Joseph Nisbet LeConte (February 7, 1870 – February 1, 1950) was a noted
explorer
Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians.
Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...
of the
Sierra Nevada
The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...
. He was also a
cartographer
Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an im ...
, a
photographer
A photographer (the Greek language, Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs.
Duties and types of photographe ...
and a professor of
mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, and ...
.
Early life
Joseph Nisbet LeConte was born in
Oakland, California
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
to Joseph and Caroline (Nisbet) LeConte.
He went by "Little Joe" among friends, because he was of short stature and was the son of geology professor
Joseph LeConte
Joseph Le Conte (alternative spelling: Joseph LeConte) (February 26, 1823 – July 6, 1901) was a physician, geologist, professor at the University of California, Berkeley and early California conservationist.
Early life
Of Huguenot descent, h ...
.
He often went by J. N. LeConte in photographs and articles. He entered the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
in 1887, earning a B.S. degree in 1891. He received a Master of Mechanical Engineering 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 1892, and was appointed assistant professor of mechanical engineering at U.C. Berkeley that August, beginning by teaching
kinematics
Kinematics is a subfield of physics, developed in classical mechanics, that describes the Motion (physics), motion of points, Physical object, bodies (objects), and systems of bodies (groups of objects) without considering the forces that cause ...
of machinery.
Career
Starting in 1912, he taught analytical mechanics for over 20 years. German physicist
Wilhelm Röntgen
Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen (; ; 27 March 184510 February 1923) was a German mechanical engineer and physicist, who, on 8 November 1895, produced and detected electromagnetic radiation in a wavelength range known as X-rays or Röntgen rays, an achie ...
discovered
x-rays
An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 picometers to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30&nbs ...
in 1895, and his first research paper was published at the end of December. An Austrian newspaper reported the results a week later. After reading those reports, LeConte found
cathode ray tubes
A cathode-ray tube (CRT) is a vacuum tube containing one or more electron guns, which emit electron beams that are manipulated to display images on a phosphorescent screen. The images may represent electrical waveforms (oscilloscope), pictur ...
that his late uncle
John LeConte
John LeConte (December 4, 1818 – April 29, 1891) was an American scientist and academic. He served as president of the University of California from 1869 to 1870 and again from 1875 to 1881.
Biography
LeConte was born in Liberty County, Georgi ...
had obtained for the university's physics lab. LeConte and his associates were able to construct an x-ray machine and produce images of a bullet lodged in the arm of a young boy within a week of the newspaper reports of Röntgen's discovery. LeConte also studied the materials problems of gas turbines, and built a
harmonic analyzer to study the performance of electric power transmission lines. He was a professor at U.C. Berkeley for his entire career that lasted 45 years.
LeConte loved
mountaineering
Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, a ...
from the time he was a teenager and went all over the Sierra Nevada exploring, sometimes for several weeks. He produced the first map of the central Sierra Nevada for the
Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who be ...
, based on his exploration. At that time,
USGS
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, a ...
maps were not available.
Along with
James S. Hutchinson
James Sather Hutchinson (1867–1959) was a lawyer in San Francisco, California, a mountaineer and an environmentalist. He was most noted for being an explorer of the Sierra Nevada.
Born in San Francisco, Hutchinson attended the University ...
and
Duncan McDuffie
Duncan McDuffie (September 24, 1877 – 1951) was a real estate developer, conservationist, and mountaineer based in Berkeley, California, United States.
Developer
McDuffie is best known for developing the Claremont and Northbrae neighbo ...
, he pioneered a high mountain route in 1908 from
Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park ( ) is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an ar ...
to
Kings Canyon, roughly along the route of the modern
John Muir Trail
The John Muir Trail (JMT) (Northern Paiute language, Paiute: Nüümü Poyo, ''N-ue-mue Poh-yo'') is a long-distance trail in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada mountain range of California, passing through Yosemite National Park, Yosemite, ...
. In 28 days, they completed a trip of 228 miles through the high mountains, including several previously unexplored sections.
An avid photographer, he took many photos of the Sierra Nevada, including the
High Sierra and
Hetch Hetchy Valley
Hetch Hetchy is a valley, a reservoir, and a water system in California in the United States. The glacial Hetch Hetchy Valley lies in the northwestern part of Yosemite National Park and is drained by the Tuolumne River. For thousands of years bef ...
before it was flooded by the
dam
A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...
.
He worked with heavy, fragile dry glass plates that had to be transported with great care throughout the wilderness. In 1944,
Ansel Adams
Ansel Easton Adams (February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984) was an American landscape photographer and environmentalist known for his black-and-white images of the American West. He helped found Group f/64, an association of photographers advoca ...
evaluated his work: "Never intentionally 'arty', most of his compositions reveal a sensitive reaction to the finest moments of the mountain scene. It is this quality that differentiates between a mere ''record'' and a ''creative, sympathetic statement''."
A charter and lifelong member of the Sierra Club, he held several positions of leadership in it. After
John Muir
John Muir ( ; April 21, 1838December 24, 1914), also known as "John of the Mountains" and "Father of the National Parks", was an influential Scottish-American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, glaciologist, a ...
died, he served as the club's second president (1915-1917). He was instrumental in helping create the
John Muir Trail
The John Muir Trail (JMT) (Northern Paiute language, Paiute: Nüümü Poyo, ''N-ue-mue Poh-yo'') is a long-distance trail in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada mountain range of California, passing through Yosemite National Park, Yosemite, ...
through the
High Sierra as a tribute to his predecessor.
He sat on the Sierra Club Board of Directors from 1898 through 1940, and at various times was vice president, secretary, treasurer, and outings chair.
In 1901 he married Helen Gompertz,
whom he met in the Sierra Club.
LeConte Point in Hetch Hetchy Valley and Le Conte Avenue at the southern border of
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
in Westwood Village, Los Angeles are named after him.
References
* Joseph N. LeConte, ''A Yosemite Camping Trip 1889'' (Bancroft Library, 1990). Diary and Kodak snapshots of a family camping trip.
* Holway R. Jones, ''John Muir and the Sierra Club: The Battle for Yosemite'' (Sierra Club, 1965). Has portrait of Joseph N. LeConte and about 16 large photographic plates taken by him of Hetch Hetchy Valley.
External links
*
Guide to the LeConte Family Papersat
The Bancroft Library
The Bancroft Library in the center of the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, is the university's primary special-collections library. It was acquired from its founder, Hubert Howe Bancroft, in 1905, with the proviso that it retai ...
John Muir Exhibit (Sierra Club) sketchThe Peaks and The Professors by Ann LageThe role of the Engineer's Office in the development of the University of California campuses : transcript, 1960
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leconte, Joseph Nisbet
1870 births
1950 deaths
Sierra Club presidents
Explorers of California
American mountain climbers
Photographers from California
People from Oakland, California
History of the Sierra Nevada (United States)
20th-century American photographers