Sir William Napier Shaw (4 March 1854 – 23 March 1945) was a British

meteorologist A meteorologist is a scientist who studies and works in the field of meteorology aiming to understand or predict Earth's atmospheric phenomena including the weather. Those who study meteorological phenomena are meteorologists in research, while t ...

. He introduced the

tephigram A tephigram is one of four thermodynamic diagrams commonly used in weather analysis and forecasting. The name evolved from the original name "T-\phi-gram" to describe the axes of temperature (T) and entropy (\phi) used to create the plot. Usuall ...

, a diagram for evaluating

convective instability In meteorology, convective instability or stability of an air mass refers to its ability to resist vertical motion. A ''stable'' atmosphere makes vertical movement difficult, and small vertical disturbances dampen out and disappear. In an ''uns ...

in the atmosphere. He also served as president of the

International Meteorological Committee The International Meteorological Organization (IMO; 1873–1951) was the first organization formed with the purpose of exchanging weather information among the countries of the world. It came into existence from the realization that weather systems ...

and Royal Meteorological Society.

Biography

Shaw was born at 84 Vyse Street in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

the son of Charles Thomas Shaw, a goldsmith and jeweller, and his wife, Kezia Lauden. He was educated at

King Edward's School, Birmingham King Edward's School (KES) is an independent day school for boys in the British public school tradition, located in Edgbaston, Birmingham. Founded by King Edward VI in 1552, it is part of the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI in Bir ...

. He studied at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...

graduating MA in 1876, then at the

University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

. Returning to Britain he began as a Demonstrator in Physics at the Cavendish Laboratory linked to Cambridge University in 1879. In 1887 he began lecturing in Experimental Physics. In 1898 he became Assistant Director of the Cavendish Laboratory. In 1891, he was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemat ...

. In 1900 he became Secretary of the Meteorological Council. From 1905 to 1907 he was Director of the Meteorological Office. In 1907 he became the first Professor of Meteorology at

Imperial College, London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a c ...

. In 1911 he served as President of the International Meteorological Committee, forerunner of the

World Meteorological Organization The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for promoting international cooperation on atmospheric science, climatology, hydrology and geophysics. The WMO originated from the Intern ...

. In 1915, he developed the

. He was knighted by King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

later that year. He was President of the Royal Meteorological Society 1918/19. In 1933 he was elected an honorary

Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This socie ...

. Shaw also studied

air pollution Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different typ ...

, and was the first to study and discuss smog and look at its health problems. In 1925, he co-authored the book ''The Smoke Problem of Great Cities'' with John Switzer Owens. Shaw retired in 1924 aged 70 and died in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

aged 91.

Family

In 1885 he married Sarah Jane Dugdale Harland (d.1923). They had no children.

Publications

*''Practical Physics'' (1893) *''Forecasting Weather'' (1911) *Articles on ''"Dew"'', ''"Fog"'',''"Squall"'' and ''"Sunshine"'' in the '' Encyclopaedia Britannica'' (1911) *''The Smoke Problem of Great Cities'' (1925) *''Manual of Meteorology'' (1926) plus several later editions

Honours and awards

*1910: He was awarded the Symons Gold Medal of the Royal Meteorological Society *1923: He was awarded a Royal Medal by the Royal Society. *1924: He was an Invited Speaker of the ICM in Toronto.

References

External links

Royal Society c.v.

Royal Society certificate of election
1854 births 1945 deaths English meteorologists Fellows of the Royal Society Knights Bachelor People from Birmingham, West Midlands Presidents of the Royal Meteorological Society Recipients of the Buys Ballot Medal (Netherlands) Royal Medal winners {{UK-scientist-stub