Inscription
Vice Admiral Robert Fitzroy RN
(5 July 1805 — 20 April 1865)
In 1857 Admiral Robert Fitzroy, designed the robust and simple 'Fishery Barometer' and devised a system whereby such instruments would be placed around the coast and local agents would communicate weather observations to Fitzroy's London office by telegraph. His resulting storm predictions were found, after his death, to have been 75% accurate and this laid the foundations of modern weather forecasting.
Fitzroy is also famous as the Captain of HMS Beagle during Charles Darwin's voyage of discovery. One of the shipping forecast sea areas, 'Fitzroy' is named after him.
Around 100 of these barometers were placed around the coast, funded by philanthropic donations. Ours, here in Stromness, is number 98. The barometer was still read, and readings displayed in this cabinet, until about 2005. This barometer reads in inches of Mercury rather than the modern Millibars.
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- In 1860 Fitzroy's forecasts began to appear in The Times and he went on to develop a system of gale-warning signals for use in harbours.
- For more information there are two books, Fitzroy and his Barometers and the Operators Manual on view in the Stromness Library.
- Readings were taken from the barometer and if bad weather was imminent the storm cone would be raised to warn ships at sea, or going to sea (oil lamps were used at night).
- If a gale was approaching from the north the cone would be raised pointing upwards; if from the south it would be reversed. Wind coming from more than one quarter would be shown by hoisting the 'drum' signal.
Details
| HM Number | HM2CXH |
|---|---|
| Tags | |
| Marker Condition |   6 out of 10 (1 reports) |
| Date Added | Wednesday, December 19th, 2018 at 10:02pm PST -08:00 |
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Locationbig map
| UTM (WGS84 Datum) | 30V E 482753 N 6535770 |
|---|---|
| Decimal Degrees | 58.96120000, -3.29985000 |
| Degrees and Decimal Minutes | N 58° 57.672', W 3° 17.991' |
| Degrees, Minutes and Seconds | 58° 57' 40.32" N, 3° 17' 59.46" W |
| Driving Directions | Google Maps |
| Which side of the road? | Marker is on the right when traveling South |
| Closest Postal Address | At or near 23 Graham Pl, Scotland KW16 3BY, GB |
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