Cambridge Library Collection - Earth Science

The 'student of clouds' Luke Howard (1772–1864) published this work of statistics on weather conditions in London in two volumes, in 1818 and 1820. Howard was by profession an industrial chemist, but his great interest in meteorology led to his studies on clouds (also reissued in this series), and his devising of the system of Latin cloud names which was adopted internationally and is still in use. Volume 1 begins with an introduction to the work, explaining his intention to make available in one place consistent records of weather events. He argues that for the benefit of 'agriculture and navigation', a systematic approach is required, and he outlines his methods and equipment in some detail. The tables of observations taken at Plaistow, near London, in the years 1806–9 then begin, and are interspersed with notes and a commentary which includes accounts of similar weather phenomena observed elsewhere.

The 'student of clouds' Luke Howard (1772–1864) published this work of statistics on weather conditions in London in two volumes, in 1818 and 1820. Howard was by profession an industrial chemist, but his great interest in meteorology led to his studies on clouds (also reissued in this series), and his devising of the system of Latin cloud names which was adopted internationally and is still in use. Volume 2 contains a preface in which Howard discusses the reasons for the order of presentation of his material, which, he disarmingly admits with hindsight, might have been improved. The tabular material in this volume, supplied with notes and commentary citing published reports from around Europe, comes from observations made at Tottenham in the period 1817–19. This historic material will be of interest to environmental scientists as well as to those interested in the history of meteorology.

The 'student of clouds' Luke Howard (1772–1864) published this work of statistics on weather conditions in London in two volumes, in 1818 and 1820. Volume 1 begins with an introduction to the work, fo

An industrial chemist by profession, Luke Howard (1772–1864) proposed the method of cloud classification that is still in use today. His life-long interest in meteorology led him to produce this landmark work in the history of the subject. General scientific opinion at the time was that clouds were too changeable to be classified, but, inspired by Linnaeus' work in biological classification, Howard proposed a method which used Latin terminology - cirrus, cumulus, stratus and nimbus - to provide a standard description for each of three groups of cloud types. His work was first published in the Philosophical Magazine in 1803; it was produced in book form in 1832 but went quickly out of print. This reissue is of the third printing (1865) of the edition brought out after his death in 1864 by two of his sons. Howard's other meteorological works are also reissued in this series.

Luke Howard (1772–1864) was a pharmacist and businessman, but is most famous for his contributions to meteorology. He classified clouds by their appearance and gave them their modern names of cumulus, cirrus, nimbus and stratus. He was educated at a Quaker school in Oxfordshire, then trained as a pharmacist, but was fascinated by weather throughout his life, and developed into a keen amateur meteorologist. He wrote several important texts on the subject including The Climate of London, an early study in urban climatology, and On the Modification of Clouds (both also reissued in this series). Published in 1837, Seven Lectures on Meteorology covers the components of the atmosphere, seasonal variation in winds and temperature, the use of barometers, cloud structure, and visual phenomena such as rainbows and the Aurora Borealis. This reissue also includes Howard's short 1842 book which details selected British weather data from 1824 to 1841.