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Biographical Sketches of Leading Meteorologists and Scientists of the Period from 1830 to 1920

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Biographical Sketches of Leading Meteorologists and Scientists of the Period from 1830 to 1920 Appendix Biographical Sketches of Leading Meteorologists and Scientists of the Period from 1830 to 1920 The scientists listed in this Appendix made important contributions to Nine­ teenth and early Twentieth Century meteorology and, in particular, to the develop­ ment of the thermal theory of cyclones .1 Their work forms the focus of this study. The brief sketches are intended to provide in a condensed form information about important steps in the professional careers of the scientists listed, and some indication of their major contributions to science. Information on aspects of the personal lives of these scientists has been included only sparingly. In many cases I found the source material very meager, especially with regard to personal informa­ tion; this is reflected in the brevity of a great number of the entries. The bibliographical references at the end of each sketch consist primarily of obituaries and contemporary memoirs. Modem biographies and memoirs have been listed whenever available. JOHANN FRIEDRICH WILHELM VON BEZOLD (1837 -1907) was born in Miinchen, Germany, the son of a high government official. He studied physics in Miinchen and Gottingen (under W. Weber and B. Riemann). After receiving his doctorate in 1860 he was appointed assistant to the physicist von Jolly in Miinchen. In 1861 he became privatdocent, and he was named extraordinary professor of physics 1 J. Bjerknes and H.' Solberg, who in 1920 stood just at the beginning of their careers, have not been included in this list. Accounts of J. Bjerknes' professional career may be found in J. A. B. Bjerknes, Selected Papers (Western Periodicals Company, 1975), pp. 11-18, and in Bull. Am. Met. Soc., 56 (1975), 1089-1090. J. Bjerknes wrote a memorial article on Solberg in Bull. Am. Met. Soc., 55 (1974), 1371-1372. 224 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 225 in 1866. In 1868 he was appointed ordinary professor of mathematics and applied physics. In 1878 he became director of the meteorological institute in Munchen and began organizing a meteorological station network in Bavaria. He was instrumental in the reorganization of the Preussische Meteorologische Institut in Berlin and was appointed its director in 1885. At the same time he received the first professorship in meteorology in Germany. He was president of the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft, the Deutsche Meteorologische Gesellschaft and the Verein der Berliner Luftschiffahrt. Bezold's publications during the early years in Munchen include papers in electricity, color vision and atmospheric optics. As director of the meteorological institute in Munchen, he published daily weather charts and forecasts and con­ ducted extensive investigations of thunderstorms. At Berlin he carried out his far-reaching studies of the thermodynamics and dynamics of the atmosphere, collected in his Gesammelte Abhandlungen, 1906. He also began studies of the heat budget of the atmosphere and the earth's surface. He promoted the three­ dimensional exploration of the atmosphere and developed theoretical methods and guidelines for the evaluation of balloon ascents. Late in his career he turned toward the study of terrestrial magnetism. He traced the historical development of physics and meteorology in a number of popular lectures and articles. For biography, see G. Hellmann, Wilhelm von Bezold (Braunschweig, Vieweg, 1907), 33 pp.; contains list of publications. See also Suring in Met. Zeits., 54 (1937), 201-202. VILHELM FIRMAN BJERKNES (1862-1951) was born in Christiania (now Oslo), Norway, the son of C. A. Bjerknes, professor of mathematics. In 1880 he entered the university. After his graduation in 1889 and a year of study in Paris he became the assistant of H. Hertz in Bonn (1889-1891), doing research on electromagnetic waves. In 1892 he received his doctorate with a dissertation on electro­ dynamics. In 1893 he was appointed lecturer at the school of engineering in Stockholm and in 1895 he became professor of mechanics and mathematical physics at the university. Here he turned his attention to problems of geophysical hydrodynamics. In 1905 he was invited to lecture in the United States; as a result he received a grant from the Carnegie Institution (continued until 1941) which enabled him to employ his own research assistants wherever he stayed (including V. W. Ekman, H. U. Sverdrup, Th. Hesselberg, H. Solberg, T. Bergeron and his son J. Bjerknes). Bjerknes returned to Christiania in 1907. In 1912 he accepted a call to Leipzig as professor of geophysics and director of a new geophysical institute. In 1918 he returned with his assistants to Norway where he founded a geophysical institute in Bergen and created the Bergen School of meteorologists. Together with Hesselberg he reorganized the Norwegian weather service. He was professor in mechanics and mathematical physics in Oslo from 1926 until his re­ tirement in 1932. The continuation of his father's researches on hydrodynamic forces con­ stituted an important part of