Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Measures of Hassler at NIST

Published

Author(s)

L A. Greenhouse

Abstract

The descendants of Ferdinand Rudolph Hassler have loaned a collection of the first Coast Survey Superintendent's personal instruments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The instruments are displayed in the lobby to NIST's Red Auditorium. The NIST Fabrication Technology Division has replaced missing parts of the Hassler instruments with historically accurate reconstructions. As well as being a geodesist, Hassler was an accomplished meteorologist. Because of Hassler's dual occupation, the Office of Weights and Measures was originally part of the U.S. Coast Survey before being transferred to NIST, then the National Bureau of Standards, in 1901. Hassler is, thus, seen as a founding father of NIST..
Citation
Rittenhouse

Keywords

Fabrication Technology, Hassler, instrument maker, optical shop, Scientific instruments, Survey of the Coast, weights and measures

Citation

Greenhouse, L. (2008), Measures of Hassler at NIST, Rittenhouse (Accessed December 12, 2024)

Issues

If you have any questions about this publication or are having problems accessing it, please contact reflib@nist.gov.

Created October 16, 2008