William Henry Dines BA FRS (5 August 1855 – 24 December 1927) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

meteorologist. Dines was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, the son of George Dines, also a meteorologist. He was educated at Woodcote House School,

Windlesham Windlesham is a village in the Surrey Heath borough of Surrey, England, approximately south west of central London. Its name derives from the Windle Brook, which runs south of the village into Chobham, and the common suffix 'ham', the Old Engli ...

, and afterwards entered

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus"), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th century through to the early 19th century ...

, where he obtained a first-class in the mathematical

tripos At the University of Cambridge, a Tripos (, plural 'Triposes') is any of the examinations that qualify an undergraduate for a bachelor's degree or the courses taken by a student to prepare for these. For example, an undergraduate studying mathe ...

in 1881. He afterwards carried out investigations for 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 ...

on the subject of wind forces, and in connexion with this work designed the Dines pressure-tube

anemometer In meteorology, an anemometer () is a device that measures wind speed and direction. It is a common instrument used in weather stations. The earliest known description of an anemometer was by Italian architect and author Leon Battista Alberti ( ...

. In 1901 he commenced researches into the problems of the upper air, and designed or perfected several instruments for use with kites, as well as a form of the

Hargraves Hargraves is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Daniel Hargraves (born 1975), Australian rules footballer *Edward Hargraves (1816–1891), gold prospector in Australia * Fred Hargraves (1884–1960), English footballer * James ...

box-kite, which proved of great value. In 1905 he was appointed by 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 ...

director of experiments in connexion with the investigation of the upper air, and in 1907 designed a meteorograph for use with balloons. He also produced, in conjunction with Dr.

Napier Shaw Sir William Napier Shaw (4 March 1854 – 23 March 1945) was a British meteorologist. He introduced the tephigram, a diagram for evaluating convective instability in the atmosphere. He also served as president of the International Meteorological ...

, the

microbarograph Microbarometers are sensitive barometers that can measure air pressure with high precision. Microbarometers typically have a resolution of microbars (μbar) or pascals (Pa), while ordinary barometers can only resolve in hectopascals (hPa) or mi ...

and a recording mercury barometer, as well as various other instruments. From 1901 to 1902 he was President of the

and in 1905 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 ...

. Although he was never a full-time academic, he was a member of the International Commission for Scientific Aeronautics, and became an honorary or corresponding member of various foreign scientific societies. He is the author of many important papers on the meteorology of the upper atmosphere which appeared in the ''Transactions of the Royal Society'', the ''Geophysical Memoirs of the Meteorological Office'' and elsewhere. He lived at Pyrton House near Watlington from 1906 to 1913, and at Colne House at

Benson Benson may refer to: Animals *Benson (fish), largest common carp caught in Britain Places Geography Canada *Rural Municipality of Benson No. 35, Saskatchewan; rural municipality *Benson, Saskatchewan; hamlet United Kingdom * Benson, Oxfordshire ...

from 1913 to 1927. He is remembered in Benson by an Oxfordshire Blue Plaque.Oxfordshire Blue Plaques Scheme: William Henry Dines
/ref> Dines was the father of

John Somers Dines John Somers Dines (18 June 1885 – 15 May 1980) was an English meteorologist. Dines was born in the Cuckfield district, West Sussex, the son of meteorologist William Henry Dines and grandson of meteorologist George Dines. He graduated from Cambr ...

, MA, and Lewen Henry George Dines, MA,

AMICE The amice is a liturgical vestment used mainly in the Roman Catholic church, Western Orthodox church, Lutheran church, some Anglican, Armenian and Polish National Catholic churches. Description The amice consists of a white cloth connected to two ...

. Both sons followed in their father's footsteps as meteorologists.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dines, William 1855 births 1927 deaths English meteorologists Fellows of the Royal Society Presidents of the Royal Meteorological Society Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Met Office People educated at Woodcote House School