Alexander Buchan FRS

FRSE 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 Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

(11 April 1829 – 13 May 1907) was a Scottish meteorologist, oceanographer and botanist and is credited with establishing the

weather map A weather map, also known as synoptic weather chart, displays various meteorological features across a particular area at a particular point in time and has various symbols which all have specific meanings. Such maps have been in use since the mi ...

as the basis of modern

weather forecasting Weather forecasting or weather prediction is the application of science and technology forecasting, to predict the conditions of the Earth's atmosphere, atmosphere for a given location and time. People have attempted to predict the weather info ...

. He also proposed the theory of Buchan Spells.

Life

Buchan was born in Kinnesswood on the north side of Loch Leven, the son of Alexander Buchan, a weaver, and Margaret Day Hill. He was educated at the Free Church College in Edinburgh and at

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the town council under the authority of a royal charter from King James VI in 1582 and offi ...

. He was Secretary of the Scottish Meteorological Society for 47 years. From 1860 until his death he was the editor of the ''Journal of the Scottish Meteorological Society'' and he was also a member of the Council of the

Meteorological Office The Met Office, until November 2000 officially the Meteorological Office, is the United Kingdom's national weather and climate service. It is an executive agency and trading fund of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and ...

as well as the curator of the library of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

. He was instrumental in establishing the

Ben Nevis Ben Nevis ( ; , ) is the highest mountain in Scotland, the United Kingdom, and the British Isles. Ben Nevis stands at the western end of the Grampian Mountains in the Highland region of Lochaber, close to the town of Fort William. The mount ...

observatory. Buchan prepared meteorological and oceanographic reports for the

Challenger Expedition The ''Challenger'' expedition of 1872–1876 was a scientific programme that made many discoveries to lay the foundation of oceanography. The expedition was named after the naval vessel that undertook the trip, . The expedition, initiated by W ...

. In 1870 he was elected President of the

Botanical Society of Edinburgh Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially their anatomy, taxonomy, and ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who specialises in this field. "Plant" and "botany ...

. He was then living at 72 Northumberland Street in Edinburgh's Second New Town. Buchan was elected a Fellow of the

in 1868 and became its Curator in 1878 and served until 1906. He was also their Vice President 1906–1907. He received the Makdougall-Brisbane prize in 1876 and the Gunning Victoria Jubilee prize in 1893 of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. He was elected a

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

of London in 1898. He was the first recipient of the

Symons Gold Medal The Symons Gold Medal is awarded biennially by the Royal Meteorological Society for distinguished work in the field of meteorological science. It was established in 1901 in memory of George James Symons, a notable British meteorologist. Recipient ...

of the

Royal Meteorological Society The Royal Meteorological Society is an organization that promotes academic and public engagement in weather and climate science. Fellows of the Society must possess relevant qualifications, but Members can be lay enthusiasts. It publishes vari ...

in 1902. Buchan died at home, 2 Dean Terrace in

Stockbridge, Edinburgh Stockbridge is a district of Edinburgh, located north of the city centre, bounded by the New Town, Edinburgh, New Town and by Comely Bank. The name is Scots ''stock brig'' from Anglic languages, Anglic ''stocc brycg'', meaning a timber bridge. ...

on 13 May 1907 and is buried in

Warriston Cemetery Warriston Cemetery is a cemetery in List of graveyards and cemeteries in Edinburgh, Edinburgh. It lies in Warriston, one of the northern suburbs of Edinburgh, Scotland. It was built by the then newly-formed Edinburgh Cemetery Company, and o ...

on the north side of the city. The Celtic cross marking his grave stands close to a junction on the paths 50m south of the monument to

James Young Simpson Sir James Young Simpson, 1st Baronet (7 June 1811 – 6 May 1870) was a Scottish obstetrician and a significant figure in the history of medicine. He was the first physician to demonstrate the anaesthetic properties of chloroform in humans and ...

at the end of the central vaults. He was replaced in his role at the

by Andrew Watt. The Buchan Prize, named in his honour, was instituted to commemorate the amalgamation in 1921 of the Scottish Meteorological Society and the Royal Meteorological Society.

Publications

*''The Atmospheric Circulation'' *''Handy book of Meteorology'' (1867) *''Introductory Textbook of Meteorology'' (1871) *''

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

9th edition: Atmosphere'' (1875)

Family

In 1864, he married Sarah Ritchie (died 1900). His niece, Jessie Hill Buchan, an expert calculator, was his assistant until her death in 1905.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buchan, Alexander 1829 births 1907 deaths People from Perth and Kinross Scottish meteorologists Scottish oceanographers 19th-century Scottish botanists Scottish inventors Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Scottish magazine editors British academic journal editors Scottish curators Scottish librarians Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Contributors to the Dictionary of National Biography Members of the Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala

Life

Publications

Family

See also

References