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History of the Cornucopia

When you sit down to a Thanksgiving feast, it’s likely your eyes take in an attractive centerpiece on the table called a cornucopia. Fresh flowers, fruits and vegetables fill and spill out of the horn-shaped woven basket. Nicknamed the “horn of plenty,” the word cornucopia originated in Greek myth. After reading about this humble decoration’s beginnings, you may look at the cornucopia in a different way the next time you see one.

Zeus Creates the Cornucopia

Two stories concern the cornucopia’s origins. The first begins with Zeus, the greatest of all the Greek gods. Cronus, his father, wanted to kill Zeus, so his mother Rhea hid him in Crete to protect him. The king of Crete had several daughters who raised him, and their goat provided milk for the child. When Zeus grew older he broke off one of the goat’s horns and gave them the magic power to fill up with whatever the owner of the horn desired. Zeus gave the horns to the king’s daughters to thank them for caring for him. According to legend, whoever owned the horn would never go hungry.

Cornucopia

An alternate story involves the goat giving Zeus one of her horns in reverence. Zeus repays her by placing her image in the sky. We know the image as the constellation Capricorn.

Hercules Makes the Cornucopia Instead

The second story in Greek mythology concerns Hercules’s role in creating the cornucopia. A feud erupted between the mighty Hercules and the river-god Achelous. The two competed for the love of Dejanira, a young woman of breath-taking beauty. The two fought in a colossal wrestling match and Hercules began to get the better of Achelous.  Achelous, a shape-shifter, changed into a serpent and then into a bull in an effort to gain leverage against Hercules. Hercules broke off one of Achelous’s horns, and when he did the river changed course.  The water-nymphs came upon the horn in the river and treated the horn as a sacred object. They filled the horn with flowers and took care of it. Later Copia, the Goddess of Plenty, adopted the horn. Hercules married Dejanira and they reared a family.

Artist Renderings of the Cornucopia

Mythological beings and deities illustrate a theme in classical paintings, and the cornucopia became a popular design element. Artists often painted the curved goat’s horn filled with fruit and grain, and thus it came to symbolize wealth and plenty. Tyche, the goddess of riches and abundance, also became associated with the cornucopia. It also became the emblem for several other deities.

Modern design for cornucopias usually involves the use of it as a fall decoration. A favorite of florists, they often act as a vessel for containing bright, decorative flowers, fruits, gourds and many other decorative ideas that make it a pretty table ensemble.

The cornucopia symbolizes riches and plenty in some folklore, art and mythology, so the decoration rightfully belongs on the table at which you plan to have a meal while enjoying the company of family and friends.

The Meaning of the Word Cornucopia

The cornucopia has a close association with Thanksgiving, but people considered it symbolic before the holiday existed. The word originated in 1508 and comes from the Latin cornu, meaning horn, and copia, meaning plenty.

Cornucopia

References

Zeus

http://www.thanksgiving-day.org/cornucopia.html

Hercules

http://www.flowershopnetwork.com/pages/newsletter/NewsletterOctober2005.php

Latin

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cornucopia

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History of Tecumseh

The Fight for Territory

England and France were determined to colonize the early United States during the Great Age of Exploration. The two countries fought each other as they vied for the right to claim territories. They felt that they had “God’s Own Right” to claim land, and the indigenous populations stood in the way of their thirst for real estate. Their quest for power led to the eventual subjugation of the Native Americans. Tecumseh earned a place in history as a great warrior, orator and leader of intertribal councils.

Tecumseh

For the most part, Native Americans could not work together to form an alliance. They were too fragmented to band together to form a large army to fight against the invaders. Many of them tried to revolt against the occupiers – some more successfully than others. They resented occupation by the people they considered invaders – namely the French, the English, and the early United States settlers. Native American leaders staged revolts, battles and alliances to fight for their land. Chief Tecumseh led a famous battle against the United States troops.

