Abbott Lawrence Rotch

Abbott Lawrence Rotch ( born January 6, 1861 in Boston, † April 7, 1912 in Milton, Massachusetts) was an American meteorologist and founder of the Blue Hill Observatory, where it was introduced under his leadership in 1894 the weather dragons Aerology.

Life

Rotch was born in a wealthy Boston family, the seventh child of Benjamin Rotch (1817-1882) and his wife Annie ( 1820-1893 ). In his youth, the parents took him to travel extensively to Europe, where he attended schools in Paris, Berlin and Florence, so that he spoke fluent French and German. Already at this time he took from weather observations. After his studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, from which he graduated in 1884, he encouraged his mother to build a private meteorological observatory. As a suitable place he chose the 194 -meter-high Great Blue Hill, which was located near the located in Milton summer residence of the family. The funds required for the construction of a small stone Wetterwarte of 3500 U.S. dollars could Rotch private muster. On 31 January 1885, the observatory was inaugurated, and in February, the first readings were recorded. Throughout his life made ​​Rotch for regular observations and measurements. For their continued after his death, he put in his will funds. The Blue Hill Observatory now has the oldest continuous meteorological observation series in the USA.

With his assistant, Henry Helm Clayton, he led from 1886 through extensive cloud observations and measurements. He was traveling a lot and maintained close personal contacts with leading European aero boxes. Rotch was a member of the German Association for the Advancement of airships and was invited Richard Assmann's on one of the first scientific ballooning in Berlin. On 24 October 1891 he accompanied Arthur Berson on the journey of the club balloons MW, which was led by Hans Gross.

In 1893 he accompanied William Henry Pickering to Peru. As part of the astronomical observatory mountain Arequipa at the volcano Chachani he installed an automatic weather station at about 5000 m altitude. Then he traveled with Andrew Ellicott Douglass and Pickering to Chile in the zone of totality of the solar eclipse of April 16, 1893.

1894 first attempts were made at the Blue Hill Observatory, to be transported registering instruments of dragons in higher layers of the atmosphere. Together with William Abner Eddy (1850-1909) succeeded on August 4, to convey a thermograph by a team of five Eddy kite at a height of 436 meters. In August 1895, Lawrence Hargrave ( 1850-1915 ) was used box kites developed for transporting a gauge for air pressure and temperature for the first time, which was acquired in a developed form of all major aerological stations in the world. 1896 reached the Dragons at the Blue Hill Observatory, a height of 2000, 1900 of 4600 meters. On August 22, 1901 Rotch was the first time a dragon in calm weather from on board a steamboat to ascend. He thus demonstrated the particular suitability of the weather dragon for studying the free atmosphere over the oceans. Until the 1940s the weather kite was an important tool of the Aero lodges, which supplemented the use of weather balloons.

1905, 1906 and 1907 chartered Rotch together with Léon- Philippe de Bort Teisserenc a steamer and studied the atmospheric conditions in the eastern Atlantic from the temperate regions to the equator. With the help of pilot balloons, whose tracks he followed, he examined wind speeds and directions at different altitudes. Supplemented by the results of the expeditions Hugo Hergesells with the Prince of Monaco from 1904 to 1907 and the efforts made by Arthur Berson and Hermann Elias East African Expedition of the Meteorological Observatory Lindenberg in 1908 led to a basic understanding of air circulation in the tropics. 1906 Rotch became the first Professor of Meteorology at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, was appointed.

In order to make weather observations at higher altitudes, Rotch climbed numerous mountains in North and South America and Europe. On Mont Blanc, he tried six times, where he reached the summit three times.

Rotch died on April 7, 1912 after an operation for appendicitis. He bequeathed his observatory testamentary Harvard University and donated $ 50,000 for the further operation.

Rotch was November 25, 1893 Margaret Anderson ( 1866-1941 ) married. The marriage produced three daughters and one son.

Honors

Rotch was a member of the International Commission for Scientific Aeronautics and Honorary Member of the British, German and Austrian meteorological societies. The French government appointed him in 1889 to Chevallier Legion of Honor.

Writings (selection )

  • An Account of the Foundation and Work of the Blue Hill Observatory. Alfred Mudge & Son, Boston, 1887
  • Studies of the Upper Air Boston 1895
  • Sounding the Ocean of Air Young & Co., New York 1900
  • The circulation of the atmosphere in the tropical and equatorial regions. 1902, German translation: the circulation, the atmosphere in the tropics and the equator. Braunschweig 1902
  • Benjamin Franklin and the First Balloons. Davis Press, Worcester 1907
  • The Conquest of The Air Moffat, Yard & Co., New York 1909
Milton (Massachusetts) Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory Atmospheric sounding Albert I, Prince of Monaco Cambridge (Massachusetts) Integrated Authority File
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