Andrew Scott Waugh
1810–1878 (age 68)
Biography
Andrew Scott Waugh (1810–1878) took charge of the Great Trigonometrical Survey as Surveyor General of India, succeeding Sir George Everest and continuing with the painstaking work of triangulating the subcontinent. He guided teams that laid new base lines, observed countless astronomical stations and mapped vast regions of the Himalayas, winning respect for steady leadership in some of the most forbidding terrain the Survey had yet encountered.
When the measurements finally revealed the loftiest apex of the range, he proposed naming it Everest, not for himself but in honour of the mentor he had followed, and he insisted on the most exacting standards for all subsequent geodetic work. Returning to England he maintained close ties with the Royal Geographical Society, and his graveside at Brompton Cemetery marks the resting place of a man who spent his life measuring the earth.