John Knight: In the work of the Engraving Division, the work of three skillful hands has been closed by death since the date of my last report. Of these, John Knight, who died on the 28th of November, 1874, had rendered thirty years of faithful service as engraver of titles and lettering on our principle charts. It will not be forgotten in the division that employment was his daily pleasure, a cast of mind which had early become habitual in this gentle, intelligent, conscientious man. Though not excelled as a letter-engraver, some of the last working-time of Mr. Knight was given to the application of forms for the improvement of style, and recently issued charts show that beyond the age of seventy-one years his hand retained its former skill. Only a few months after their completion, and in great debility, but without any apparent disease, he resigned life, exchanging in his last hour cheerful greetings and leave-takings with his relatives and many friends.

In: Report of the Superintendent of the Coast Survey 1875. P. 10.