Chief Tecumseh

Chief Tecumseh (1768?-1813) was born in a Shawnee Indian village in present-day Ohio. From an early age he saw the devastation that white settlers brought to tribal lands. Tecumseh tried to form an alliance to form a war band of Native Americans in the Old Northwest, the South and the eastern Mississippi Valley. His plan failed when his brother was defeated at Tippecanoe in 1811.

The Tippecanoe defeat marked the end of the Native American military movement. Tecumseh fought against the United States in the War of 1812 when he allied himself with the British. The British appointed Tecumseh brigadier general.

Tecumseh rallied other tribes to his cause and fought with British Gen. Henry Procter in his invasion of Ohio in 1813. They laid siege to Fort Meigs, and Tecumseh and his fighters intercepted and destroyed a Kentucky brigade sent to help the fort.

The Defeat of Tecumseh

Gen. Procter and Tecumseh suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of Lake Erie in September 1813. Pursued by American troops led by future president William Harrison, they retreated to Canada. The British and Indian forces fought and were defeated at the Battle of the Thames River in October 1813. Tecumseh was killed during the fight.

The defeat of the British-American force gave control of the western theater to the United States. Tecumseh’s death symbolized an end to Native American resistance east of the Mississippi River. The defeated, war-torn tribes were forced West.

Tecumseh

Tecumseh always had the strong resolution that Native American land belonged to the Native Americans and that land could only be given away or purchased between their tribes. The following quote from him summarizes this sentiment: “No tribe has the right to sell, even to each other, much less to strangers…. Sell a country! Why not sell the air, the great sea, as well as the earth? Didn’t the Great Spirit make them all for the use of his children?”

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History of Sir Edmund Hillary

Introduction

Mountaineer and explorer Sir Edmund Percival Hillary died in 2008, nearly five and a half decades after his historical climb to the top of Mt Everest that gave him and his climbing partner Tenzing Norgay worldwide acclaim. Originally a beekeeper and an amateur mountaineer from New Zealand, he continued to explore the Himalayas and Antarctica. Not only making accomplishments in the world of climbing, continued his humanitarian work for the Sherpas of Nepal for four decades.

Sir Edmund Hillary

Early Life

Born on July 20, 1919 grew up in Tuakau, New Zealand a small town located approximately 30 miles (50 kilometers) south of Auckland. At 16 years old he became interested in mountain climbing on a school trip to Mount Ruapehu. He attended the University of Auckland and studied mathematics and science. The year 1939 marked his first major climb when he reached the summit of Mount Olivier in the Southern Alps. By profession, he was a beekeeper, along with his brother Rex.  He would work throughout the summer as a beekeeper to explore the mountains in the winter. He climbed mountains in New Zealand, in the Alps.  In the Himalayas he climbed 11 different peaks of over 20,000 feet. By then, he was ready to climb Mount Everest.

Mount Everest

Between 1920 and 1952, seven major expeditions failed to reach the summit of Mount Everest, which was 29,028 feet above sea level, the highest spot on earth. Edmund Hillary joined an expedition to make the assault on Everest in 1953 led by Sir John Hunt. Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, a Nepalese climber, were the only members of the expedition to make the final assault. At 11:30am on May 29, 1953, Hillary and Norgay made history by reaching the summit.

After the success of reaching the summit of Mount Everest, Hillary and Hunt published, The Ascent of Everest, their account of the expedition (published in the U.S as The Conquest of Everest) Hillary’s autobiography Nothing Venture, Nothing Win was published in 1975 and in 1979, he published From the Ocean to the Sky, an account of his 1977 expedition on the Ganges river to its source in the Himalayas.

His Legacy

Hillary was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1953, member of the Order of New Zealand in 1987 and Knight of the Order of the Garter in 1995. In 1992 Hillary appeared on the New Zealand five dollar bank note and streets, schools and organizations around New Zealand and internationally are named in his honor.

