In the United States, the Survey of the Coast (America's first scientific agency) was established through an 1807 Congressional resolution and signed into law by President Jefferson. It subsequently became the United States Coast Survey in 1836 and the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey in 1878, and in May 1917 incorporated a new uniformed service of the United States, the Coast and Geodetic Survey Corps so that surveyors had a status as commissioned officers could not be shot as spies if captured during time of war. The U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey was abolished and its responsibilities, personnel, facilities, and fleet incorporated into the new National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) when NOAA was established in 1970. As the successor to the Coast and Geodetic Survey, NOAA's Office of Coast Survey is the national hydrographic office of the United States. Non-domestic hydrographic and bathymetric surveys are conducted by the United States Navy′s Naval Oceanographic Office, which started with the establishment of the Depot of Charts and Instruments in 1830, which by 1854 was designated the United States Naval Observatory and Hydrographical Office. The hydrographic portion became the United States Hydrographic Office under the Hydrographer of the Navy, appointed from among uniformed U.S. Navy personnel from 1870 through 1961. With the popularization of oceanography in the early 1960s (partly due to President John F. Kennedy's interest), the name was changed to the U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office in 1962. That office, as a matter of historical and semantic interest, and the United States Naval Observatory are still part of the command overseen by the Oceanographer of the Navy, who replaced the Hydrographer of the Navy, with headquarters at the Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. In 2001, the position of Hydographer of the Navy was re-established. Uruguay Hydrographic tasks in Uruguayan waters have been performed by the SOHMA since 1916. See also Matthew Fontaine Maury George W. Littlehales References Ehlers, P. (1999). Die Geschichte maritimer Dienste in Deutschland - Das BSH und seine Vorgänger. Retrieved Oct. 14, 2003 from http://www.bsh.de/de/Das%20BSH/Organisation/Geschichte/Geschichte.pdf Swedish Maritime Administration (2003). Swedish Maritime Administration - Accessibility, Safety, Environment. Retrieved Oct 15, 2003 from http://www.sjofartsverket.se/tabla-a-eng/pdf/tabla-a-eng.pdf External links International Hydrographic Organization Australian Hydrographic Office Hong Kong Hydrographic Office Indian Naval Hydrographic Department Hydrographic and Oceanographic Department (Japan) Bundesamt für Seeschiffahrt und Hydrographie (Germany) United Kingdom Hydrographic Office National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (United States) Servicio Hidrográfico y Oceanográfico de la Armada