Martin Hotine

Brigadier Martin Hotine CMG CBE (17 June 1898 – 12 November 1968)^[3] was the head of the Trigonometrical and Levelling Division of the Ordnance Survey responsible for the 26-year-long retriangulation of Great Britain^[4] (1936–1962) and was the first Director General of the Directorate of Overseas Surveys (1946–1955).^[5]

Brigadier Martin Hotine CMG CBE
Born	(1898-06-17)17 June 1898[1] Wandsworth, London[2]
Died	12 November 1968(1968-11-12) (aged 70)[1] Surrey, England
Resting place	Municipal Cemetery, Weybridge, Surrey, England 51.366442°N 0.465578°W / 51.366442; -0.465578
Nationality	British
Education	Southend Technical School[2] Royal Military Academy, Woolwich Magdalene College, Cambridge[2]
Known for	Founder and first Director General of the Directorate of Overseas Surveys
Spouse	Kate Amelia Hotine (1895–1987)

He was commissioned as a Royal Engineers officer in 1917^[6] and served on the North-West Frontier during the First World War and later in the Persian and Mesopotamian campaigns. He has been described as "decisive, ingenious and tough".^[4]

Cartography

Hotine was responsible for the design of the triangulation pillars constructed during the Geodetic resurvey of Britain.^[4] 6,173 of these were built.^[4] They provided a solid base for the theodolites used by the survey teams during the survey, thereby improving the accuracy of the readings obtained.^[4] They are sometimes referred to as "Hotine Pillars".

In the 1940s, Hotine developed a map projection for the Malay Peninsula and Borneo that is known as the Hotine oblique Mercator projection.^[7]

Personal life

Hotine was married to Kate Amelia Hotine (née Pearson)(1895–1987) whose nickname to family and friends was 'Ajax'.^[3]

Honours

Martin Hotine was awarded the CBE in 1945, and the CMG in 1949.

• In 1947 he became an officer of the United States Legion of Merit.
• 1947 Royal Geographical Society Founder's Medal "For research work in Air Survey ... and for his cartographic work."^[8]
• 1955 Photogrammetric Society's first President's Medal^[5]
• 1964 The Institution of Royal Engineers' Gold Medal^[5]
• In 1968 he was awarded the United States Department of Commerce Gold Medal.

Publications

• Hotine, Martin (1931), Surveying from air photographs, Professional Papers of the Air Survey Committee – No. 3, London: His Majesty's Stationery Office, p. 71
• Hotine, Martin (1931), The Fourcade Stereogoniometer, Professional Papers of the Air Survey Committee – No. 7, London: His Majesty's Stationery Office, OCLC 184739773
• Hotine, Martin, Mathematical geodesy

See also

• Hotine Glacier