#DidYouKnow – John Jeffries?
American’s First Weatherman
John Jeffries was an American physician (who graduated from Harvard) and balloonist (one of the first to cross the English Channel) who lived from 1745 until 1819. He is noted to be among the first Americans to start logging daily weather measurements, starting in 1774. His work set the precedent of our national model for weather record-keeping and has earned him the title as America’s First Weatherman.
On January 7, 1784, John Jeffries joined Jean-Pierre Blanchard in a hot air balloon, earning John fame as the First American Balloonist to cross the English Channel. During the flight, “he carried a thermometer, a barometer, and a hygrometer to the height of 9,000 feet.” In addition, he took “seven small bottles for obtaining samples of air at different heights.” A true meteorologist at heart!
National Weatherperson’s Day
“It recognizes individuals in the fields of meteorology, weather forecasting and broadcast meteorology, as well as volunteer storm spotters and observers. It is observed on the birthday of John Jeffries, one of the United States’ first weather observers who took daily measurements starting in 1774…”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Weatherperson%27s_Day
