Geoffrey Philip Eden
FRMetS (14 July 1951 – 3 January 2018) was a leading British
weather
Weather is the state of the atmosphere, describing for example the degree to which it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. On Earth, most weather phenomena occur in the lowest layer of the planet's atmosphere, the ...
journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
and weather
historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...
.
Philip Eden studied a BA in
Geography
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...
before gaining a masters in applied meteorology and climatology at
Birmingham University
, mottoeng = Through efforts to heights
, established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...
in 1972.
His career as a radio weather presenter began with the (then) London station
LBC
LBC (originally the London Broadcasting Company) is a British phone-in and talk radio station owned and operated by Global and based in its headquarters in London. It was the UK's first licensed commercial radio station, and began to broadca ...
in 1983. He was subsequently chief network weather presenter for
BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station covering sport in the United Kingdom, broadcast ...
from 1994 to 2005. He wrote a weekly column for the ''
Sunday Telegraph
''The Sunday Telegraph'' is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961 and published by the Telegraph Media Group, a division of Press Holdings.
It is the sister paper of ''The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', kn ...
'' from 1986 until forced to cease because of ill-health in 2015, and also had a daily "Weather Watch" column in the ''
Daily Telegraph
Daily or The Daily may refer to:
Journalism
* Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks
* ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times''
* ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...
'' from 1998 to 2012. Eden wrote weekly features and monthly look-backs for WeatherOnline. He authored a number of books on British weather and climate.
[''Daily Telegraph'']
Obituaries: Philip Eden
11 January 2018, page 29.
Philip Eden was Vice President 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 ...
from 2007 to 2009. Eden was awarded 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 ...
's Gordon Manley Weather Prize in 2000. The prize is awarded annually for any outstanding contribution to Weather through a paper or papers, or other outstanding service to Weather, in the preceding five years that has furthered the public understanding of meteorology and oceanography.
He was a member of
Hampstead Scientific Society
The Hampstead Scientific Society (HSS) in north London was founded in July 1899 as the Hampstead Astronomical and General Scientific Society by P.E. Vizard. It aims to be inclusive, promoting and nurturing an interest in all branches of science, w ...
and Director of the Chilterns Observatory Trust from 2007.
In the last few years of his life he was suffering from
Lewy body dementia
Lewy body dementias are two similar and common subtypes of dementia—dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and
Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD). Both are characterized by changes in thinking, movement, behavior, and mood. The two conditions have sim ...
.
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eden, Philip
1951 births
2018 deaths
Alumni of the University of Birmingham
English meteorologists
British meteorologists
BBC weather forecasters
English radio presenters
BBC Radio 5 Live presenters
People from Luton