John Patterson OBE, (January 3, 1872 – February 22, 1956) was a Canadian physicist and meteorologist. Born on a farm in

Oxford County, Ontario Oxford County is a regional municipality in the Canadian province of Ontario. Highway 401 runs east–west through the centre of the county, creating an urban industrial corridor with more than half the county's population, spanning 25 km be ...

, he was one of thirteen children of Francis Patterson and Annie (Telfer). He matriculated to the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

, graduating in 1900 with a B.A. in engineering, and was awarded a '' 1851 Exhibition Science Research Scholarship'' to study physics for his M.A. at the

Cavendish Laboratory The Cavendish Laboratory is the Department of Physics at the University of Cambridge, and is part of the School of Physical Sciences. The laboratory was opened in 1874 on the New Museums Site as a laboratory for experimental physics and is named ...

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. There he performed studies of thin metallic films and their electrical properties,

ionization Ionization or ionisation is the process by which an atom or a molecule acquires a negative or positive Electric charge, charge by gaining or losing electrons, often in conjunction with other chemical changes. The resulting electrically charged at ...

of the air, and the variation of

electrical resistance The electrical resistance of an object is a measure of its opposition to the flow of electric current. Its reciprocal quantity is , measuring the ease with which an electric current passes. Electrical resistance shares some conceptual paral ...

of metals when exposed to

magnetic field A magnetic field (sometimes called B-field) is a physical field that describes the magnetic influence on moving electric charges, electric currents, and magnetic materials. A moving charge in a magnetic field experiences a force perpendicular ...

s. Patterson traveled to India in 1903 where he served as professor of physics at the

University of Allahabad The University of Allahabad is a Central university (India), Central University located in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. It was established on 23 September 1887 by an act of Parliament and is recognised as an Institute of National Importance (INI). ...

, until in January 1905 he was named imperial meteorologist to the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

Simla Shimla, also known as Simla (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Himachal Pradesh, the official name until 1972), is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summe ...

. On January 1, 1906, he was married to Margaret Norris, a medical practitioner and professor of obstetrics working in India. The couple had two children, one of whom died in India. With John suffering from ill health, the couple left for Toronto with their son Arthur in 1910. He became a physicist for the Canadian Meteorological Service, where he was responsible for organizing a pilot program for performing upper air observations using balloons. In 1912 he was placed in charge of the newly formed department of physics at the Central Office in Toronto. During the

First World War 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 ...

, he worked for the

British Admiralty The Admiralty was a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the Government of the United Kingdom that was responsible for the command of the Royal Navy. Historically, its titular head was the Lord High Admiral of the ...

to perform an experiment in extracting helium from

natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...

. Following the war, he was involved in designing a new

barometer A barometer is a scientific instrument that is used to measure air pressure in a certain environment. Pressure tendency can forecast short term changes in the weather. Many measurements of air pressure are used within surface weather analysis ...

and was responsible for developing the 3-cup

anemometer In meteorology, an anemometer () is a device that measures wind speed and direction. It is a common instrument used in weather stations. The earliest known description of an anemometer was by Italian architect and author Leon Battista Alberti ...

now in widespread use. In 1925 he became assistant director of the Meteorological service, then in 1929 he was named director (controller), succeeding the retiring Sir Frederic Stupart. Patterson held this post until his retirement in 1946. He was elected to serve as president of the

American Meteorological Society The American Meteorological Society (AMS) is a scientific and professional organization in the United States promoting and disseminating information about the atmospheric, oceanic, and hydrologic sciences. Its mission is to advance the atmosph ...

during 1930–31 and president of the

Royal Canadian Institute The Royal Canadian Institute for Science (RCIScience), known also as the Royal Canadian Institute, is a Canadian nonprofit organization dedicated to connecting the public with Canadian science. History The organization was formed in Toronto as t ...

in 1932–33. In 1954, the Patterson Distinguished Service Medal was created in his honnor and attributed to him..

Bibliography

* ''A meteorological trip to the Arctic Circle'' (1915) * ''Upper air investigation in Canada: observations by registering balloons'' (1915) * ''Pilot-balloon work in Canada'' (1920) * ''The cup anemometer'' (1926) * ''Airship meteorology'' (1931) * ''Canada's program for the International Polar Year 1932-33'' (1932) * ''The development of meteorological science'' (1933) * ''Meteorological services for Trans-Canada Airways'' (1939) * ''Weather services for Canada's airways'' (1939) * ''A century of Canadian meteorology'' (1940) * ''Sir Frederic Stupart'' (1941) * ''Meteorology related to the science of aviation'' (1944) * ''Meteorology in peace and war'' (1949) * ''Meteorology'' (1949)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Patterson, John 1872 births 1956 deaths People from Oxford County, Ontario Canadian meteorologists University of Toronto alumni Alumni of the University of Cambridge Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Officers of the Order of the British Empire