Henry Laurens Whiting (1821 - 1897)

The NOAA Ship WHITING is named after Henry Laurens Whiting. He is considered to be the best of the Nineteenth Century topographers. Served under all Nineteenth Century Superintendents of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey.

Henry Laurens Whiting joined the Coast Survey in 1838 and served until his death on February 4, 1897. He was the leading topographer of the United States during the nineteenth century. He was a member of the Mississippi River Commission, Professor of Topographic Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and an instructor in harbor surveying at the U.S. Naval Academy.