Herbert Grove Dorsey (April 24, 1876 – 1961) was an American engineer, inventor and physicist. He was principal engineer of the

United States Coast and Geodetic Survey The United States Coast and Geodetic Survey (abbreviated USC&GS), known from 1807 to 1836 as the Survey of the Coast and from 1836 until 1878 as the United States Coast Survey, was the first scientific agency of the United States Government. It ...

Radiosonic Laboratory in the 1930s. He invented the first practical

fathometer Echo sounding or depth sounding is the use of sonar for ranging, normally to determine the depth of water (bathymetry). It involves transmitting acoustic waves into water and recording the time interval between emission and return of a pulse; ...

, a water depth measuring instrument for ships.

Early life

Dorsey was born in

Kirkersville, Ohio Kirkersville is a village in Licking County, Ohio, United States, along the South Fork of the Licking River. The population was 525 at the 2010 census. Kirkersville was platted in 1832 by Dr. William C. Kirker, and named for him. Geography Kir ...

on April 24, 1876. His parents were Edwin Jackson and Mary Elma (Grove) Dorsey.

Family

On June 21, 1900, Dorsey married Virginia Rowlett in

Palmetto, Florida Palmetto is a city in Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was listed as 13,323. It is part of the Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. History A post office called Palmetto ha ...

. Their children were Herbert Grove, Jr. and William Rowlett.

Education

Dorsey received a Bachelor of Science degree from

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

in 1897. He did post-graduate work at Hopkins in 1897 and received a Master of Science honorary degree from

Denison University Denison University is a private liberal arts college in Granville, Ohio. One of the earliest colleges established in the former Northwest Territory, Denison University was founded in 1831. The college was first called the Granville Literary and ...

in 1898. He did post-graduate work at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 1900–1901 and earned a Ph. D. from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

in 1908.

Societies

He was a member of

Beta Theta Pi Beta Theta Pi (), commonly known as Beta, is a North American social fraternity that was founded in 1839 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. One of North America's oldest fraternities, as of 2022 it consists of 144 active chapters in the Unite ...

Career

Dorsey taught physics at the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universities, flagshi ...

from 1898–1900. He was head of the physics and electricity departments at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

from 1901–03 and at the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The University of Roc ...

from 1903–1904. Dorsey was assistant instructor in physics from 1904–1905, and instructor of physics from 1905–1910 at

. From 1910–1911, Dorsey worked as an electrical engineer in the research laboratory of

Western Electric Company The Western Electric Company was an American electrical engineering and manufacturing company officially founded in 1869. A wholly owned subsidiary of American Telephone & Telegraph for most of its lifespan, it served as the primary equipment ma ...

. He worked as an inventor at the

National Cash Register Company NCR Corporation, previously known as National Cash Register, is an American software, consulting and technology company providing several professional services and electronic products. It manufactures self-service kiosks, point-of-sale termin ...

from 1912–16. He was a physicist for the Hammond Radio Research Laboratory in

Gloucester, Massachusetts Gloucester () is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It sits on Cape Ann and is a part of Massachusetts's North Shore. The population was 29,729 at the 2020 U.S. Census. An important center of the fishing industry and a ...

from 1916–1921 and for the

Submarine Signal Company RTX Corporation (formerly Raytheon Technologies Corporation) is an American multinational aerospace and defense conglomerate headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It is one of the largest aerospace and defense manufacturers in the world by reve ...

from 1922–1925. Starting in 1926, he worked for the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey as the principal electrical engineer, continuing through the 1930s.

Inventions

Some of his patented inventions were an automatic deposit box, 1908; an electric indicating system for railways, 1908; a telephone circuit, 1912; a telephone apparatus improvement, 1912; a device for graphically reproducing sound waves, 1912; a

submarine mine A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, any ve ...

, 1916; an electrical credit system, 1916; a safety device for electrical circuits, 1916; a submarine control system, 1918; a telegraphy device, 1921; and an auto chain applicator, 1921.

Fathometer

Dorsey invented the practical fathometer in 1923, which is also referred to as the Dorsey Fathometer by the director of the U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey in 1934. It worked by sending a high pitched sound through the water. It traveled to the bottom at a known speed and returned an echo at the rate of four pings per second. This could then be measured and calculated as to the depth since sound travels at a precise speed in water. The "Fathometer" was so named by Dorsey because it measures

fathoms A fathom is a unit of length in the imperial and the U.S. customary systems equal to , used especially for measuring the depth of water. The fathom is neither an International Standard (SI) unit, nor an internationally-accepted non-SI unit. Hi ...

. File:Dorsey with Fathometer 1930.jpg, Dorsey, circa 1930 File:Fathometer.jpg, Submarine Signal Company model File:Brown fathometer.jpg, Fathometer aboard the

Liberty ship Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. Mass ...

. The Dorsey Fathometer instrument was used to get a precise measurement of water depth. It could measure depths from 8 to 3000 fathoms. The accuracy of the instrument was to within three inches and it could be measured in a millisecond. There were different models of the fathometer made initially by the Submarine Signal Company. The indicator of the Dorsey Fathometer was a neon tube on a rotating disc. The instrument looked like a clock and was in the

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

of a ship. The transmitting and receiving electronics were usually below the

deckhouse A cabin or berthing is an enclosed space generally on a ship or an aircraft. A cabin which protrudes above the level of a ship's deck may be referred to as a deckhouse. Sailing ships In sailing ships, the officers and paying passengers wou ...

. Before this instrument a ship had slow down considerably or stop to take soundings to get the depth. With Dorsey's Fathometer a ship could go at full speed and get the measurements.

Works

*
Coefficients of linear expansion at low temperatures
' (1908) *
The Dorsey Fathometer
' Washington Academy of Sciences (1935)

References

Sources

* * *

External links

WorldCat Publications
*
Herbert Grove Dorset – patent US1730411A

Device for graphically reproducing sound-waves.

Fathometer to measure the depth of water, 1928.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dorsey, Herbert Grove 1874 births 1961 deaths People from Licking County, Ohio Johns Hopkins University alumni Denison University alumni Cornell University alumni Harvard University alumni University of Florida faculty University of Maine faculty University of Rochester alumni 20th-century American engineers 20th-century American physicists 20th-century American inventors United States Coast and Geodetic Survey personnel Engineers from Ohio