states as well as Uttar Prades ...
and is buried at
Hinganghat Hinganghat (Marathi Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, iŋgəɳɡʱaːʈ is a city in Wardha district of the Indian state of Maharashtra. The city is administered by a Municipal Council. Hinganghat is surrounded on two sides by the Wena Rive ...
in
Wardha Wardha is a city and a municipal council in Wardha district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The administrative headquarter of Wardha district is situated here. Wardha gets its name from the Wardha River which flows on the northern, western ...
district of
Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...
. He was succeeded by his assistant
George Everest Sir George Everest, (, ; 4 July 1790 – 1 December 1866) was a British surveyor and geographer who served as Surveyor General of India from 1830 to 1843. After a military education, Everest joined the East India Company and arrived in I ...
.


Life

Lambton was born around 1753 (1756 according to some sources) at Crosby Grange, near
Northallerton Northallerton ( ) is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the River Wiske in the Vale of Mowbray and had a population of 16,832 in 2011. Northallerton is an administrative centre for York and North Yorkshire ...
, in
North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...
, the son of a farmer. He was extremely reserved about the details of his family. Even the year of birth is speculated on the basis of an incident he recounted of a dinner in
Madikeri Madikeri (), earlier called as Mercara is city and headquarters of Kodagu district in the Karnataka state of India. It is recognised as one of the world's eight "hottest hotspots" of biological diversity and is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site ...
in 1803 hosted by Veer Rajender Wadeer, the ruler of the province of
Coorg Kodagu district () (also known by its former name Coorg) is an administrative district in the Karnataka state of India. Before 1956, it was an administratively separate Coorg State at which point it was merged into an enlarged Mysore State ...
. The Coorg
Raja Raja (; from , IAST ') is a noble or royal Sanskrit title historically used by some Indian subcontinent, Indian rulers and monarchs and highest-ranking nobles. The title was historically used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. T ...
made all present declare their age and Lambton is said to have mentioned his as fifty. For many years he spent a substantial portion of his salary to support his parents, from which it has been suggested that he came from humble origins. He often mentioned a mathematics teacher at school by the name of Emerson. His skill in
mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
earned him a place in a
grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...
at Northallerton, and he studied under Dr.
Charles Hutton Charles Hutton FRS FRSE LLD (14 August 1737 – 27 January 1823) was an English mathematician and surveyor. He was professor of mathematics at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich from 1773 to 1807. He is remembered for his calculation of th ...
. He also studied at Newcastle-on-Tyne. On 28 March 1781, Lambton was appointed
ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...
in Lord Fauconberg's regiment of foot, and transferred to the
33rd Regiment of Foot The Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, forming part of the King's Division. In 1702, Colonel George Hastings, 8th Earl of Huntingdon, was authorised to raise a new regiment, which he ...
under Arthur Wellesley to the Cape in 1796 and later to Bengal and Madras (1798). His ability at surveying led to work on measuring land for settlers in America. He spent most of his earning to support his parents. With his regiment he took part in the
American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
and was taken prisoner at Yorktown. Observing a
solar eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs approximately every six months, during the eclipse season i ...
through the telescope of a
theodolite A theodolite () is a precision optical instrument for measuring angles between designated visible points in the horizontal and vertical planes. The traditional use has been for land surveying, but it is also used extensively for building and ...
without darkened glasses led to the burning of the retina of his left eye. After this accident he obtained with the help of his friends, especially Sir Brook Watson, an appointment as barrack-master in
New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...
with a salary of 400 pounds per year. He had considerable leisure during which he was able to lay, in his words, "''...the foundation of that knowledge, which was one day to bring him to the notice of the world''." He was appointed barrack master in
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...
and he spent many years studying mathematics on his own. In 1795 the
Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of List of English monarchs, English (later List of British monarchs, British) monarchs ...
ordered that all civilian officers should be struck off from the regiments. Lambton then joined the 33rd at
Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...
after 13 years away from regimental duties. The 33rd Regiment was commanded by Sir Arthur Wellesley at Calcutta. In 1796, Lambton was promoted to Lieutenant and posted with his regiment to
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, under the command of Colonel Arthur Wellesley. He took part in the
Fourth Anglo-Mysore War The Fourth Anglo-Mysore War was a conflict in South India between the Kingdom of Mysore against the British East India Company and the Hyderabad Deccan in 1798–99. This was the last of the four Anglo-Mysore Wars. The British captured the capi ...
in 1799. He was a
brigade major A brigade major was the chief of staff of a brigade in the British Army. They most commonly held the rank of major, although the appointment was also held by captains, and was head of the brigade's "G - Operations and Intelligence" section direct ...
during the Siege of Seringapatam where he led the left column after the fall of his superiors. He was also able to demonstrate his skills in navigating by the stars during the campaign and had prevented a critical error when General Baird was headed in the wrong direction while attempting to get around Tipu's camp at night. After the capture of