His favorite charity was the Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Centre of New Zealand of which he supported as a Patron for 35 years. The organization introduced young New Zealanders to the outdoors similar to his first experience at Mt Ruapehu.

Sir Edmund Hillary

In 1962 he started began working with the Sherpas in Nepal who had often helped him as a debt of gratitude. He raised money through his Himalayan Trust, and helped install bridges and pipes. Almost 30 schools, 2 hospitals, 12 medical clinics and 2 mountaineering clinics were built.  There were monasteries restored and a million seedlings planted in and around the towns of the rural poverty-stricken Solu-Khumbu region of Nepal. While in his 70s, Hillary would spend 5 months away from New Zealand per year to raise money by giving lectures and to visit these projects in Nepal.

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History of Samba Music

Samba music remains a popular and widespread musical genre. Thought to have originated with African slaves who brought it to Brazil, the music has roots in traditional African ceremonies. Enjoyed by people all over the world, the samba has a distinctive sound and vibe in which revelers take pleasure. Fused with contemporary music, samba music became an integral part of the yearly Brazilian Carnaval. This cultural tie samba has with Carnaval makes it a symbol of racial and social harmony.

How Samba Became Popular

Samba became popular as a particular musical style after establishment in the area of Bahia known as Little Africa. Bahian priestesses (tias) performed ceremonies to trigger responses from the gods through song and dance in religious houses there. Participants danced to the beat of African drums and other percussion instruments in these religious ceremonies. People would create and compose samba variations in the religious houses of the Bahian priestesses.

Samba Music

Slaves migrated from Bahia to Rio when slavery ended. They wanted to keep the roots of samba alive, so they started Escolas de Samba (samba schools) there. Blocos (street bands) formed the basis of the first escolas. The schools allowed a creative, artistic way of expression for poor communities. The culture of samba continued in the percussion music and dancers as they celebrated Carnaval throughout their neighborhoods and favelas (shanty towns) close by.

Samba in early 1900’s

In 1917 Ernesto dos Santos presented the Samba Carnavalesco to the public in the song Pelo Telefone (On the Telephone). The 1920s saw a rise in Samba music that made it a favorite for the Brazilian Carnaval. The parades later became contests in which participants competed using the rhythmic dancing methods of the samba and elaborate costumes.

The samba cultural movement became a way of infusing national pride in the region. Samba became recognizable throughout the world and became officially recognized as a musical genre and dance form. The Portuguese and Iberian connection of the samba remained intact, and in 1925 it was imported to Europe where many studied its origins.

Samba in 1930s

In the 1930s the government began subsidizing the escolas de samba that used patriotic themes in their performance. These escolas promoted the ideal of Brazil as a racial democracy with a strong infusion of distinctly “African” samba style. This practice, along with profit-seeking small businesses that used the escolas for tourism, hurt the authenticity of samba for many years.

The pagoda movement of the 1980s revitalized the authenticity of samba. The grassroots movement formed from Rio’s working class suburbs and merged Afro-Brazilian nationalist identity with cultural resistance through aggressive samba lyrics to combat the deterioration of authenticity. The people organized their own carnival parade blocos that had freedom from external corrupting influences.

Samba Today

Due to their efforts, samba continues to delight its listeners with its versatility and cultural influence. Samba continued to evolve over the years and developed into different subgenres. Popular genres developed in this region include Mesemba, Baiano, a Batucada and Carnaval.

Samba Music

Additionally, samba comes in different forms: samba canção, samba-choro, samba carnavalesco, samba enredo and samba de breque. The samba sound pulls together the rhythmic percussion tempo variation with the sounds of pandeiro, reco reco, tamborim and cuica that give it distinct resonance and vibe.

Samba throughout history has delighted its listeners with music and dance expression. It allowed many cultural interchanges. The music changed over time with the mix of the multicultural aspect of Brazilian and African historical roots. The European influence on Samba can also be seen in contemporary forms of salsa.

