Robert Traill Omond
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 ...
LLD SMS (1858–1914) was a British physicist, geologist and meteorologist who set up 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.
Life
He was born on 5 June 1858, the son of Mary Eliza Traill, daughter of
Thomas Stewart Traill
Thomas Stewart Traill (29 October 1781 – 30 July 1862) was a British physician, chemist, meteorologist, zoologist and scholar of medical jurisprudence. He was the grandfather of the physicist, meteorologist and geologist Robert Traill Omon ...
, and
Dr Robert Omond (1806–1881) of 43
Charlotte Square
300px, Robert Adam's palace-fronted north side
Charlotte Square is a garden square in Edinburgh, Scotland, part of the New Town, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The square is located at the west end of George Street and was intended ...
in
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 ...
. He was educated at the Collegiate School in Edinburgh then studied science at the
University of Edinburgh
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 15 ...
.
In 1883 he set up an observatory on Ben Nevis and served as its Superintendent 1883 to 1891 and as its honorary superintendent 1891 until death.
In 1884 he was elected a Fellow 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 ...
. His proposers were
Peter Guthrie Tait
Peter Guthrie Tait FRSE (28 April 1831 – 4 July 1901) was a Scottish mathematical physicist and early pioneer in thermodynamics. He is best known for the mathematical physics textbook '' Treatise on Natural Philosophy'', which he co-wrote wi ...
,
Alexander Crum Brown
Alexander Crum Brown FRSE FRS (26 March 1838 – 28 October 1922) was a Scottish organic chemist. Alexander Crum Brown Road in Edinburgh's King's Buildings complex is named after him.
Early life and education
Crum Brown was born at 4 Bellev ...
,
Alexander Buchan and
Sir John Murray. He was awarded the Society's Keith Prize for the period 1889–1891. The University of Edinburgh awarded him an honorary doctorate (LLD) in 1913.
In later life he lived at 3 Church Hill in the
Morningside area of Edinburgh.
He died on 27 January 1914. The entire Traill/Omond family are buried together in the southern section of
St Cuthberts Chuchyard, immediately below
Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age, although the nature of the early settlement is unclear. ...
.
Recognition
William Speirs Bruce
William Speirs Bruce (1 August 1867 – 28 October 1921) was a British Natural history, naturalist, polar region, polar scientist and Oceanography, oceanographer who organized and led the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition (SNAE, 1902–04) ...
named the meteorological station in Scotia Bay on
Laurie Island
Laurie Island is the second largest of the South Orkney Islands. The island is claimed by both Argentina as part of Argentine Antarctica, and the United Kingdom as part of the British Antarctic Territory. However, under the Antarctic Treaty Sy ...
Omond House in recognition of him, during his Antarctic expedition of 1902. The building was officially opened on 1 April 1903 and was manned by
Robert Mossman until 1905. The British government declined to accept responsibility for the long term maintenance and operation of the weather station and it was instead bought by the government of
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
in 1906, which has continued to maintain it.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Omond, Robert Traill
1858 births
1914 deaths
Scientists from Edinburgh
British meteorologists
Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
19th-century British physicists
19th-century British geologists
Scottish geologists
Scottish physicists