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 atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric phenomena including the weather. Those who study meteorological phenomena are meteorologists ...

. He introduced the

tephigram A tephigram is one of a number of 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 plo ...

, a diagram for evaluating convective instability in the atmosphere. He also served as president of the International Meteorological Committee and

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 ...

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, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

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 school (UK), independent day school for boys in the British Public school (UK), public school tradition, located in Edgbaston, Birmingham. Founded by Edward VI of England, King Edward VI in 1552, it ...

. 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, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

graduating MA in 1876, then at the

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. Returning to Britain he began as a Demonstrator in Physics 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 ...

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

World Meteorological Organization The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for promoting international cooperation on atmospheric science, climatology, hydrology an ...

. 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 Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...

later that year. He was President of the

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

. Shaw also studied

air pollution Air pollution is the presence of substances in the Atmosphere of Earth, air that are harmful to humans, other living beings or the environment. Pollutants can be Gas, gases like Ground-level ozone, ozone or nitrogen oxides or small particles li ...

, and was the first to study and discuss

smog Smog, or smoke fog, is a type of intense air pollution. The word "smog" was coined in the early 20th century, and is a portmanteau of the words ''smoke'' and ''fog'' to refer to smoky fog due to its opacity, and odour. The word was then inte ...

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 city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

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 An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into article (publishing), articles or entries that are arranged Alp ...

'' (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

*1923: He was awarded a

Royal Medal The Royal Medal, also known as The Queen's Medal and The King's Medal (depending on the gender of the monarch at the time of the award), is a silver-gilt medal, of which three are awarded each year by the Royal Society. Two are given for "the mo ...

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 Academics of Imperial College London Alumni of the University of Cambridge Air pollution in the United Kingdom English meteorologists Fellows of the Royal Society Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Knights Bachelor People educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham Presidents of the Royal Meteorological Society Recipients of the Buys Ballot Medal (Netherlands) Royal Medal winners Scientists from Birmingham, West Midlands Scientists of the Cavendish Laboratory {{UK-scientist-stub