George Simpson (meteorologist)

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Sir George Clarke Simpson KCB CBE FRS (1878–1965) was a British meteorologist, born in Derby, England.

1 Education
2 Career
3 Family
4 Honours
5 Trivia
6 References

[edit] Education

Simpson was educated at Derby School, Owens College, Manchester and the University of Göttingen.

[edit] Career

In 1901 he became the first person to lecture in meteorology at a British university. In 1905, he was appointed as a lecturer at Manchester University. In 1910, he was the meteorologist for Robert Falcon Scott's Antarctic Terra Nova Expedition, continuing to work with Scott until 1913.

In 1920 he was appointed Director of the Meteorological Office, London. He went on to be its longest serving Director, retiring in 1938.

He investigated the causes of lightning and established the Simpson wind force scale, a modification of the Beaufort wind force scale, which is the current standard scale used worldwide; still called the Beaufort wind force scale.

[edit] Family

Simpson married Dorothy Jane Stephen, daughter of Cecil Stephen, on 23 September 1914. They had four children: Scott Simpson (1915-1981), Professor of Geology at Exeter University; Arthur Simpson; Oliver Simpson; and Jean Simpson.

[edit] Honours

Hon DSc (Manchester & Sydney)
Hon LLD (Aberdeen)
Fellow of the Royal Society, 1915
Commander of the Order of the British Empire, 1919
Companion of the Order of the Bath, 1926
Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath, 1935
President of the British Meteorological Society, 1940-1942

[edit] Trivia

The British Antarctic Survey's Ice and Climate Building in Halley Bay, Antarctica (75° 35'S, 26° 40'W), is known as The Simpson Platform, in memory of Sir George Clarke Simpson.