The Scottish Meteorological Society was founded in 1855 by David Milne-Home with private funding, particularly from wealthy landowners who wished to compile meteorological records in order to improve agriculture. The Society founded the observatory on

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 ...

, officially opened in 1883. In 1921, the Society amalgamated with 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 ...

Publications

* ''Journal of the Scottish Meteorological Society'', Volume 1 (1864) - Volume 18 (1917/19)

Notable members

W S Bruce William Speirs Bruce (1 August 1867 – 28 October 1921) was a British naturalist, polar scientist and oceanographer who organised and led the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition (SNAE, 1902–04) to the South Orkney Islands and the Weddel ...

* Alexander Buchan, credited with establishing the weather map as the basis of weather forecasting * David Milne-Home, chairman of the Council of the Society *

Cargill Gilston Knott Cargill Gilston Knott FRS, FRSE LLD (30 June 1856 – 26 October 1922) was a Scottish physicist and mathematician who was a pioneer in seismological research. He spent his early career in Japan. He later became a Fellow of the Royal Society, ...

, President of the Society * John Murray, oceanographer *

Robert Traill Omond Robert Traill Omond FRSE LLD SMS (1858–1914) was a British physicist, geologist and meteorologist who set up the Ben Nevis Observatory. Life He was born on 5 June 1858, the son of Mary Eliza Traill, daughter of Thomas Stewart Traill, and Rob ...

, first Superintendent of the Ben Nevis observatory * Dr James Stark, first Secretary of the Society *

Thomas Stevenson Thomas Stevenson President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, PRSE MInstCE FRSSA FSAScot (22 July 1818 – 8 May 1887) was a pioneering Scottish civil engineer, lighthouse designer and meteorologist, who designed over thirty lighthouses in and ...

, co-founder and secretary *

Charles Thomson Rees Wilson Charles Thomson Rees Wilson (14 February 1869 – 15 November 1959) was a Scottish meteorologist and particle physicist who shared the 1927 Nobel Prize in Physics with Arthur Compton for his invention of the cloud chamber. Education and earl ...

* Clement Lindley Wragge, awarded the Society's Gold Medal

References

{{Authority control Professional associations based in Scotland Organizations established in 1855 Learned societies of Scotland Climate of Scotland Meteorological societies Geographic societies Climatological research organizations 19th century in Scotland 1921 in Scotland History of agriculture in Scotland 1855 establishments in Scotland Defunct organisations based in Scotland History of science and technology in Scotland 1921 disestablishments in Scotland