The grave of Alexander Buchan, Warriston Cemetery, Edinburgh

Alexander Buchan FRS

FRSE 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 letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

(11 April 1829,

Kinnesswood Kinnesswood (; sco, Kinaskit, ), possibly from the gd, Ceann eas ciad ("head of the waterfall of the wood") is a village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, and is in the historic county of Kinross-shire. It lies to the east of Loch Leven, on the ...

Portmoak Portmoak is a parish in Kinross-shire, Scotland. It consists of a group of settlements running north to south: Glenlomond, Wester Balgedie, Easter Balgedie, Kinnesswood, Kilmagadwood and Scotlandwell. The name derives from the Port of St Mo ...

– 13 May 1907,

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

) was a Scottish meteorologist, oceanographer and botanist and is credited with establishing the

weather map A weather map, also known as synoptic weather chart, displays various meteorological features across a particular area at a particular point in time and has various symbols which all have specific meanings. Such maps have been in use since the m ...

as the basis of modern

weather forecasting Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology forecasting, to predict the conditions of the Earth's atmosphere, atmosphere for a given location and time. People have attempted to predict the weather informally for millennia a ...

. He also proposed the theory of Buchan Spells.

Life

Buchan was born in

on the north side of Loch Leven, the son of Alexander Buchan, a weaver, and Margaret Day Hill. He was educated at the Free Church College in Edinburgh and at

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1582 ...

. He was Secretary of the

Scottish Meteorological Society 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 observato ...

for 47 years. From 1860 until his death he was the editor of the ''Journal of the Scottish Meteorological Society'' and he was also a member of the Council of the

Meteorological Office The Meteorological Office, abbreviated as the Met Office, is the United Kingdom's national weather service. It is an executive agency and trading fund of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and is led by CEO Penelope ...

as well as the curator of the library of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

. He was instrumental in establishing the

Ben Nevis Ben Nevis ( ; gd, Beinn Nibheis ) is the highest mountain in Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland ...

observatory. Buchan prepared meteorological and oceanographic reports for the

Challenger Expedition The ''Challenger'' expedition of 1872–1876 was a scientific program that made many discoveries to lay the foundation of oceanography. The expedition was named after the naval vessel that undertook the trip, . The expedition, initiated by Wil ...

. In 1870 he was elected President of the

Botanical Society of Edinburgh The Botanical Society of Scotland (BSS) is the national learned society for botanists of Scotland. The Society's aims are to advance knowledge and appreciation of flowering and cryptogamic plants, algae and fungi. The Society's activities includ ...

. He was then living at 72 Northumberland Street in Edinburgh's Second New Town. Buchan was elected a Fellow of the

in 1868 and became its Curator in 1878 and served until 1906. He was also their Vice President 1906–1907. He received the Makdougall-Brisbane prize in 1876 and the Gunning Victoria Jubilee prize in 1893 of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

of London in 1898. He was the first recipient of the

Symons Gold Medal The Symons Gold Medal is awarded biennially by the Royal Meteorological Society for distinguished work in the field of meteorological science. It was established in 1901 in memory of George James Symons, a notable British meteorologist. Recipients ...

of the

Royal Meteorological Society The Royal Meteorological Society is a long-established institution that promotes academic and public engagement in weather and climate science. Fellows of the Society must possess relevant qualifications, but Associate Fellows can be lay enthus ...

in 1902. Buchan died at home, 2 Dean Terrace in

Stockbridge, Edinburgh Stockbridge is a suburb of Edinburgh, located north of the city centre, bounded by the New Town and by Comely Bank. The name is Scots ''stock brig'' from Anglic ''stocc brycg'', meaning a timber bridge. Originally a small outlying village, i ...

on 13 May 1907 and is buried in

Warriston Cemetery Warriston Cemetery is a cemetery in Edinburgh. It lies in Warriston, one of the northern suburbs of Edinburgh, Scotland. It was built by the then newly-formed Edinburgh Cemetery Company, and occupies around of land on a slightly sloping si ...

on the north side of the city. The Celtic cross marking his grave stands close to a junction on the paths 50m south of the monument to

James Young Simpson Sir James Young Simpson, 1st Baronet, (7 June 1811 – 6 May 1870) was a Scottish obstetrician and a significant figure in the history of medicine. He was the first physician to demonstrate the anaesthetic properties of chloroform on humans ...

at the end of the central vaults. He was replaced in his role at the

by Andrew Watt. The Buchan Prize, named in his honour, was instituted to commemorate the amalgamation in 1921 of the Scottish Meteorological Society and the Royal Meteorological Society.

Publications

*''The Atmospheric Circulation'' *''Handy book of Meteorology'' (1867) *''Introductory Textbook of Meteorology'' (1871) *''

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...

9th edition: Atmosphere'' (1875)

Family

In 1864, he married Sarah Ritchie (died 1900).

References

1829 births 1907 deaths People from Perth and Kinross Scottish meteorologists Scottish oceanographers Scottish botanists Scottish inventors Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Scottish magazine editors Academic journal editors Scottish curators Scottish librarians Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Contributors to the Dictionary of National Biography Members of the Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala {{climate-bio-stub

Life

Publications

Family

See also

References