Mysore Mysore ( ), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. As the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty, the city functioned as the capital of the ...
, Lambton proposed to Wellesley that the territory be surveyed, using the new techniques of
geodesy Geodesy or geodetics is the science of measuring and representing the Figure of the Earth, geometry, Gravity of Earth, gravity, and Earth's rotation, spatial orientation of the Earth in Relative change, temporally varying Three-dimensional spac ...
employed by
William Roy Major-General William Roy (4 May 17261 July 1790) was a Scottish military engineer, surveyor, and antiquarian. He was an innovator who applied new scientific discoveries and newly emerging technologies to the accurate geodetic mapping of Gr ...
in
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
. Lambton's proposal to conduct the survey was nearly shot down by Major James Rennel who declared that it was not needed since Colonel
Colin Mackenzie Colonel Colin Mackenzie (1754–8 May 1821) was a Scottish army officer in the British East India Company who later became the first Surveyor General of India. He was a collector of antiquities and an orientalist and an indologist. He sur ...
was already undertaking a similar survey. Lambton's proposal was however examined by
Nevil Maskelyne Nevil Maskelyne (; 6 October 1732 – 9 February 1811) was the fifth British Astronomer Royal. He held the office from 1765 to 1811. He was the first person to scientifically measure the mass of the planet Earth. He created '' The Nautical Al ...
,
Astronomer Royal Astronomer Royal is a senior post in the Royal Households of the United Kingdom. There are two officers, the senior being the astronomer royal dating from 22 June 1675; the junior is the astronomer royal for Scotland dating from 1834. The Astro ...
and a relative of Lord Clive. Maskelyne saw the scientific value of the survey and pointed out to Rennel that he had been misinformed and gave his support to the project. Just around the time that Lambton got his survey approved by Lord Clive, he happened to hear of some instruments being carried back from
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
by astronomer Dr.
James Dinwiddie James Dinwiddie may refer to: * James Dinwiddie (surgeon), American Confederate military surgeon * James Dinwiddie (astronomer), Scottish physicist, astronomer, inventor and natural philosopher * James A. Dinwiddie, member of the Virginia Senate ...
. A set of instruments had been sent to China along with Dr. Dinwiddie but the
Chinese Emperor Throughout Chinese history, "Emperor" () was the superlative title held by the monarchs of imperial China's various dynasties. In traditional Chinese political theory, the emperor was the " Son of Heaven", an autocrat with the divine manda ...
had not shown interest and the equipment was returned. Lambton was able to examine the instruments when Dinwiddie broke journey at Fort William. The instruments included a zenith sector (an upward pointing telescope with measuring instruments) of radius, a Ramsden chain, leveling instrument, and a chronometer. Lambton also ordered an altitude and azimuth circle with a theodolite. The equipment arrived in 1801. Although a baseline was measured in
Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...
between October and December 1800, this appears to have been rejected (it was not connected to the triangulations) and another baseline was made in 1804 (using better equipment and on better terrain) to compare with the
Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...
baseline, whose measurement began on 10 April 1802 from St. Thomas Mount and was completed with measured by 22 May 1802. They then triangulated their way to Bangalore where the 1804 baseline was measured by John Warren to check the survey accuracy (also examining the errors introduced by
refraction In physics, refraction is the redirection of a wave as it passes from one transmission medium, medium to another. The redirection can be caused by the wave's change in speed or by a change in the medium. Refraction of light is the most commo ...
). The triangulation extended west to end at Mangalore. In 1806 he began his latitudinal measurement northwards from
Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...
, where the British territory ended. He then surveyed southwards to
Cape Comorin Kanyakumari (Tamil; / kəɳjɑkʊmɑɾiː/; referring to Devi Kanya Kumari, officially known as Kanniyakumari, formerly known as Cape Comorin) is a town and a municipality in Kanyakumari district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the ...
. Lambton then recommenced the survey northwards until his death. He died at
Hinganghat Hinganghat (Marathi Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, iŋgəɳɡʱaːʈ is a city in Wardha district of the Indian state of Maharashtra. The city is administered by a Municipal Council. Hinganghat is surrounded on two sides by the Wena Rive ...
, and the exact date of death is not known but is either 20th as recorded by most contemporary newspapers or 26 January 1823. A memorial was erected by the Resident of
Nagpur Nagpur (; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Nāgapura'') is the second capital and third-largest city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is called the heart of India because of its central geographical location. It is the largest and most populated city i ...
,
Richard Jenkins Richard Dale Jenkins (born May 4, 1947) is an American actor. He is well known for his portrayal of deceased patriarch Nathaniel Fisher on the HBO funeral drama series ''Six Feet Under (TV series), Six Feet Under'' (2001–2005). He began his c ...
. Lambton had three acknowledged children through an Indian mistress named Kumerboo. One of them was also named William Lambton while another possibly died in infancy. He had another daughter and son through another woman Frances, possibly a Franco-Indian or
Anglo-Indian Anglo-Indian people are a distinct minority group, minority community of mixed-race British and Indian ancestry. During the colonial period, their ancestry was defined as British paternal and Indian maternal heritage; post-independence, "Angl ...
. A William Lambton junior joined the Survey in 1815.


