Thomas Frederick Colby facts for kids
Thomas Frederick Colby (born September 1, 1784 – died October 9, 1852) was a British major-general. He was also the director of the Ordnance Survey, which is a national mapping agency. Colby was a very important geographer of his time. He was a member of the Royal Astronomical Society and the Royal Society.
Colby was an officer in the Royal Engineers. He had a shooting accident and lost one hand, but this did not stop him. In 1802, he started working with the Ordnance Survey and stayed there his whole life. His most important project was the Survey of Ireland. He started planning this huge job in 1824 and led it until 1846. The maps from this survey were almost finished that year. Colby also invented the "Colby Bar," a special tool used for measuring distances very accurately.
Contents
Early Life and First Surveys
Thomas Colby was born in Rochester, Kent, on September 1, 1784. He was the oldest child of Major Thomas Colby. Thomas grew up in Wales with his father's sisters. He went to school in Northfleet, Kent. Later, he attended the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. He joined the Royal Engineers when he was only 16 years old.
Major William Mudge, who was the director of the Ordnance Survey, noticed Colby's talent. In 1802, Mudge arranged for Colby to join the Survey team. Colby's first job was to make observations on the Isle of Wight. In 1803, he had an accident while practicing with a pistol. He lost his left hand, but he kept working. In the following years, he helped Mudge measure a base-line in Wales. He also helped with astronomical observations in Cheshire and Yorkshire. Later, he chose important points for surveys in the mountains of South Wales.
During the Napoleonic wars, the publication of maps was paused. In 1809, Colby became the main leader of the Survey.
Mapping Scotland
In 1813, the Ordnance Survey decided to extend its measurements into Scotland. Colby and his main assistant, James Gardner, chose survey points in south-west Scotland. They used a theodolite to make observations. In 1816–17, Colby continued the survey along the eastern coast towards Orkney and Shetland. He also measured the only base-line in Scotland, near Aberdeen.
Colby also worked with Jean-Baptiste Biot, a French scientist. They made observations in Shetland to help extend the map of the world. Colby later went to Dunkirk with General Mudge. There, they worked with Biot and François Arago to connect observations between Greenwich and Paris. In 1819, Colby was back in Scotland, working in Banff and Caithness. He received an honorary degree from the University of Aberdeen. He also became a member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
Leading the Ordnance Survey
In 1820, General Mudge passed away. The Duke of Wellington chose Colby to be the new head of the Ordnance Survey. On April 13, 1820, Colby became a member of the Royal Society. He also joined the Board of Longitude, which helped with navigation. Colby was one of the people who started the Royal Astronomical Society. He helped write its rules.
Colby continued to work on surveys in Orkney and Shetland. From 1821 to 1823, he worked with Henry Kater and French scientists. They connected the survey observations between Greenwich and Paris. They used new special lenses to see across the English Channel. Colby shared his notes on these lenses with his friend Robert Stevenson. This led to these lenses being used in British lighthouses.
The Great Irish Survey
In 1824, Colby and the Ordnance Survey were given a huge task: to map all of Ireland. Colby decided that the work should be done directly by the government. He trained three companies of soldiers, called sappers and miners, to do survey work. Many Irish surveyors also joined the team later. The survey began in 1825 near Belfast.
Colby invented his famous "Colby bar" for this project. It was a special measuring tool made of brass and iron. This tool was used for very accurate measurements all over the world. A base-line, eight miles long, was measured in Ireland using this bar. When the official standard yard was destroyed in a fire in 1834, it was rebuilt using Colby's precise measurements.
At first, progress was slow because there weren't enough trained staff. But by May 1833, the first Irish county map, Londonderry, was published. Other counties followed. By 1847, the map of Ireland was finished. It had 1,939 sheets, all drawn at a scale of six inches to the mile. Colby spent more money than Parliament had approved, but he did not take his own salary. The survey also included studying the tides. Colby introduced new methods like electrotyping and drawing contour lines on maps. He also trained soldiers to be surveyors.
Later Years and Retirement
In 1833, the government asked Colby to create a geological map of western England. This project continued until 1845. After General Mudge died, the British survey work had slowed down. But in 1838, the survey of Scotland started again. Colby moved back to London from Dublin. That year, he went into the field for the last time, surveying in Sutherlandshire, Scotland.
In 1840, the government decided to survey more counties in England and all of Scotland. The assistants from the Irish survey were moved to England and Scotland. The work was still going on when Colby became a major-general in November 1846. Because of army rules, he had to retire from his job at the Ordnance Survey.
After retiring, Colby focused on his sons' education. He lived in Bonn, Germany, for some time. He passed away in New Brighton on October 9, 1852, at the age of 68. A monument was built for him in Liverpool.
Family Life
In 1828, Colby married Elizabeth Hester Boyd. They had four sons and three daughters. After getting married, Colby moved from London to Dublin. He lived near the survey office.
Legacy
Colby House, which was the main office for the Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland until 2014, is named after him.
Images for kids
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Thomas Colby, 1837 drawing by William Brockedon
