William Reid (British army officer)

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Sir William Reid (1791-1858) was a British soldier, administrator, and meteorologist, born at Kinglassie, Fifeshire. He was educated at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, was commissioned lieutenant of engineers in 1809, and in 1810 joined Wellington's army at Lisbon. In 1815 he participated in Sir Edward Pakenham's unsuccessful attack on New Orleans and in 1835 commanded a brigade in the British Legion raised by the Queen Regent of Spain. Subsequently Reid served as Governor of the Bermudas (1839-46), of the Windward Islands (1846-48), and of Malta (1851-58). He was knighted in 1851 and promoted to major general five years later. He published An Attempt to Develop the Law of Storms by Means of Facts (1838; third edition, 1850) and The Progress of the Development of the Law of Storms and of the Variable Winds (1849).

• This article incorporates text from an edition of the New International Encyclopedia that is in the public domain.