April 23, 1832

William Austin Burt joined the Macomb County Circuit Court.

Born near Boston in 1792, William Austin Burt settled in Michigan in 1824. A year after becoming a judge, Burt was appointed a U.S. deputy surveyor. Burt and his men, including several of his sons, surveyed much of Michigan during the 1830s and 1840s. Burt also invented the solar compass that allowed surveyors to work in areas where minerals in the ground might make the needles of their magnetic compasses act wildly and produce errors.

Thank you Michigan Start Pages for this glimpse into our past.  See more here.