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 ...

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