James de Graaff-Hunter CIE FRS[a] (11 September 1881 – 3 February 1967) was a British geodesist who served as director of Survey of India's Geodetic Branch from 1928 to 1932,[3] and as President of the International Association of Geodesy from 1954 to 1957.
[5] He was educated at King's School, Chester, and later matriculated at Pembroke College, Cambridge in 1900 with an £80 entrance scholarship to study mathematics.
In 1910, de Graaff-Hunter replaced John Eccles as the mathematician in charge of the Great Trigonometrical Survey computing office.
After assuming office, he completed his first major scientific work in India—Professional Paper 14 (1913) described the connection of atmospheric refraction to observing the height of mountains.
He later returned to southern India in 1916 and 1917 for field studies in secondary triangulation using observing towers he had designed and made.
He retired in 1932, and received the Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire honor in 1933, and was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1935.