Colonel Sir Charles Frederick Arden-Close, FRS (10 August 1865 – 19 December 1952) was a British geographer and surveyor , he was Director General of the Ordnance Survey from 1911 to 1922. His insistence on attention to detail saw the improvement of many attitudes and methods at the Ordnance Survey, his planning saw the production of many of maps now viewed as pinnacles in the classic period of map making. He was born Charles Frederick Close and changed his surname to Arden-Close in 1938 so as to comply with a bequest. August 10 is the 222nd day of the year (223rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1865 is a common year starting on Sunday. ... December 19 is the 353rd day of the year (354th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1952 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... A geographer is a crazy psycho whose area of study is geocrap, the pseudoscientific study of Earths physical environment and human habitat and the study of boring students to death. ... Surveyor at work with a leveling instrument. ... Director-general is the professional head of a UK Executive Agency which contains other agencies headed by directors. ... Image produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. ... 1911 was a common year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ... 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ...

He was born in Jersey, the eldest of the eleven children of Major-General Frederick Close (1830-1899) and his second wife Lydia Ann Stevens. He attended, and excelled at mathematics at, the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich where military engineering and artillery were taught. After receiving his commission in the Royal Engineers in 1884 he saw service in the School of Military Engineering at Chatham, Gibraltar and India. Wikibooks Wikiversity has more about this subject: School of Mathematics Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Mathematics Look up Mathematics in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mathematics Inter. ... The Royal Military Academy was founded in 1741 in Woolwich, south-east London. ... Woolwich (pronounced Woolitch) is a town in south-east London, England in the London Borough of Greenwich, on the south side of the River Thames, though the tiny exclave of North Woolwich (which is now part of the London Borough of Newham) is on the north side of the river. ... A military engineer is primarily responsible for the design and construction of offensive and defensive structures for warfare. ... Historically, artillery refers to any engine used for the discharge of projectiles during war. ... The Corps of Royal Engineers (RE), commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army. ... The Royal School of Military Engineering is based at several sites in Chatham in Kent, England. ... Chatham is the name of several places. ...

In 1889 Close was posted to the survey of India where he carried out topographic work in Burma and triangulation in Mandalay. A further posting to eastern Nigeria where he was to survey the border with the German Cameroons. After appointment to the Ordnance Survey he carried out much work in central, eastern and southern Africa. After leading a small surveying unit in the Second Boer War he returned in 1902 to become chief instructor of surveying at the Chatham military academy. His Text Book of Topographical and Geographical Surveying published in 1905 became the standard textbook on the subject. The Survey of India is Indias central agency in charge of mapping and surveying. ... Topography, a term in geography, has come to refer to the lay of the land, or the physiogeographic characteristics of land in terms of elevation, slope, and orientation. ... Triangulation can be used to find the distance from the shore to the ship. ... Mandalay (Burmese: ) is the second largest city (2000 pop. ... Cameroons was a British Mandate territory in West Africa, now divided between Nigeria and Cameroon. ... // Etymology World map showing Africa (geographically) The name Africa came into Western use through the Romans, who used the name Africa terra — land of the Afri (plural, or Afer singular) — for the northern part of the continent, as the province of Africa with its capital Carthage, corresponding to modern-day... The Second Boer War, also known as the South African War, was fought from October 11, 1899 until May 31, 1902. ... 1905 (MCMV) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

In 1911 Close was appointed Director General of the Ordnance Survey, a post he held until 1922. He introduced more rigorous scientific methods at the Ordnance Survey and proceeded with a second geodetic levelling of the United Kingdom. He was intent on producing one-inch maps (Scale = 1:63,360 or 1 inch = 1 mile) of revolutionary appearance, the first of these for Killarney district (Ireland was then part of the UK) used colour printing and precise printing methods and was a was admired by all. Because of the high cost of production Close had to compromise his aims and a simpler style was adopted, this design set the standard for subsequent one-inch series. Director-general is the professional head of a UK Executive Agency which contains other agencies headed by directors. ... It has been suggested that Geodetic datum be merged into this article or section. ... This article is in need of attention. ... Mid-19th century tool for converting between different standards of the inch An inch is an Imperial and U.S. customary unit of length. ... A mile is any of several units of distance, or, in physics terminology, of length. ... St. ...

Charles Close married late in 1913 and had two sons and a daughter. He was knighted in 1918, in recognition of the Ordnance Survey's efforts during World War I during which over 30 million maps were produced. He was elected FRS in 1919. Upon retirement in 1922 he became secretary of the International Geographical Congress. 1913 (MCMXIII) is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... The British honours system is a means of rewarding individuals personal bravery, achievement or service to the United Kingdom. ... World War I was primarily a European conflict with many facets: immense human sacrifice, stalemate trench warfare, and the use of new, devastating weapons - tanks, aircraft, machine guns, and poison gas. ... The Fellowship of the Royal Society is composed of 1292 of the most distinguished scientists from the United Kingdom, other Commonwealth countries and the Republic of Ireland. ...

Sources

• Matthew, H.C.G. and Harrison, B. (eds), 2004, Oxford dictionary of national biography (vol 12), Oxford: OUP.
• The Charles Close Society retrieved 26 November 2005.

Further reading

• Close, Charles, 1905, Text Book of Topographical and Geographical Surveying, London: HMSO.
• Close, Charles, 1926, The early years of the Ordnance Survey, Chatham: Institure of Royal Engineers.
• Seymour W.A., (ed), 1980, A History of the Ordnance Survey, Folkeston: Dawson, ISBN 0712909796.
• Owen, Tim, and Pilbeam, Elaine, 1992, Ordnance Survey, map makers to Britain since 1791, Southampton: Ordnance Survey (HMSO), ISBN 0117015075 (HMSO).

External links

• Ordnance Survey - the mapping agency for Great Britain.
• The Charles Close Society for the study of Ordnance Survey maps.