C. H. D. Buys Ballot

Christophorus Henricus Diedericus Buys Ballot (; 10 October 1817 – 3 February 1890) was a Dutch chemist and meteorologist who is the namesake of Buys Ballot's law. He was the first president of the International Meteorological Organization, the organization that would become the World Meteorological Organization.

Early and personal life

Ballot was born on 10 October 1817, in Kloetinge, to a Dutch Reformed minister. He attended the Gymnasium at Zaltbommel and the University of Utrecht. After receiving his doctorate in 1844, he became lecturer in mineralogy and geology at Utrecht; he added theoretical chemistry in 1846. In 1847, he was appointed professor of mathematics and from 1867 until his retirement he was professor of physics. He died in Utrecht, on 3 February 1890, aged 72.

In 1970, the lunar crater Buys-Ballot, on the far side of the Moon, was named in his honour.

Career

Buys Ballot is best known for his accomplishments in the field of meteorology, specifically the explanation of the direction of air flow in large weather systems. Furthermore, he founded the Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute in 1854 and he remained its chief director until his death. He was one of the first to see the need for international cooperation, and in 1873 he organized and became the first chairman of the International Meteorological Organization, a precursor of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). and an honorary member of the Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters in 1887.

Among his students was the prominent Dutch astronomer Jacobus Kapteyn.