John Martin M.D. (1789–1869) was a British meteorologist and physician, known now for his writing on

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

Life

Martin practised for some years as a physician in the City of London, and died at

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

on 8 July 1869.

Works

The '' Athenæum'' reported on Martin's meteorological investigations. For pressure, temperature, and moisture, he made meteorological charts from daily observations. He noted

ozone Ozone (), or trioxygen, is an inorganic molecule with the chemical formula . It is a pale blue gas with a distinctively pungent smell. It is an allotrope of oxygen that is much less stable than the diatomic allotrope , breaking down in the lo ...

, as well as factors thought to affect

cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...

and

yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. In ...

. Martin edited an account of Tonga from William Mariner. It appeared as ''An Account of the Natives of the Tonga Islands, in the South Pacific Ocean, with an original Grammar and Vocabulary of their Language. Compiled and arranged from the extensive communications of Mr. William Mariner, several years resident in those Islands, 2 vols. London, 1817; 2nd edit. 1818. It was also reprinted as vol. xiii. of ''

Constable's Miscellany ''Constable's Miscellany'' was a part publishing serial established by Archibald Constable. Three numbers made up a volume; many of the works were divided into several volumes. The price of a number was one shilling. The full series title was ''C ...

''; a French translation appeared at Paris in November 1817. Mariner had been detained in Tonga from 1806 to 1810.

Notes

;Attribution 1789 births 1869 deaths 19th-century English medical doctors British meteorologists British writers {{UK-scientist-stub