Posted: Feb 2, 2014 1:33 PM by Pat Shingleton
John Jeffries was a Boston physician, scientist, and military surgeon with the British Army during the Revolutionary War. Jeffries is recognized as the first "weatherman." As noted in a previous column, he was an early balloonist and accompanied Jean-Pierre Blanchard in 1785 when their balloon crossed the English Channel. During the flight, Dr. Jeffries took weather readings with a thermometer, barometer, and hydrometer - to measure humidity, an electrometer - to measure electrical activity, a timepiece, a compass and telescope. He also used a ribbon and scissors to determine the rise and fall of the balloon and a pen and pencil to ascertain if thin air impacted their use. Today marks his birthday in 1744,known as National "Weatherman's" Day.