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The History of the United States Weather Bureau 1753-1891

From Post Offices to the Signal Service to the National Weather Service

From Rachelle Oblack, About.com

The United States Weather Bureau is a testament to many people. This image set is of some of the people, instrumentation, and weather data from the 1700s through the 1800s that eventually lead to the development of the Signal Service and the Weather Bureau. A timeline of the Weather Bureau from 1753-1891 is also available. The Weather Bureau eventually became the National Weather Service in 1970. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Weather Service (NWS) were both established at the same time by Richard M. Nixon by a Presidential decree.

Images 1-12 of 23

Cleveland AbbeCleveland AbbeEarly Weather RecordsEarly Weather RecordsElias LoomisElias Loomis, First StormtrackFirst Weather WatchersFirst Weather Watchers
Fort Myer, VirginiaFort Myer, VirginiaFrench Weather BalloonsFrench Weather Balloons General GreelyGeneral GreelyGeneral William Babcock HazenGeneral William Babcock Hazen
Glaisher's Weather InstrumentsGlaisher's Weather InstrumentsIncrease A. LaphamIncrease A. LaphamJames Pollard Espy, First Official Government MeteorologistJames Pollard EspyJames TiltonJames Tilton
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