World War II Rear Admiral Leo Otis Colbert (31 December 1883 – 24 December 1968) was the third director of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey and a career officer in the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey Corps, predecessor of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps.

After primary and secondary education in Boston, Massachusetts, he attended Tufts University, from which he graduated with a degree in civil engineering in 1907.

[1] On 1 July 1907, Colbert began his career with the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, which at the time was an entirely civilian organization.

[2] On 4 August 1918, he was appointed a lieutenant commander in the United States Naval Reserve Force and became the ship's first lieutenant In all, Colbert made nine voyages aboard Northern Pacific carrying troops from New York to Brest and returning to New York through Atlantic Ocean waters in which German submarines were conducting an antishipping campaign against Allied ships.

In April 1920, the U.S. Steamboat Inspection Service issued him a certificate as Master of Steam Vessels, Unlimited Tonnage, Any Ocean.

[1] The Society of American Military Engineers Colbert Medal – a NOAA Association decoration awarded to a member of the National Ocean Service, officer or civilian, active or retired, for the most outstanding contribution to military engineering through achievement in design, construction, administration, research, or development – is named for Colbert.