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History of Presidential Pardons

The United States President uses a pardon to mitigate or set aside the punishment of a crime committed by someone or an entity convicted of wrongdoing.  Since its inception the pardon has changed considerably from the original definition laid out in the Constitution. The president can apply pardons only for crimes against the laws that fall under his jurisdiction as chief executive, just as said leader can impose conditions on the forgiveness.

Early Uses of the Pardon

The United States pardon was modeled on the English system. An English king had the royal privilege to pardon nearly all types of crimes against the Crown. The framers of the U.S. Constitution took this definition and incorporated their version of it into the document.  The clause they included gave the president a significant amount of power and legitimacy to grant reprieves and pardons for criminal offenses except in cases of impeachment.

Presidential Pardons

The first instance involving the use of the presidential pardon involved Pres. George Washington, who used it to suppress the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794. American colonials strongly objected to the whiskey tax during that time and rebelled against it.  Government troops put down the disruptive rebellion. Later, the President pardoned some of the participants involved in the rebellion. The president used the power of the pardon to test grounds for federal authority.

In 1866 the first major court case using the presidential pardon made history. Andrew Johnson was the acting president when the court case took place. While awaiting trial for alleged offenses he committed during the Civil War, Alexander Hamilton Garland asked Pres. Johnson for a pardon. The President decided to grant a pardon to him after reviewing the specifics of the case. The pardon was important later because it established precedent for the scope of the pardon and the legal effects on people requesting pardons.

Garland, an Arkansas attorney, later used the pardon to continue practicing law in federal court. When lawmakers barred him from practicing, he invoked the pardon as a reason that he should be allowed to practice.

The Test Act of 1865 required people to swear under oath that they never aided or abetted enemies of the U.S. Lawmakers attempted to bar Garland from legal practice because he was a Confederate sympathizer. Garland argued that he received a pardon from the president without being tried, and that such absolved him of all criminal wrongdoing he may have committed during the Civil War. Garland further argued that the pardon excused him from the need to take the oath.

The Supreme Court sided with Garland. Its reasoning reaches back to the very definition of the pardon: that is, the scope of the pardon power is unlimited, with the exception being only in cases of impeachment. The justices felt that this covered every crime under the law and could be exercised any time after the commission of the crime, before legal proceedings began, during legal proceedings, or after the conviction and judgment of the individual.

Recent Uses of the Pardon

Some pardons are particularly famous. Controversial and unpopular ones often sway public opinion and presidential approval ratings. Some recent presidents used their inherent powers in recent decades to grant highly publicized pardons.

Presidential Pardons

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History of Presidential Campaigns

In electoral crusades for almost all countries’ top positions, including that for the U.S. presidency, one cannot help but notice the different gimmicks and promotional ads plastered on every medium there is. Political rivals fight tooth and nail for nationwide campaigns, hiring-top-of-the-line people in hopes of boosting their names in the next survey or poll results. But how did these campaigns, specifically those for the presidency, come to be?

History

Ardent presidential campaigns in the U.S. date back to the mid-19th century when elections used memorabilia very extensively. The widespread use of buttons bearing the names of political candidates date back to the inauguration of George Washington for the presidency in 1789. His supporters wore stylish coat buttons, and these have remained popular ways to show support for more than 200 years. Bumper stickers, pens, mugs, T-shirts and caps are also popular objects for campaign messages.

Presidential

In the early 1830s people gathered in groups during parties to discuss among themselves and perhaps convince others to vote for their aspiring candidates, as a number of matters had grown quite contentious in the country. The practice transformed later on to conventions, which continue to this day.

Radio Campaigns

Necessity became the mother of invention in the 1900s, and it was in that era that radios set afire the avid campaigns where hard-to-travel places became accessible by means of transmission waves. Radios brought more than convenience to the candidates, allowing them to travel less and campaign from the comfort of a radio station booth to far-flung places they could not otherwise have reached if they were to campaign in person.

