Buys Ballot, Christophorus Henricus Didericus |
| CHEMIST, PHYSICIST, METEOROLOGIST (THE NETHERLANDS) |
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BORN 10 Oct 1817, Kloetinge - DIED 3 Feb 1890, Utrecht GRAVE LOCATION Utrecht, Utrecht: 1e Algemene Begraafplaats Soestbergen, Gansstraat 167 (kelder 3G, na nr. 46 rechts) |
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Buys Ballot was the son of a Reformed minister. He was educated in Utrecht where he started studying classical languages but soon changed to mathematics and physics. In 1844 he was promoted cum laude on "De synaphia et prosaphia". He became professor of mathematics in 1847. In that year he investigated the period of the sun's rotation from measurements of the temperature in the Netherlands from 1729 to1846. He is best known for his explanation of the direction of air flow, stating that if a person stands with his back to the wind in the Northern Hemisphere, there is low atmospheric pressure to his left. In 1854 he founded the Royal Dutch meteorological Institute and he became its first director, a post he held until his death. In 1867 he was appointed professor of physics and in 1873 he became chairman of the new International Meteorological Organization. |
| Images | |
 The grave of Christophorus Buys Ballot at the Soestbergen Begraafplaats, Utrecht. Picture by Androom (03 Aug 2012) |
 The grave of Christophorus Buys Ballot at the Soestbergen Begraafplaats, Utrecht. Picture by Androom (03 Aug 2012) |
