Kübel, Stephen Joseph

Stephen Joseph Kübel (April 2, 1858 - March 2, 1936) was an American musician, cartographer, and map engraver. Born in Washington, D.C., to Edward Kübel and his second wife Josephine Hartbrecht Kübel, Kübel attended high school in Washington, D.C., before attending the Scharwenke Conservatory of Music in Berlin. It was during his time in Berlin that Kübel, who was gifted in drawing, developed an interest in cartography and map engraving. He returned to Washington, D.C., in 1875, and found a job with the U.S. Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories. He joined the staff of the U.S. Navy Hydrographic Office as a cartographer in 1876. From 1883 through 1885 Kübel served in the cartographic division of the Prussian general staff, where he was able to study alternative map reproduction processes. He rejoined the U.S. Navy Hydrographic Office after returning to Washington, D.C. Kübel opened in his own engraving and printing firm in 1887, employing a staff and fulfilling contracts for the U.S. Geological Survey, the Hydrographic Office, and the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. He was named Chief Engraver of the U.S. Geological Survey on February 14, 1890, and was tasked with organizing a map production plant. He was made the chief of the U.S. Geological Survey's Division of Engraving and Printing in 1911 and became responsible for production of all the Survey's copper engraved maps. Kübel remained the Chief Engraver until his retirement in 1932. Kübel married Louise Griffith of Milford, Delaware, on July 5, 1884, while serving in Berlin.