Hoffmann was born in
Frankfurt, Germany on February 29, 1838. After receiving an education in engineering, he emigrated to America. In 1857 he was topographer for Frederick Lander's survey to the Rocky Mountains. He came to California in 1858. He was recruited by
Josiah Whitney to join the
California Geological Survey because of his valuable skill as a topographer. Hoffmann is largely responsible for introducing
topography to the United States. He helped explore the
Sierra Nevada of California, from 1860 through 1870, and 1873 through 1874. As a member of the Survey, Hoffmann created the official maps from the expeditions made by the survey team. Hoffmann achieved a number of
first ascents in the Sierra Nevada: •
Mount Brewer •
Mount Dana •
Mount Silliman •
Tower Peak In 1870 he married Lucy Mayotta Browne. In 1871 and 1872 he was Professor of Topographical Engineering at
Harvard University. Later, he was a mining engineer at
Virginia City, Nevada,
San Francisco, California, and
Mexico. Charles Hoffmann died in
Oakland, California on June 20, 1913. ==Legacy==