Laurence Patrick Lee

• Name — Laurence Patrick Lee • Born — 1913 • Birthplace — England • Died — 28 January 1985 • Place of death — Wellington, New Zealand • Education — University of Auckland (BS) • Field — Geodesy; cartography • Workplaces — Department of Lands and Survey, Wellington, New Zealand

Lee was born in England in 1913, but moved with his family to Auckland, New Zealand at a young age. After earning a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Auckland, he took a job in 1934 in the Department of Public Works in Whangārei, then transferred in 1936 to the Department of Lands and Survey in Auckland as a draughting cadet. Because of his mathematical talents, in 1941 he was sent to Wellington as a computer, where he remained until his retirement in 1974, serving as the Chief Computer for the department from 1964 to 1974. After retirement he continued consulting for the department. Lee had a stammer since childhood. In 1950, after reading about research psychologist William Kerr of Jersey, who claimed to have discovered a cure, Lee took a leave of absence from the Department of Lands and Survey and worked as an engineer's steward in return for passage to England on the Trojan Star. Kerr's method involved pronouncing each syllable separately with a slight pause between, in a regular rhythm, with a result "described as mechanical, stilted, and artificial". According to a newspaper report, after staying with Kerr for two weeks Lee considered himself effectively cured, with only a slight occasional stammer remaining. Lee was a lifelong bachelor.

• Illustration — Lee's Conformal Tetrahedric Projection can be computed using Dixon elliptic functions. At the Department of Lands and Survey, Lee was involved with completing the First Order Geodetic Triangulation of New Zealand, and establishing the Geodetic Datum 1949; the change to metric units; and computations for the latitude and longitude program of the International Geophysical Year, 1957–1959. Lee was a specialist in map projections – especially conformal projections, which preserve angles and local shapes – and wrote many papers on the subject. Notably, he developed improved methods for calculating the transverse Mercator projection; developed a conformal projection of the Pacific Ocean minimising scale errors; and computed new conformal polyhedral map projections using elliptic functions, building on the work of Oscar S. Adams. His 1976 monograph Conformal Projections Based on Elliptic Functions is still a definitive survey. His 1944 proposal for classifying map projections has been widely adopted and built upon. Lee joined New Zealand's Royal Astronomical Society in 1948 and was Director of the Society's Computing Section from 1954 to 1972. From 1974 to 1977 he was an editor for the Society's quarterly journal, Southern Stars. He was a founding member of the New Zealand Institute of Draughtsmen and edited its journal from 1947 to 1950, a founding member of the New Zealand Cartographic Society, and was made an honorary member of the New Zealand Institute of Surveyors in 1971.

• (Retyped PDF) * * * * * * * •; correction in Empire Survey Review, 11 (81): 143, 1951, * * * •; reprinted as * * * * * * * *

• Lee, L. P. (1945) "Map showing great circle distances and azimuths from Wellington to all parts of the world", NZMS 47, Wellington: Department of Lands and Survey (Zoomable image); 2nd ed. 1953 • —— (1974) "The Pacific", NZMS 276, Wellington: Department of Lands and Survey (Zoomable image); 2nd ed. 1976 (Zoomable image); 3rd ed. 1984 (Zoomable image) •; "Maps for A Descriptive Atlas of New Zealand", NZMS 124, Wellington: Department of Lands and Survey (Zoomable images); Lee computed the small scale overview maps at the beginning.