Edgar William Woolard (January 6, 1899 – June 17, 1978) was an American meteorologist, mathematician and planetary scientist. He was born in

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...

and received his college education from the

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Woolard served in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

. In 1919, he was employed at the

U.S. Weather Bureau The National Weather Service (NWS) is an agency of the United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weather-related products to organizations and the public for the ...

as an assistant meteorologist, where he would remain until 1928. He resigned to join the faculty of

as a mathematics instructor. Woolard was granted his Ph.D. from the university with a thesis titled, ''On the Geometrical Theory of Halos'', published in 1929. His was one of the first doctorates ever to be awarded in what was then the newly emerging science of

meteorology Meteorology is the scientific study of the Earth's atmosphere and short-term atmospheric phenomena (i.e. weather), with a focus on weather forecasting. It has applications in the military, aviation, energy production, transport, agricultur ...

. In 1938 he returned to the

, where he worked until the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1945, he joined the staff of the Nautical Almanac Office at the

United States Naval Observatory The United States Naval Observatory (USNO) is a scientific and military facility that produces geopositioning, navigation and timekeeping data for the United States Navy and the United States Department of Defense. Established in 1830 as the ...

, where he served as assistant director. He published a theory of

nutation Nutation () is a rocking, swaying, or nodding motion in the axis of rotation of a largely axially symmetric object, such as a gyroscope, planet, or bullet in flight, or as an intended behaviour of a mechanism. In an appropriate reference fra ...

in 1953 that became an international standard model. Woolard was named director of the Nautical Almanac Office in 1958, and would remain in that post until 1963. He contributed a chapter on

celestial mechanics Celestial mechanics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the motions of objects in outer space. Historically, celestial mechanics applies principles of physics (classical mechanics) to astronomical objects, such as stars and planets, to ...

to the work ''Fundamental Formulas of Physics'', published in 1960, then in 1966 he collaborated with American astronomer Gerald M. Clemence to author the treatise ''Spherical Astronomy''. At his retirement, Woolard was awarded the Superior Civilian Service Award by the U.S. Army. During his career he was a frequent author and later editor for the

Monthly Weather Review The ''Monthly Weather Review'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the American Meteorological Society. It covers research related to analysis and prediction of observed and modeled circulations of the atmosphere, including technique ...

. He contributed articles for science and astronomy magazines. In 1978, he died in

Kingman, Arizona Kingman is a city in and the county seat of Mohave County, Arizona, United States. It is named after Lewis Kingman, an engineer for the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad. The population was 32,693 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Hi ...

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Woolard, Edgar W. 1899 births 1978 deaths American meteorologists American astronomers George Washington University alumni Scientists from El Paso, Texas George Washington University faculty National Weather Service people