Nathaniel Bowditch - Mt. Auburn Cemetery - Watertown, MA - Grave of a Famous Person on Waymarking.com

In Watertown, well within the cemetery, is the family plot for the Bowditch family, where Nathaniel Bowditch is buried.

Mt. Auburn Cemetery is located off Mt. Auburn Street, near where Belmont Street meets Mt. Auburn. To get to the grave, the best way is to stop at the administrative office/Stone Chapel and purchase the map ($) that shows the roads and notable graves and memorials. There is both a grave and a memorial for Nathaniel Bowditch in different places.

The memorial to Nathaniel Bowditch is a statue near the main entrance. It is located near where Fountain Ave and Central Ave (within the cemetery) come together. It shows him seated on a chair, with a book in one hand. There is a globe by his feet.

The marker is located to one side of the family plot. It is a large stone monument, reddish in color.

On the side is the following text:

"In memory of
Nathaniel and Mary Bowditch"

At one end is the following:

"Nath'l Bowditch
Born March 26 1773
Died March 17, 1838"

Nathaniel Bowditch was born to Habakkuk Bowditch and Mary (Ingersol) Bowditch. His father was a cooper, and at age ten, Nathaniel was take out of school to help in the family business. However, when he was twelve, he was indentured as a bookkeeper to a ship chandler. In his teen years, he learned algebra and taught himself calculus. He also taught himself French and Latin so he could read mathematical works in those languages, including Sir Isaac Newton's Principia volumes. By age eighteen, he copied all the mathematical works he found in the Royal Society in London. Later, he translated, Pierre-Simon de Laplace's Mécanique céleste, which was important in developing astronomy in the United States. He went on five ocean voyages, the fifth as ship master and part owner. After that, he entered the insurance business and was the first American actuary when he was president of the Essex Fire and Marine Insurance Company in Salem. He wrote his work, The New American Practical Navigator, was first published in 1802, after attempting to correct the thousands of mistakes from Moore's book on the subject. While it has been updated and modified over the years, it can still be found on all U.S. Naval vessels. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1799 and the American Philosophical Society in 1809. In 1819, Bowditch was elected as a member of the Royal Societies of Edinburgh and London and the Royal Irish Academy. Bowditch died of stomach cancer in 1838.

Description: Nathaniel Bowditch is generally considered to be the founder of American marine navigation. At an early age, he learned calculus and wrote the book, The New American Practical Navigator, which is still carried on all U.S. Naval vessels. Date of birth: 03/26/1773 Date of death: 03/17/1838 Area of notoriety: Science/Technology Marker Type: Headstone Setting: Outdoor Visiting Hours/Restrictions: Cemetery Hours, generally daylight hours Fee required?: No Web site: [Web Link]

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