Article ID: CBB583747568

Log Books and the Law of Storms: Maritime Meteorology and the British Admiralty in the Nineteenth Century (2015)

unapi

This essay contributes to debates about the relationship between science and the military by examining the British Admiralty’s participation in meteorological projects in the first half of the nineteenth century. It focuses on attempts to transform Royal Navy log books into standardized meteorological registers that would be of use to both science and the state. The essay begins with a discussion of Admiralty Hydrographer Francis Beaufort, who promoted the use of standardized systems for the observation of the weather at sea. It then examines the application of ships’ logs to the science of storms. The essay focuses on the Army engineer William Reid, who studied hurricanes while stationed in Barbados and Bermuda. Reid was instrumental in persuading the Admiralty to implement a naval meteorological policy, something the Admiralty Hydrographer had struggled to achieve. The essay uses the reception and adoption of work on storms at sea to reflect on the means and ends of maritime meteorology in the mid-nineteenth century.

...More
Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB583747568/

Similar Citations

Thesis Azadeh Achbari; (2017)
Rulers of the Winds: How Academics Came to Dominate the Science of the Weather, 1830-1870 (/isis/citation/CBB183281724/)

Thesis Dutton, V M; (cited 2010)
Mortality Decline in the Royal Navy, 1850--1899 (/isis/citation/CBB001567246/)

Book Reidy, Michael S.; (2008)
Tides of History: Ocean Science and Her Majesty's Navy (/isis/citation/CBB000774890/)

Article Oliver, Howard R.; (2012)
The Ripon Meteorological Data Set for 1892 to 1895 as Recorded by Charles Piazzi Smyth (/isis/citation/CBB001321072/)

Article Pedgley, D. E.; (2002)
A Short History of the British Rainfall Organization (/isis/citation/CBB001321066/)

Article Thomas, Hugh; (2011)
Weather and Phenological Observations at Hurstpierpoint 1859 to 1862 (/isis/citation/CBB001321071/)

Book Leggett, Don; (2015)
Shaping the Royal Navy: Technology, Authority and Naval Architecture, c.1830--1906 (/isis/citation/CBB001551964/)

Article Anderson, K. D.; (2009)
Weather Services at War (/isis/citation/CBB001321068/)

Article Webb, Adrian; (2014)
More Than Just Charts: Hydrographic Expertise within the Admiralty, 1795--1829 (/isis/citation/CBB001421385/)

Article Randalls, Samuel; (2010)
Weather Profits: Weather Derivatives and the Commercialization of Meteorology (/isis/citation/CBB001034683/)

Article Pietsch, Roland; (2013)
Hearts of Oak and Jolly Tars? Heroism and Insanity in the Georgian Navy (/isis/citation/CBB001200832/)

Book Willis, Sam; (2011)
The Glorious First of June (/isis/citation/CBB001421486/)

Article Allan, Stuart; (2013)
“The Hero with a Thousand Faces”: The Literary Legacy of Lord Cochrane (/isis/citation/CBB001421376/)

Book Erika Behrisch; (2022)
Discovery, Innovation, and the Victorian Admiralty: Paper Navigators (/isis/citation/CBB883054576/)

Authors & Contributors
Erika Behrisch Elce
Taylor, Miles
Achbari, Azadeh
Willis, Sam
Webb, Adrian
Seligmann, Matthew S.
Concepts
Science and war; science and the military
Sea travel
Meteorology
Weather
Ships and shipbuilding
Military technology
Time Periods
19th century
20th century, early
20th century
18th century
21st century
20th century, late
Places
Great Britain
United States
France
Atlantic Ocean
Europe
England
Institutions
Great Britain. Royal Navy
British Admiralty
Great Britain. Royal Air Force
United States Navy
Comments

Be the first to comment!

{{ comment.created_by.username }} on {{ comment.created_on | date:'medium' }}

Log in or register to comment