Weather Calendar

1st Century BC
Hero of Alexander (Ancient Greece) was probably the first to discover that air had weight.

1607
The first Frost Fair was held on the frozen river Thames in London with tents, sideshows and foodtstalls.

1611
Johann Kepler (Germany) was the first person to describe the six- sided shape of snowflaskes.

1643
Evangelista Torricelli (Italy) invented the first barometer for measuring the air pressure.

1654
Grand Duke Ferdinand of Tuscany invented the first sealed thermometer for measuring temperature.

1718
Gabriel Daniel Fahrenheit (Germany) devised the Fahrenheit scale ('F) for measuring temperature.

1722
Reverend Horsley (Britain) invented the first modern rain gauge. The earliest mention of a rain gauge is in Indian writings from 400 BC.

1752
Benjamin Franklin (USA) invented the lightning conductor for use on high buildings.

1783
Horace- Benedick de Saussure (Switzerland) made the first hair hygrometer for measuring humidity.

1802
Luke Howard (Britain) named the three families of clouds- cirrus, cumulus and stratus.

1805
Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort (Britain) devised the Beaufort Scale for measuring wind speed at sea.

1843
Lucien Vidie (France) made the first aneroid ('non- liquid') barometer for measuring air pressure.

1846
John Robinson (Britain) invented the cup anemometer for measuring wind speed and direction.

1851
The first published weather maps were sold to the public at the Great Exhibition in London.

1856
The first national storm warning system was started in France after storms destroyed ships during Crimean War.

c. 1887
Clement Wragge (Australia) was the first person to give hurricanes names. They are still named today.

1930
Pierre Molchanov (USSR) launvhed a radiosonde for measuring weather in the upper atmosphere.

c. 1945
John von Neumann (USA) built an electronic computer known as Maniac. It was the first to be used for weather forecasting.

1960
The first weather satellite, Tiros 1, was launched by the USA.

Backward <-- | --> Forward