Douglas Haig McIntosh FRSE FRMS OBE (1917–1993) was a 20th-century Scottish meteorologist. He was affectionately known as “Mac”.

Life

McIntoch was born in

Leven, Fife Leven ( gd, Inbhir Lìobhann) is a seaside town in Fife, set in the east Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies on the coast of the Firth of Forth at the mouth of the River Leven, north-east of the town of Kirkcaldy and east of Glenrothes. A ...

on 9 September 1917, and, in what was perhaps a patriotic fever during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, named after

Douglas Haig Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, (; 19 June 1861 – 29 January 1928) was a senior officer of the British Army. During the First World War, he commanded the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front from late 1915 until ...

, Lord Haig, the commanding officer of the British Army. He studied Science at the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

graduating with an MA BSc in 1938, and then joining the staff of the Meteorology Department 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 ...

. Interrupted by the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

he became a meteorological forecaster for RAF Coastal Command in Scotland before being posted to

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

as Senior Meteorological Officer. In 1944 he became Deputy Chief Meteorological Officer for

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...

, with the notional rank of

Squadron Leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is als ...

. After the war he was based in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

from 1947 to 1950. He returned to the Edinburgh Meteorological Office in 1950. In 1953 he joined the

Eskdalemuir Observatory The Eskdalemuir Observatory is a UK national environmental observatory located near Eskdalemuir, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Built in 1904, its remote location was chosen to minimise electrical interference with geomagnetic instruments, wh ...

for two years, returning to Edinburgh in 1955 as Head of the Meteorological Department of the

. In 1955 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were C. T. R. Wilson, James Paton, Mervyn A. Ellison, and Sir Ernest Wedderburn. The

awarded him an honorary doctorate (DSc) in 1960. He retired in 1982 and died in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

on 3 March 1993. His body was cremated.

Publications

*''Essentials of Meteorology'' (1972)

Family

In 1941 he married Constance Murray.

References

1917 births 1993 deaths People from Leven, Fife Alumni of the University of St Andrews Academics of the University of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Scottish meteorologists {{Scotland-scientist-stub