Television Campaigns

Television also had a profound impact on presidential campaigns. In 1960 the first presidential debate took place on national television between Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy. This allowed millions of viewers to see and hear the presidential aspirants’ views on important national issues. Debates on television provided enlightenment on topics like economic crises and issues like poverty and security.

The Impact of the Internet

Regarding the evolution of presidential campaigns, the Internet has undoubtedly provided many campaign opportunities via political advertisement. Candidates with the financial capability to buy ads have powerful edges against other political aspirant. They communicate and reach out to a wider audience to woo more votes. In this dynamic age of computer technology, videos, blogs, websites and the like are good venues for presidential campaigns. A video uploaded on a particular web site can either make or break a presidential candidate overnight.

Presidential

The history of presidential campaigns has progressed over time. New and better means of technology and communication have significantly impacted such campaigns, from the innocent-looking coat button-down of George Washington’s campaign to the complicated world of computers and Internet of Barack Obama’s campaign.

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History of Phantom of the Opera

Most film and stage play enthusiasts are familiar with the Phantom of the Opera. The French writer Gaston Leroux wrote the novel, whose original title is Le Fantôme de l’Opéra. It first appeared as a series in the French newspaper Le Gaulois in 1909. Other countries that published the original work were those in Europe and North America. Alexander Teixeira de Mattos did the first English translation in 1911.

Initial Publication

The initial publication of the work did not go well, and the novel became popular only various adaptations became available. It was adapted in different musical and stage plays, children’s books and television and comic series. The most famous of these is the 1925 film and the stage musical adaptation by Andrew Lloyd Webber in 1986.

Phantom of the Opera

The 1925 film, which starred Lon Chaney and Mary Philbin, brought the novel to limelight. The movie artfully depicted the powerful love of the solitary phantom to a young singer Mary Philbin. The suspense brought about by the unveiling of the mask of the phantom made the movie quite popular.

Phantom of the Opera the Musical

As a classic remake of the children’s story Beauty and the Beast, The Phantom of the Opera is the longest running musical play in history. The original production opened on Oct. 9, 1986. Andrew Lloyd Webber, a British composer, created it with Richard Stilgoe and Charles Hart as writer and lyricist. To date, there is no musical play in history as lucrative as the 1986 adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera. This version premiered in London with Michael Crawford playing the phantom and Sarah Brightman as his love interest. It captured the hearts of fans with its display of classic love and romance.

Now on its twenty-third year of production, the musical entertainment showcase has earned approximately $5 billion worldwide. The musical continues to play in London, Las Vegas, New York and in some parts of the Asia Pacific.

The plot of the story also evolved over time. Versions exist wherein Erik secludes himself in an opera house to find freedom from constant criticism of being a victim of torture.  Susan Kay’s novel version in 1990 provided an in-depth examination of Erik’s life. In all versions, Erik falls deeply in love with Christiane Daaé to the point of arranging the deaths of people to help advance her career. Disheartened with the refusal of the young woman to marry him, the traditional novel ends with Erik’s death.

Phantom

Phantom of the Opera the Movie

The latest adaptation of this classic love story is the 2004 movie by Joel Schumacher. It featured Gerard Butler and Emmy Rossum.

Gaston Leroux wrote several other novels of mystery, horror, romance, fantasy and adventure. However, none surpasses the fame of The Phantom of the Opera. The story continues to captivate many. Additionally, to this day there remains controversy as to whether or not the phantom existed in real life. On his death, some quoted Gaston Leroux to say, “”Opera Ghost really did exist.” However, for most of the millions who love the novel, this is no longer of importance. The magic of the story is enough to charm the minds and hearts of people all over the world.

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History of Peanut Butter

Peanut butter is a quintessential, all-American product. It is the premier ingredient in many school kids’ lunch boxes, and it is estimated (though not scientifically) that the average American eats over 1500 peanut-butter-and-jam sandwiches by the time he reaches college. Now one of the most common household products in America, peanut butter hardly ever reaches that status outside of the country. But it is still a phenomenon; in fact, more than one in two peanuts produced ends up in a peanut butter jar.

