TaylaA461435 at 13:59, 1 May 2026

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{{Short description|British military engineer, colonel and surveyor}}
{{Infobox military person
| name = Herbert Leland Crosthwait
| image =
| caption =
| birth_date = 1868
| death_date = {{death date and age|1940|9|11|1868||df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Bagenalstown]], [[County Carlow]], Ireland
| death_place =
| burial_place =
| allegiance = {{flag|United Kingdom}}
| branch = [[British Army]]
| service_years = 1890–1921
| rank = [[Colonel (United Kingdom)|Colonel]]
| unit = [[Royal Engineers]]
| commands =
| battles =
| awards = [[Order of the Indian Empire|Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire]] (CIE)
| relations =
| other_work =
}}

'''Colonel Herbert Leland Crosthwait''', [[Order of the Indian Empire|CIE]] (1868<ref>{{cite book |title=Carloviana |date=2016 |page=29 |url=https://carlowhistorical.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Carloviana-No-64-2016-Pages-1-100-1.pdf}}</ref> – 11 September 1940) was a British military engineer and surveyor known for his work with the [[Survey of India]] and contributions to [[1902 Arbitral award of the Andes between Argentina and Chile|international boundary demarcations between Chile and Argentina]].

== Early life and education ==
Crosthwait was born in 1868, in The Lodge, [[Bagenalstown]], [[County Carlow]], Ireland. The eldest son of Samuel Crosthwait, a flour mill proprietor at The Lodge Mills, and his wife Sarah Eliza Perry. He had several siblings, including Lucy Eleanor (born 1869), Cecil Henry Edward (1870), Edward Gerard Stewart (1871), William Sylvester (1873), Evelyn Mary (1876), Eileen Elizabeth (1880), Leland George (1881), Arthur Samuel (1883), Ernest Jevon (1886), and Elsie Olive (1887). His family had deep roots in Ireland, with ancestors involved in mercantile activities in Dublin since the 18th century, including roles in the Bank of Ireland and Dublin Chamber of Commerce.<ref name="nature">{{cite journal |title=Colonel H. L. Crosthwait, C.I.E |author=C. H. D. Ryder |journal=Nature |volume=146 |issue=3704 |pages=553 |date=26 October 1940 |doi=10.1038/146553a0 |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/146553a0 }}</ref> He was educated at [[Rossall School]] (referred to as "Bossall" in the obituary) and at [[Trinity College Dublin]].<ref name="nature" />

== Career ==
He entered the [[Royal Engineers]] in 1890.<ref name="nature" /> Two years later he went to India and in 1897 joined the [[Survey of India]], in which he remained for the rest of his service.<ref name="nature" /> He became well known for his very extended knowledge of a variety of scientific subjects; contemporaries noted that had he concentrated on any single subject he would easily have become an authority on it.<ref name="nature" /> His broad expertise made him a valued and engaging companion.<ref name="nature" />

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In 1902–1903, Crosthwait served as the chief demarcator for the [[1902 Arbitral award of the Andes between Argentina and Chile|British arbitration award settling the border dispute between Argentina and Chile]]. He was responsible for marking the terrain in the [[Última Esperanza Province|Última Esperanza]] region<ref>{{cite book |author1=Mario Barros van Buren |title=Historia diplomática de Chile (1541-1938) |date=1970 |publisher=Ediciones Ariel |page=612 |url=https://www.google.es/books/edition/Historia_diplom%C3%A1tica_de_Chile_1541_1938/2w2Rhnn4US0C?hl=es-419&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover&bsq=Crosthwait}}</ref> and produced a key map that influenced the boundary demarcation.

Disregarding the Chilean agent Bolados and the Argentine agent Arenberg, he placed boundary marker 62 south of [[Lake O'Higgins/San Martín]] using a pile of stones and a paper inside a bottle, as he was short on time.

{{quote|A bottle was placed by me on pile of stones, erected as a boundary pillar between the Republics of Argentina and Chile on the south shore of lake San Martin<ref>{{cite book |author1=Alberto Marín Madrid |title=El caso del Canal Beagle biografia de esa y otras controversias |date=1988 |page=78 |url=https://www.google.es/books/edition/El_caso_del_Canal_Beagle/2iwRAAAAYAAJ?hl=es-419&gbpv=1&bsq=%22H.%20L.%20Crosthwait%22&dq=%22H.%20L.%20Crosthwait%22&printsec=frontcover |access-date=29 October 2025}}</ref>|H. L. Crosthwait, Captain R. E., February 28th 1903}}

He rose to the rank of [[Lieutenant colonel (United Kingdom)|lieutenant colonel]] and was appointed a [[Order of the Indian Empire|Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire]] (CIE) in the [[1921 Birthday Honours]] for his services in the Survey Department.<ref>{{cite book |title=The London Gazette |date=14 June 1921 |issue=13716 |page=998 |url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/Edinburgh/issue/13716/page/998/data.pdf }}</ref> He retired as a colonel.<ref>{{cite book |title=The London Gazette |date=2 May 1893 |issue=26397 |page=2553 |url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/26397/page/2553/data.pdf}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
His younger brother, Leland George Crosthwait, married Katherine Rosa Man on 3 November 1911 at St Luke's, Chelsea, London, connecting the Crosthwait family to the Man family.<ref name="manfamily">{{cite web |title=Crosthwait Family |url=https://manfamily.org/about/other-families/crosthwait-family/ |website=manfamily.org |access-date=29 October 2025 }}</ref>

Crosthwait died on 11 September 1940, aged 72.<ref name="nature" />

== See also ==
* [[Thomas Holdich]]
* [[Bertram Dickson]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crosthwait, Herbert}}
[[Category:1868 births]]
[[Category:1940 deaths]]
[[Category:People from County Carlow]]
[[Category:Alumni of Trinity College Dublin]]
[[Category:Royal Engineers officers]]
[[Category:Indian surveyors]]
[[Category:Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire]]

Herbert Leland Crosthwait - Revision history

TaylaA461435 at 13:59, 1 May 2026