Bjerknes' work. These investigations resulted in a two-volume work on Vorlesungen uber hydrodynamische Fernkriifte nach C. A. 226 THE THERMAL THEORY OF CYCLONES Bjerknes' s Theorie (1900-1902). His work in classical hydrodynamics led him to develop his famous circulation theorem (1898). He immediately began to apply the theorem to the dynamics of the atmosphere and the ocean. He went on to propose an ambitious program for the prediction of the weather, based on the application of the laws of hydrodynamics to given initial conditions. His outstand­ ing contribution to science for the next decades was the further development of theoretical meteorology. Important steps were the publication of the first two volumes of Dynamic Meteorology and Hydrography (1910/11, volume one written with Sandstrom, one of his most important collaborators) and Physikalische Hydrodynamik (1933), as well as his successful campaign for the introduction of the cgs system of units in aerological research. He provided the inspiration and organization for his young collaborators who eventually established the frontal structure of cyclones and the existence of the polar front. Bjerknes himself appar­ ently never drafted a weather chart, but had an active and life-long interest in the manifestation and representation of hydrodynamic phenomena in nature. His perhaps most fundamental paper, "On the dynamics of the circular vortex with application to the atmosphere and atmospheric vortex- and wave motions'' contains a clear exposition of his basic ideas in geophysical research. In turn, Bjerknes' assistants and collaborators advanced his ideas as researchers, or­ ganizers and teachers in Scandinavia, throughout Europe and in the United States. For biography, see Devik, Bergeron and Godske in "In memory of Vilhelm Bjerknes,'' Geofysiske Publikasjoner, 24 ( 1963), 6-37 (includes list of publications) and Sverdrup in Tellus, 3 (1951), 217-221; see also M. Pihl in Dictionary of Scientific Biography .2 FRANK HAGAR BIGELOW (1851-1924) was born in Concord, Massachusetts. After graduating from Harvard in 1873, Bigelow entered the Episcopal ministry. He curtailed this career because of a lung ailment. Seeking drier climates, he became assistant at the Cordoba Astronomical Observatory in Argentina (1873-1876 and 1881-1883) which was directed by his Harvard colleague B. A. Gould. In 1884 he was appointed professor of mathematics at Racine College. He obtained a scientific post at the American Nautical Almanac in 1889 and be­ came professor of meteorology at the Weather Bureau in 1891. In the same year he also became minister at St. John's in Washington. He resigned from these positions in 1910 and returned to Argentina where he joined the meteorological service. After his retirement in 1921 he traveled with his wife in Europe. He died of pneumonia in Vienna. Bigelow's publications dealt with meteorology and terrestrial magnetism. He made important contributions to the theory of the general circulation of the 2 The Dictionary of Scientific Biography, C. C. Gillispie, Ed. (New York, Scribner's, 1970-), is a comprehensive reference work in the history of science, covering all countries and times, and written by specialists from all over the world. A set of 14 volumes has been completed, with a supplement and index volume still to come. Each biographical article contains a bibliography consisting of works and secondary literature. Even though meteorologists are included only sparingly, the Dictionary stands out as a valuable research tool in the history of the earth sciences. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 227 atmosphere and the theory of cyclones and anticyclones, treating both thermo­ dynamic and dynamic aspects (a series of papers from 1902 to 1906). In these investigations, he focussed attention on the role of air currents of different thermal properties and geographical origin ("counter current" theory). He pub­ lished two voluminous reports on the international cloud observations of 1896/97 and barometry in the United States and made detailed investigations of the flow patterns in upper levels. His publications of the early 1900's contain extensive critiques of the theories of atmospheric circulation systems held by earlier writers, especially Ferrel. Gradually he became convinced that a complete re­ formation of meteorological theory and a new practical organization of the field were necessary, and he devoted the last years of his life entirely to this goal. From 1910 onward he worked at the reformulation of the adiabatic equations and he published several books concerning a "Reformed Meteorology." For biography, see A. J. Henry in Mon. Wea. Rev., 52 (1924), 165-166. ALEXANDER BucHAN (1829-1907) was born in Kinnesswood, Kinrosshire, Scot­ land. His father, a weaver, died a day after his birth. Buchan attended the Free Church Normal College for teachers in Edinburgh (1848) and received an edu­ cation in liberal arts at the university. In 1860 he left the university to become secretary of the Scottish Meteorological Society; he held this position throughout his career. From 1877 he was a member of the Meteorological Council (appointed by the Royal Society), which administered and directed the operations of the Meteorological Office.
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