James Glaisher FRS (7 April 1809 – 7 February 1903) was an English

meteorologist A meteorologist is a scientist who studies and works in the field of meteorology aiming to understand or predict Earth's atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric phenomena including the weather. Those who study meteorological phenomena are meteorologists ...

aeronaut Aeronautics is the science or art involved with the study, design process, design, and manufacturing of air flight-capable machines, and the techniques of operating aircraft and rockets within the atmosphere. While the term originally referred ...

and

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...

Biography

Born in

Rotherhithe Rotherhithe ( ) is a district of South London, England, and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping, Shadwell and Limehouse on the north bank, with the Isle of Dogs to the ea ...

, the son of a London watchmaker, Glaisher was a junior assistant at the Cambridge Observatory from 1833 to 1835 before moving to the

Royal Observatory, Greenwich The Royal Observatory, Greenwich (ROG; known as the Old Royal Observatory from 1957 to 1998, when the working Royal Greenwich Observatory, RGO, temporarily moved south from Greenwich to Herstmonceux) is an observatory situated on a hill in Gre ...

, where he served as Superintendent of the Department of Meteorology and Magnetism at Greenwich for 34 years. In 1845, Glaisher published his

dew point The dew point is the temperature the air needs to be cooled to (at constant pressure) in order to produce a relative humidity of 100%. This temperature depends on the pressure and water content of the air. When the air at a temperature above the ...

tables for the measurement of

humidity Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation (meteorology), precipitation, dew, or fog t ...

. 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 ...

in June 1849. He was a founding member of the Meteorological Society (1850) and the

Aeronautical Society of Great Britain The Royal Aeronautical Society, also known as the RAeS, is a British multi-disciplinary professional institution dedicated to the global aerospace community. Founded in 1866, it is the oldest aeronautical society in the world. Members, Fellows ...

(1866). He was president of the Royal Meteorological Society from 1867 to 1868. Glaisher was elected a member of The Photographic Society, later the

Royal Photographic Society The Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, commonly known as the Royal Photographic Society (RPS), is the world's oldest photographic society having been in continuous existence since 1853. It was founded in London, England, in 1853 as th ...

, in 1854 and served as the society's president for 1869–1874 and 1875–1892. He remained a member until his death. He was also President of the

Royal Microscopical Society The Royal Microscopical Society (RMS) is a learned society for the promotion of microscopy. It was founded in 1839 as the Microscopical Society of London making it the oldest organisation of its kind in the world. In 1866, the Society gained it ...

. He is most famous as a pioneering balloonist. Between 1862 and 1866, usually with Henry Tracey Coxwell as his co-pilot, Glaisher made numerous ascents to measure the temperature and humidity of the atmosphere at the greatest altitudes attainable at that time. Their ascent on 5 September 1862 broke the world record for altitude but he passed out around before a reading could be taken. One of the pigeons making the trip with him died. Estimates suggest that he rose to more than and as much as above sea level. Glaisher lost consciousness during the ascent and Coxwell lost all sensation in his hands. The valve-line had become entangled so he was unable to release the mechanism; with great effort, he climbed onto the rigging and was finally able to release the vent before losing consciousness. This allowed the balloon to descend to a lower altitude. Glaisher lived at 20 Dartmouth Hill, Blackheath, London, where there is a

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...

in his memory. The two made additional flights. According to the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

, Glaisher "brought along delicate instruments to measure the temperature, barometric pressure and chemical composition of the air. He even recorded his own pulse at various altitudes". In 1871, Glaisher arranged for the publication of his book about the balloon flights, ''Travels in the Air'', a collection of reports from his experiments. To ensure that numerous members of the general public would learn from his experiences, he included "detailed drawings and maps, colorful accounts of his adventures and vivid descriptions of his precise observations", according to one report. Glaisher was elected to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

in 1895. He died in Croydon, Surrey in 1903, aged 93.

Family

In 1843 he married Cecilia Louisa Belville, a daughter of Henry Belville, Assistant at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. James and Cecilia had two sons: Ernest Glaisher and the mathematician

James Whitbread Lee Glaisher James Whitbread Lee Glaisher (5 November 1848, in Lewisham — 7 December 1928, in Cambridge) was a prominent English mathematician and astronomer. He is known for Glaisher's theorem, an important result in the field of integer partitions, a ...

(1848–1928), and one daughter: Cecilia Appelina (1845–1932).

Recognition

A lunar

crater A crater is a landform consisting of a hole or depression (geology), depression on a planetary surface, usually caused either by an object hitting the surface, or by geological activity on the planet. A crater has classically been described ...

is named after him. The name was approved by the

IAU The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...

in 1935.

In popular culture

'' The Aeronauts'', released in 2019, includes a fictionalised account of the 5 September 1862 flight. The film depicts fictional pilot Amelia Wren (played by

Felicity Jones Felicity Rose Hadley Jones (born 17 October 1983) is an English actress. She began her professional acting career as a child, appearing in '' The Treasure Seekers'' (1996) at age 12. She went on to play Ethel Hallow for one series of the tele ...

), joining Glaisher (played by

Eddie Redmayne Edward John David Redmayne OBE (; born 6 January 1982) is an English actor. His accolades include an Academy Award, a Tony Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, and two Olivier Awards. Redmayne began his professional ac ...

) in an epic fight for survival while attempting to make discoveries in a

gas balloon A gas balloon is a balloon that rises and floats in the air because it is filled with a gas lighter than air (such as helium or hydrogen). When not in flight, it is tethered to prevent it from flying away and is sealed at the bottom to prevent t ...

. The film omits Henry Coxwell entirely with Wren becoming the pilot. A report in ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' quotes Keith Moore, Head of Library at the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

as saying: "It’s a great shame that Henry isn’t portrayed because he performed very well and saved the life of a leading scientist".

Notes

References

*
Extract
.

External links

*
Royal Society citation

Newspaper cutting from New York Times, 1909
* .
The Victorians who flew as high as jumbo jets

– Illus. from Glaisher's 1871 "Travels in the Air"; see #634–641. * . * {{DEFAULTSORT:Glaisher, James 1809 births 1903 deaths English aerospace engineers English balloonists English meteorologists English science writers Fellows of the Royal Society Presidents of the Royal Meteorological Society English male non-fiction writers Flight altitude record holders Balloon flight record holders British aviation record holders James People from Rotherhithe Members of the American Philosophical Society