Alexander George McAdie
Encyclopedia
Alexander George McAdie was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 meteorologist.

While in college he joined the Army Signal Service, the predecessor of the U.S. Weather Bureau. He graduated from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

 in 1885.

From 1903 until 1913 he ran the U.S. Weather Bureau in San Francisco. He was also the vice president of the Sierra Club
Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. It was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by the conservationist and preservationist John Muir, who became its first president...

, starting in 1904, and continuing until 1913. In 1913 he became Professor of meteorology at Harvard, and remained there until 1931. During the same period he also served as the director of the Blue Hill Observatory.

Among his accomplishments was the invention of a device to prevent frost from harming fruit. He was a pioneer in the use of kites to study conditions at high altitudes. In 1885 at Blue Hill, Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

, he modernized the experiments of Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...

 by attaching a voltmeter to a kite and measuring the voltage difference between the ground and several hundred feet up. He also made studies of the atmospheric effects of smoke, the connection between the aurora
Aurora (astronomy)
An aurora is a natural light display in the sky particularly in the high latitude regions, caused by the collision of energetic charged particles with atoms in the high altitude atmosphere...

 and electricity in the atmosphere, and the dangers posed by lightning. He is the author of a cloud atlas
Cloud atlas
A cloud atlas is a pictorial key to the nomenclature of clouds. Early cloud atlases were an important element in the training of meteorologists and in weather forecasting, and the author of a 1923 atlas stated that "increasing use of the air as a means of transportation will require and lead to a...

.

He is also known for testifying about the potential effects of electrocution(based on his experience with lightning) in 1899 at the first trial to decide if the electric chair was cruel and unusual punishment. His testimony was used against the use of the electric chair for the death penalty.

He was married to Mary Randolph Brown McAdie.

Awards and honors

  • Mount McAdie
    Mount McAdie
    Mount McAdie is summit on the crest of the Sierra Nevada and is located south of Mount Whitney. It has three summits with the north peak being the highest. The summit ridge marks the boundary between Sequoia National Park and the John Muir Wilderness. It is also on the boundary between Inyo and...

     in the Sierra Nevada range was named after him.
  • The crater McAdie
    McAdie (crater)
    McAdie is a flooded lunar crater that is located along the northeastern edge of Mare Smythii, on the far side of the Moon. It lies just to the southwest of the larger, flooded Babcock...

     on the Moon
    Moon
    The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...

    is named after him.
  • The Fleet Weather Center building in Norfolk, VA is named after him.

External links

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