Career
After studies of astronomy, mathematics and geodesy he worked in Germany and later in the National Survey of Austria. Later he set up the scientific department of the Federal Office for Metrology and Survey (BEV), Vienna. In the 1950s he was appointed as a professor of geodesy and astrometry at the Technical University of Vienna.
He was head of many research projects, and author of about 200 scientific articles
Still a standard work of astronomical and physical geodesy is his textbook of Erdmessung (Volume(s) V of the series Handbuch der Vermessungskunde, 871 p) published 1969. In 1958/59, Ledersteger was the first geodesist in Central Europe who published on the future fields of satellite geodesy.
Other topics of his research were:
Theory of equilibrium figures of Earth and planets
Isostasy of the Earth"s crust and its effect on geoid determination. A main part was published posthumously by his successor Kurt Bretterbauer
the system of vertical deflections and the definition of reference ellipsoids.
Ledersteger was in intensive contact with the scientific community of whole Europe, United States of America and Russia (eg Viktor Ambartsumian, BGutenberg, FHopfner, WHeiskanen, MKneissl, Sir Harold Jeffreys, Vening Meinesz, HMoritz, APrey, HH Schmid, EWiechert and SZhongolovitch), and he liked scientific discussions at symposia and in journals.
In Vienna he was asked to begin geodetic lectures immediately after World war World War II But his professorship was postponed for 10 years because of his participation in Nova Scotia surveys 1940-1945. His good contacts to colleagues in United States of America and Russia enabled him to refer or translate some of their works, e.g. an excellent textbook of Magnizki & Browar on theoretical geodesy.