Meteorological Map
Meteorological Map of the State of New Jersey, Showing Depth of Rain [and] Average Mean Temperature
Description
Although our map says Lorin Blodget (1823-1901) wrote American Climatology, the actual title of his seminal work is Climatology of the United States (1857). The book earned him the moniker “Father of American Climatology.” Prior to publishing it, however, Blodget had a storied past. He had been hired in 1851 to reduce the meteorological data collected by the Smithsonian Institution, but was fired over a salary dispute. Later, he was rehired and fired again finally in 1854 for a host of reasons, not the least of which included taking credit for work done in the Institution’s name. You can find the detailed letters written by the first Secretary of the Institution, Henry Joseph, documenting these troubles online at the Smithsonian Institution’s web site: http://www.collections.si.edu.
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Local History Librarian, Chester Public Library, 250 W. Main Street, Chester, NJ 07930.
Exhibit Publication Date: Published in 2014. ©Copyright Chester Public Library 2014.
