Cleveland Abbe
| Cleveland Abbe | |
|---|---|
Cleveland Abbe
|
|
| Born | December 3, 1838 New York City |
| Died | October 28, 1916 (aged 77) Chevy Chase, Maryland |
| Education | |
| Occupation | Meteorology |
| Spouse(s) |
Frances Martha Neal (1870-1908)
|
| Children |
Cleveland Abbe, Jr. Truman Abbe |
| Parent(s) | George Waldo Abbe Charlotte Colgate |
| Awards | Public Welfare Medal (1916) |
Cleveland Abbe (December 3, 1838 – October 28, 1916) was an American meteorologist and advocate of time zones.
While director of the Cincinnati Observatory in Cincinnati, Ohio, he developed a system of telegraphic weather reports, daily weather maps, and weather forecasts. In 1870, Congress established the U.S. Weather Bureau and inaugurated the use of daily weather forecasts. In recognition of his work, Abbe, who was often referred to as "Old Probability" for the reliability of his forecasts, was appointed the first head of the new service, and is considered the father of the National Weather Service.
Cleveland Abbe was born in New York City and grew up in the prosperous merchant family of George Waldo and Charlotte Colgate Abbe. One of his younger brothers, Robert, became a prominent surgeon and radiologist. In school, Cleveland excelled in mathematics and chemistry, attending David B. Scott Grammar School, and graduating in 1857 from the Free Academy with a Bachelor of Arts. While at City College, he learned under Oliver Wolcott Gibbs. He tutored mathematics at the Trinity Latin School in New York City in 1857 and 1858. He then taught engineering, as an assistant professor at the University of Michigan in 1859, followed by a tutoring job, also in engineering, until he left in 1860. During this stay in Michigan, he also was studying astronomy under Franz Brünnow from 1858 to 1859. He received his second degree, a Master of Arts in 1860, from City College. When the Civil War broke out, he tried to join the Union Army; however, he failed the vision test, due to myopia, and spent the war years in Cambridge, Massachusetts, attending Harvard, and working as an assistant to Benjamin Gould, astronomer and head of the Longitude Department of the United States Coast Survey. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from Harvard in 1864, which also marked the end of his working at the US Coast Survey. It was while in Cambridge that he rubbed shoulders with scientists from the Nautical Almanac, specifically, William Ferrel, which probably piqued his meteorological curiosity. He then studied abroad in Russia at the Observatory of Pulkovo, as a guest, and returned, in 1866, to the U.S. eager to study astronomy. It was said that he was his happiest while in Russia as he was surrounded by like-minded intellectuals, formed a relationship with Otto Struve, and enjoyed the scenery. His first job in astronomy as at the United States Naval Observatory until he was offered the director position at the Cincinnati Observatory, in 1868, by the Cincinnati Astronomical Society. He spent a few years in Cincinnati, but his interest were already evolving. Remembering that meteorological conditions directly affected the work of astronomers, he began working in the field of meteorology. He won approval to report on and predict the weather, working on the premise that forecasts could and should be generated at minimal expense and in such a way as to perhaps even produce income. By 1873 he was let go by the Cincinnati Observatory due to funding issues and it was then that he made the decision that would change his career path.
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