The word barometer is derived from a combination of two Greek phrases meaning “weight” and “measure”. The roots of modern sailing barometers can be traced as far back as 1643 when an inventor by the name of Evangelista Torricelli used a simple vacuum-type device to measure water pressure.
Admiral Robert FitzRoy (Updated 2025 to mark 100 years of The Shipping Forecast) I first came across Robert FitzRoy while researching the origins of The Shipping News. As 2025 marks the 100th anniversary of The Shipping Forecast, it seems fitting to revisit the life of the man who laid the foundations for modern meteorology and … Read more
The HMS Beagle, a Cherokee-class 10-gun Royal Navy brig-sloop, was built in 1820 at a cost of £7,803, the equivalent of around £1million in today’s money.
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