FitzRoy and his Barometers

Author: Philip R. Collins

144 pages, illustrated.

Travelling around Cape Horn in stormy weather, the Beagle went under water twice, bobbing up like a barrel, but each time taking on more water; if the Beagle had gone under a third time, it was believed she would have sunk, no doubt with the loss of all life. Her captain, Robert FitzRoy, blamed himself for this near calamity, having not taken enough notice of the falling barometer. He never forgot this incident and became a firm believer in the value of the barometer.

In this book, Philip Collins links Robert FitzRoy's early learnt weather knowledge to his appointment in 1854 as chief of the newly formed Meteorological Office. He investigates the first barometers that FitzRoy issued and those he helped to design in order to begin weather forecasting in Britain and protect lives around the coast. He also describes, through numerous illustrations, the domestic barometer that acquired a legendary association with the name of Admiral FitzRoy, and gives advice for anyone wishing to acquire a 'FitzRoy' barometer.