A Brief History of Peanuts

Peanuts originated somewhere in South America and made their way to the rest of the world through European traders who brought them to the United States. America wasn’t a large peanut producer until the turn of the 19th century, when technology allowed for large-scale production of this highly labor-intensive vegetable.

Peanut butter

Until then peanuts had been cultivated mostly in the South and consumed either as a roasted food or in the form of oil. Soldiers famously ate them as a roasted treat during the Civil War. Peanut production has grown ever since with the invention of new peanut-based products. It is now a multi-billion dollar industry, and over 500 billion peanuts are consumed in the United States every year.

Peanut Butter’s Ancestors

Peanuts had become a commonly-grown legume all around the world long before peanut butter was ever invented. Mashed peanuts were therefore widespread and used for a variety of dishes such as gruels, stews and sauces. But it was toward the end of the 19th century that a process to turn peanuts into a buttery paste came to life.

The two most likely inventors of peanut butter are the American Dr. John H. Kellogg and the Canadian Marcellus Gilmore Edson, who both registered a patent for a roasting technique that turns peanuts into a paste around 1890. By the turn of the century peanut-based products had become common in American households, thanks in part to the scientist George Washington Carver, who actively promoted and developed peanut products.

Modern Peanut Butter – The Non-Separating Factor

In 1922 peanut butter underwent its last major development to become the product we know today. Joseph L. Rosefield, a chemist and businessman from California, invented a way to make peanut butter more fluid with the addition of vegetable oil. The result was called “non-separating” peanut butter and is the modern version of the product. The country’s leading brands then proceeded to develop various versions of the product, including low-fat, chunky and smooth peanut butter to cater for the population’s diverse tastes.

Peanut Butter Today

Peanut butter remained a largely domestic product until the 1960s, when it started becoming more popular in the rest of the world. More than half of the U.S. peanut production goes into peanut butter, and it is estimated that every American eats over three pounds of peanut butter each year. Peanut butter is present in many processed foods sold today, including chocolate candies, ice cream, snack bars and cookies.

Peanut butter

In 2007 a salmonella epidemic sent shockwaves throughout the whole industry. Many peanut-based products (including, most of all, peanut butter) were recalled in one of the biggest such operations the country has ever seen. That health-related episode outlined the importance of peanut-butter in the American way of life today.

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History of Parades

The traditional pastime of parades fills us with excitement and a sense of nostalgia. Who can pass up a Thanksgiving Day or Mardi Gras celebration parade? People stand curbside and cheer as the procession of high school bands, enormous floats and actors and politicians pass by the crowd. No matter what kind of entertaining parade you enjoy, the parades seem to outdo themselves in fun, excitement and visual spectacles every year. Parades also symbolize an integral part of human culture and history.

Origin of Parades

The origin of the parade has its roots in the military and politics. Generations of rulers have projected their power through displays of strength and trepidation, going back to humanity’s first civilizations.

Parades

Mesopotamian rulers decorated their buildings with illustrations depicting their conquests. Often the pictures depicted the ruler walking on the head of his conquered enemies in front of his army. The actions, designed to lift the monarch’s prestige, cemented his legitimacy as a ruler. Later parades functioned as broad podiums that connected the ruler to his audience and allowed him to spread his authority as he made his way through the crowds.

Religious authorities and organizations used parades in much the same way as the military and politicians did before them. The parade offered a large platform for them to connect with the community and foster power. The public enjoyed the parades since they got a chance to be close to the powerful members of society who passed by.

Parades. Fairs and Festivals

Many parades became associated with fairs and festivals. People came together to socialize and learn about recent news. Citizens could have fun times in the middle of misery in medieval times as the circus parades and brightly painted carreros (carts) of Italy brightened people’s lives. The public anticipated such events, and the parades developed a flashy and exotic mood. The fleeting moments provided great pleasure and an escape from everyday life.

