- See also James Whitbread Lee Glaisher, the mathematician
| James Glaisher | |
|---|---|
 James Glaisher
|
|
| Born | 7 April 1809 |
| Died | 7 February 1903 |
| Nationality | English |
| Fields | meteorology |
James Glaisher FRS (7 April 1809 - 7 February 1903), was an English meteorologist and aeronaut.
Born in Rotherhithe, the son of a London watchmaker,[1] Glaisher was an assistant at the Royal Greenwich Observatories at Cambridge and Greenwich, and Superintendent of the Department of Meteorology and Magnetism at Greenwich for thirty-four years.
In 1845, Glaisher published his dew point tables, for the measurement of humidity.
Glaisher was a founder member of the Meteorological Society (1850), and the Aeronautical Society of Great Britain (1866).
He is most famous, however, as a pioneering balloonist. Between 1862 and 1866, usually with Henry Tracey Coxwell as his co-pilot, Glaisher made numerous ascents in order to measure the temperature and humidity of the atmosphere at its highest levels. His ascent on September 5, 1862 broke the world record for altitude, but he passed out around 8,800 metres before a reading could be taken. Estimates suggest that he rose to more than 9,500 metres and as much as 10,900 metres above sea-level. [2][3]
Glaisher lived at 22 Dartmouth Hill, Blackheath, London, where there is a blue plaque in his memory.
He had ten children, including the mathematician James Whitbread Lee Glaisher (1848-1928).
References
- ^ H. P. Hollis, ‘Glaisher, James (1809–1903)’, rev. J. Tucker, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Oct 2008, accessed 5 Jan 2009
- ^ Centennial of Flight
- ^ 1902 Encyclopedia
- Glaisher, James. Travels in the Air. London: Bentley, 1871; Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1871. Extract
External links
- Article in 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica
- Royal Society citation
- Newspaper cutting from New York Times, 1909.
- Details of 1862 balloon flight.
- NOAA photo library - Illus. from Glaisher's 1871 'Travels in the Air'; see #634-641
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