Charles Franklin Martin was born August 19, 1927 in Carrollton, Missouri.
He attended public schools in Carrollton until his junior year in high
school. He graduated from Lincoln University Laboratory High School in
Jefferson City, Mo. in 1945. He entered Lincoln University in 1945 and
graduated in 1949 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Building Engineering
and Mathematics.
In 1969, Dr. Martin became one of the first
African Americans in the country to receive a Ph.D. in Astronomy from Yale.
In 1972, he began working at the Defense Mapping Agency in Washington, D.C.
He was promoted to the Senior Executive Service as Chief Scientist and
Chief, Advanced Technology Division of the Defense Mapping Agency. Much of
Dr. Martin’s principal work was in highly classified areas. However, some
of his major pioneering and innovative contributions were in the development
of the world Geodetic Systems (WGS 60- WGS 84); Earth Gravity Models for
ICBM support and orbit determinations; the National Geodetic Satellite
Program; Very Long Baseline Interferometry and the development of the Global
Positioning System.
Dr. Martin has written numerous publications on
such topics as military applications of gravity Date, lunar mapping control,
lunar ephemeredes research, satellite orbit research and navigation. He has
received international recognition through his participation in various
symposia, several as the representative of Yale University, in Greenwich,
Paris, West Berlin, Copenhagen, Japan and Nigeria. He is a member of the
American Astronomical Society, Royal Astronomical Society, Astronomical
Society of the Pacific, American Geophysical Union, American Congress of
Surveying and Mapping, USAF Office Scientific Research Mathematics
Committee.
On May 4, 2001, Dr.
Martin was one of six people in the country inducted into the National
Imagery and Mapping Agency’s (NIMA) inaugural Hall of Fame. He is still
highly regarded for his pioneering work and revered by his former colleagues
for his contributions to the Department of Defense and the security of our
nation.