Modern parades expanded the exotic and flashy parade and added a sense of excess to them. Mardi Gras and Carnival parades stem from the religious obligations associated with Lent. Parade revelers and participants put on masks and costumes, dance provocatively, and ignore social conventions during the celebratory weeks of the festivities.

Military parades starkly contrast with the festive carnivals. Military parades often feature disciplined marching with historical salutes and drills. The style of marching originated with the Prussian army, and many armies around the world copied the strict disciplinary lock-step. Parades in many countries display these marches to demonstrate military hardware and memorialize the past sacrifices of soldiers in times of war.

Parades

One of the largest parades today is the Macy’s Day Parade that started in 1924. The parade started the tradition of a parade used as advertising. The parade, started by Macy’s employees, featured animals from the Central Park Zoo. The first parade, considered a huge success by its organizers, became a yearly tradition. Companies pay thousands of dollars to display their brand on rolling floats and cartoon character balloons in the Macy’s Day Parade. Three million spectators watch the annual parade as it winds its way through Manhattan, and four million viewers watch it on TV.

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History of Meteorology

The word “meteorology” was coined by Greek scientist and philosopher Aristotle, who named one of his research books Meteorologica. This early work deals with general sciences of the earth: elements, geology, hydrology, wind, seas, and of course, the weather. In today’s terms, the word meteorology designates a full-blown science. It is meant to understand the dynamics of the atmosphere and to forecast both our local weather and large-scale weather-related phenomena like thunderstorms and hurricanes.

Ancient Meteorological Science

Weather forecasting is not a new activity and has probably been practiced – with more or less accuracy – since the beginning of time. History records dating back to antiquity contain numerous examples of weather prediction methods based on the close monitoring of surrounding elements.

Meteorology

The first indicator used in meteorology is undoubtedly the sky because the sky cover and the nature of the clouds that make it up can provide clues as to the coming weather and temperatures. Also important is the wind, which is closely related to temperatures and is often associated with rain. Birds and other animals (especially on a farm) are also known to give indications about the upcoming weather.

Scientists all over the world (especially in Europe, China and the Arab world) have, since antiquity, tried to understand meteorological phenomena like rain and wind. Several instruments to measure wind power, precipitation and humidity were even invented as early as the 15th century.

Scientific Breakthroughs in Meteorology

The 17th century is when several discoveries tipped the scales in favor of a scientific meteorology. Galileo Galilei invented a device to measure temperature, and Blaise Pascal discovered that atmospheric pressure was linked to altitude. The most important discovery, however, is probably the invention of the barometer by Evangelista Torricelli. The barometer – still in use today – indicates changes in atmospheric pressures that are usually linked to upcoming changes in the weather.

Meanwhile, other methods also evolved. Meteorology has a lot to do with cycles and their analyses, which is what Fernando II de Medici wanted to prove. In 1654 he undertook a very ambitious program meant to record weather patterns in various Italian and European cities in order to compile data and analyze them.

Those breakthroughs (among others) were followed in the 18th century by others who took the science to a new level. Gabriel Fahrenheit invented the modern mercury-based thermometer, and Daniel Bernoulli devised theories about hydrodynamics that greatly helped understand atmospheric changes.

Modern-Day Meteorology

Once the theory of atmospheric pressures and thermodynamics were in place, no real changes in the approach were necessary to understand meteorology. In more recent times the focus has been more on improving meteorological tools in order to attain better accuracy levels. Technology provided a tremendous boost to meteorology in two different ways. The first one is the ability to communicate results and analyses in a timely fashion, which was made possible with the invention of the telegraph. The second one is the ability to probe the skies – first using balloons, then satellites and radars.

Meteorology

Meteorology has become a permanent fixture in our everyday lives. Dedicated channels and mobile devices provide us with live updates on weather forecasts. The science is still evolving and is a crucial element of the economy with so many industries like civil aviation and agriculture that depend on it.

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