Jørgen Holmboe (November 8, 1902 – October 29, 1979) was a Norwegian-American
meteorologist.
Life and career
Jørgen Holmboe was born near
Hammerfest, Norway, on an island a short distance from the northernmost point in Norway. He was the son of priest Leonhard Christian Borchgrevink Holmboe, Jr. and his wife Thea Louise Schetelig. He had several brothers and sisters. His great-grandfather
Leonhard Christian Borchgrevink Holmboe was a priest and national politician.
[Norwegian]
He received his early education from his father, who was a minister, attended secondary school in
Tromsø
Tromsø is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Tromsø Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The city is the administrative centre of the municipality as well as the administrative centre of Troms county. The city is located on the is ...
, and took his university entrance examinations in
Bodø. He entered the
University of Oslo
The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...
in 1922. In 1925, he was appointed research assistant to Professor
Vilhelm Bjerknes, who had moved from
Bergen
Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo.
By May 20 ...
where as founding director of the
Geophysical Institute he had led development of the
Bergen School of Meteorology. In 1930, he passed his Candidate Real examinations and took a position as meteorologist in the Norwegian Weather Service in Tromsø. In 1932, he was transferred to Bergen, and, from 1933 to 1935, he served as meteorologist with the
Lincoln Ellsworth Antarctic Expedition.
In 1936, he was invited to the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...
, where he served as assistant professor. In 1940, he was asked to join in establishing a meteorology program at
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...
. The program was initially part of the physics department; it became a separate department in 1946. Holmboe was chairman for the first year after the Department of Meteorology was established and served as chairman again for the period from 1949 through 1958. In 1944, Holmboe became a naturalized American citizen. Holmboe was elected fellow of the
American Meteorological Society and the
American Geophysical Union and foreign member of the
Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters.
[''Jorgen Holmboe, Meteorology: Los Angeles'' (by Morris Neiburger, James G. Edinger, and Norton G. Wurtele. The Regents of The University of California]
/ref>
Selected works
*''On the Theory of Cyclones'' (paper jointly with J. Bjerknes. 1944)
*''Dynamic Meteorology'' (New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc. 1952)
*''On the instability of stratified shear flow'' (Universitetsforlaget. 1966)
*''Instability of baroclinic three-layer models of the atmosphere'' (Universitetsforlaget. 1968)
References
Sources
* ''A Biography of Jorgen Holmboe, 1902-1979'' (by Jason Zarat
External links
Jorgen Holmboe Papers
MSS-S 101
Special Collections & Archives
UC San Diego Library.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty
Norwegian meteorologists
People from Hammerfest
University of California, Los Angeles faculty
Norwegian emigrants to the United States
University of Oslo alumni
1902 births
1979 deaths
Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters
Fellows of the American Geophysical Union
Fellows of the American Meteorological Society
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