Surveys

Around the time that Lambton proposed a triangulation survey of the peninsula of India, Colonel Colin Mackenzie had already begun a topographical survey of the Mysore region. Mackenzie was later designated as the Surveyor General. Lambton, with his support from Lord Clive, however, did not have to report to Mackenzie and it has been suggested that Mackenzie felt undermined. Their correspondence however showed cordial relations being maintained. The triangulation survey was officially given the name of Great Trigonometrical Survey only in 1818. Lambton essentially followed a system established in
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
by General Roy for the
Principal Triangulation of Great Britain The Principal Triangulation of Britain was the first high-precision triangulation survey of the whole of Great Britain and Ireland, carried out between 1791 and 1853 under the auspices of the Board of Ordnance. The aim of the survey was to estab ...
. Lambton's initial aim was to measure the arc of a meridian so as to establish the
shape of the Earth In geodesy, the figure of the Earth is the size and shape used to model planet Earth. The kind of figure depends on application, including the precision needed for the model. A spherical Earth is a well-known historical approximation that is s ...
. Lambton did not wish to assume any specific theoretical shape and preferred to make exact measurements. In the earliest surveys conducted in Bangalore he noted: The Bangalore baseline of 1800 made use of a chain laid in long
coffer A coffer (or coffering) in architecture is a series of sunken panels in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault. A series of these sunken panels was often used as decoration for a ceiling or a vault, al ...
s supported on pickets and the heads were aligned using a telescope. The ground chosen was not appropriate and this early baseline measurement had to be dropped. The equipment needed for careful survey arrived only in 1801. The subsequent baselines including were made more carefully with the use of a Ramsden's chain specially calibrated for tropical temperatures, consisting of 40 links of each and measuring at , and a boning telescope (a small, low-magnification telescope used for aligning the tops of survey poles). He took special precautions to account for the expansion of the chain under the Indian weather; and repeated measurements with rotations of the telescope of the Zenith sector so as to account for
collimation A collimated beam of light or other electromagnetic radiation has parallel rays, and therefore will spread minimally as it propagates. A laser beam is an archetypical example. A perfectly collimated light beam, with no divergence, would not disp ...
errors in determining the latitude (the elevation of the pole star directly provides the latitude but owing to errors related to determining the horizon and from refraction, the preferred method in surveying was to use well known stars located closer to the zenith, such as
Aldebaran Aldebaran () is a star in the zodiac constellation of Taurus. It has the Bayer designation α Tauri, which is Latinized to Alpha Tauri and abbreviated Alpha Tau or α Tau. Aldebaran varies in brightness from an apparent vis ...
for India, whose declination from the pole-star had been pre-established). Lambton's assistant John Warren investigated the effect of refraction on errors in calculating the latitudes. The main survey instrument from 1802 for the primary triangles was a
Great Theodolite The Ramsden surveying instruments are those constructed by Jesse Ramsden and used in high precision geodetic surveys carried out in the period 1784 to 1853. This includes the five great theodolites—great in name, great in size and great in accur ...
made by William Cary. This was very similar to the instruments used in France and Britain for previous trigonometrical surveys. It had a horizontal circle that was and the readings were taken using a microscope. The vertical graduated circle was in diameter. It weighed about half a ton and needed twelve men to carry it. Lambton measured all three angles of triangles in several cases to establish the
spherical excess Spherical trigonometry is the branch of spherical geometry that deals with the metrical relationships between the sides and angles of spherical triangles, traditionally expressed using trigonometric functions. On the sphere, geodesics are gre ...
(angles of triangles on a sphere sum up greater than 180°). When the survey was carried out from Madras to Bangalore, Lambton was able to compare the Bangalore baseline of 1804 with the calculated measurements and the difference was about .


Honours

Lambton was made a
Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...
(9 January 1817) and a corresponding member of the
French Academy of Sciences The French Academy of Sciences (, ) is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific method, scientific research. It was at the forefron ...
in 1817. A narrow ridge above the Bhavani valley along the Nilgiris is named after him, as Lambton's Peak Range. A commemorative bust was placed at St. Thomas Mount,
Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...
, India in 2003.Extract from ''The Hindu''. 18 September 2003
/ref>


Notes


References

* John Keay. 2000. ''The Great Arc''. London: HarperCollins. . *


External links


Trigonometrical survey of India (Expenses and summary report to House of Commons)

Overlay of Lambton's triangulations in peninsular India
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lambton, William 1750s births 1823 deaths Scientists from Yorkshire 33rd Regiment of Foot officers British Army personnel of the American Revolutionary War British military personnel of the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War English geographers Fellows of the Royal Society Members of the French Academy of Sciences People from Northallerton