Alexander Dallas Bache

Alexander Dallas Bache was the great-grandson of Benjamin Franklin and the grandson of Richard Bache. He received his education at the United States Military Academy at West Point. In 1825 he became a lieutenant in the topographical engineer corps in 1827 professor of mathematics at the University of Pennsylvania and in 1836 President of Girard College in Philadelphia. Later, he took a trip to Europe to get to know the local educational institutions, and organized from 1838 to 1842 the school system of Philadelphia. In 1843 he took over from Ferdinand Rudolph Hassler as director of the U.S. Coast Survey (United States Coast Survey).

From 1863 Bache was president of the National Academy of Sciences. Much credit Bache has been particularly acquired as superintendent of the North American Coast Survey.

Works

• Lectures on Switzerland (1870 ).