José Carlos Millás (January 22, 1889 – November 28, 1965) was a
Cuban
meteorologist. He is known for his research on past
Atlantic hurricane season
The Atlantic hurricane season is the period in a year from June through November when tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic Ocean, referred to in North American countries as hurricanes, tropical storms, or tropical depressions. In addition ...
s, and has been called one of the "fathers of tropical meteorology".
Born in
Havana,
Cuba, Millás graduated as a
civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...
from the
University of Havana. He then took post-graduate courses at the
University of Chicago. In 1913 he was appointed assistant director of the National Observatory of Cuba, becoming the institute's director in 1921. In the 1930s, before
radar and refined hurricane-tracking equipment was available, Millás collaborated with R. W. Gray and
Grady Norton
Grady Norton (1894 – October 9, 1954) was an American meteorologist. He is widely recognized as the original director of the National Hurricane Center even though that position would not be created during his lifetime.
The son of a farmer, Nort ...
of the
Weather Bureau
The National Weather Service (NWS) is an agency of the United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weather-related products to organizations and the public for the p ...
to plot the course of tropical cyclones.
Millás remained in that position at the National Observatory until 1961, when the
Cuban Revolution forced him to emigrate to the
United States. He became an assistant professor at the
University of Miami and conducted research for the Weather Bureau until his death in 1965.
Millás was decorated with the National Order of Merit of Cub] and the
Order of the Aztec Eagle.
Selected publications
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References
Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Millas, Jose Carlos
1889 births
1965 deaths
Cuban scientists
University of Chicago alumni
University of Miami faculty