Luke Howard

Robert Clark (The Literary Encyclopedia)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.07: English Writing and Culture of the Victorian Period, 1837-1901.
Vol. editors: Gillian Fenwick (University of Toronto), Jessica Gossling (Goldsmiths College, University of London)

Domains

Meteorology & Climatology

Dates

Born 28 Nov 1772
Died 21 Mar 1864

Places

Born in United Kingdom
Active in United Kingdom

Activities

Primary

Scientist

Resources

Howard's Works

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Luke Howard’s importance today derives from his seminal contribution to the early understanding of meteorology, notably his realization that clouds come in a limited number of forms which can be understood scientifically as the consequence of certain general causes in the atmosphere. Howard’s work was widely appreciated in the early nineteenth century and may have had a direct influence on Shelley’s poem “The Cloud” and on Constable’s painting of cloudscapes. Howard’s work was also assimilated into John Ruskin’s discussions in

Modern Painters.

Born in London in 1772, Luke Howard was the son of a wealthy Quaker lamp-maker who was to become wealthy as the chief agent in Britain for an improved oil lamp invented by Aimé Argand in France in 1780. This lamp contained the wick

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1247 words

Citation: Clark, Robert. "Luke Howard". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 13 April 2014 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=13335, accessed 18 April 2024.]

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