Bjerknes, Vilhelm
(1862–1951)
Bjerknes

Modern Era
Contributors to Meteorology
(post World War I)


Below are checklists of Modern Era Contributors to Meteorology on postal items (stamps, souvenir sheets, aerogrammes, postal cards, etc.) and numismatic items (banknotes and coins). Catalog numbers, years of issue, and notes on the items featured are given when available. If readers know of additional information or images, please contact the authors using the e-mail addresses at the bottom of this page.

Contributors to MeteorologyTime Period CoveredNumber
Ancient and pre-RenaissanceThrough 1300s AD34
Precursor EraRenaissance [~1400 AD] through World War I231
Modern Era (this page)Post World War I144
Chronological and Alphabetical Indexes409


Modern Era Contributors to meteorology covered:


The Contributors on this page are listed in alphabetical order above and are presented in chronological order below.


Bjerknes

Bjerknes, Vilhelm
(1862–1951)

Vilhelm Bjerknes was a Norwegian meteorologist. Early in his scientific career, beginning in 1890, he worked as assistant to Heinrich Hertz, and contributed to Hertz' work on electromagnetic resonance. This work eventually led to the development of radio.

Bjerknes is an important figure in 20th Century meteorology: he introduced many of the common techniques and ideas used by modern meteorologists and weather forecasters. He was one of the originators of the Bergen classical school of thought in meteorology (also referred to at times as the Norwegian school). In the Bergen model, fronts are considered to be the sloping boundaries between cold and warm airmasses. They therefore have a three-dimensional structure, which was a new idea at the time.

Bjerknes was also a professor of meteorology, and published papers and books on dynamic meteorology and hydrodynamics. For example, in the paper On the Dynamic Principle of Circulatory Movements in the Atmosphere (Monthly Weather Review, October 1900), Bjerknes applied fundamental theorems in fluid motion by Helmholtz, Kelvin and Silberstein, along with others of his own discovery, to atmospheric circulation. This was one of the first papers to study dynamic meteorology in its modern framework.

In 1917, Bjerknes founded the Geophysical Institute of Bergen, with the goal of improving the country's meteorological forecast service. He established a large network of observing stations, mostly in southern Norway, that followed what was known as the "indirect" reporting method, in which detailed cloud observations were made in an attempt to compensate for the lack of upper-level sounding information (Bjerknes knew that information from upper levels was as important as information from the surface, but the modern radiosonde network had not yet been established). Starting in 1918, Bjerknes made analyses of his synoptic (i.e. large scale) weather maps, in which he integrated the available observations over large areas into complete meteorological patterns that included smaller scale features such as cold and warm fronts and their associated circulations. From his analyses, Bjerknes built a model of the cycle of the birth, development and decay of mid-latitude low pressure systems and their associated fronts. This was useful because the model could then be applied to observed patterns in order to forecast the evolution of the weather. This work was the foundation of what came to be known as the Bergen School of Meteorology. This idea still lies at the heart of the modern practice of weather forecasting.

While at the Institute, Bjerknes wrote his book On the Dynamics of the Circular Vortex with Applications to the Atmosphere and to Atmospheric Vortex and Wave Motion. It was published in 1921.

For more information about Vilhelm Bjerknes, as well as about his son Jacob who was also a meteorologist, see this document.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Norway403 (Mi466)1962100th anniv. birth "Vilhelm Bjerknes"
Norway404 (Mi467)
Norway403-404 fdc1Two stamps and (orange and blue printed)cachet on FDC
Norway403-404 fdc2Two stamps and (Norsk Filatelistisk Tidsskrift) cachet on FDC
Norway403-404 fdc3Two stamps and (gold and blue and grey printed) cachet on FDC
Norway403-404 fdc4Two stamps and (Populaer Filateli no.74) cachet on FDC
Norway403-404 fdc5Two stamps on FDC (blank/no cachet)
Norway404 cardInformation card


Eckener

Eckener, Hugo
(1868–1954)

Hugo Eckener was the commander of the German airship Graf Zeppelin.

In 1926 Fridtjof Nansen founded the International Association for Exploring the Arctic by Means of Airship (commonly known as "Aeroarctic"). According to its statement of purpose, Aeroarctic would support "the scientific investigation and permanent control of the Arctic by means of explorations (voyages) and by the disembarking and support of wireless stations". To this end, in 1928 Nansen discussed with Eckener the idea that Aeroarctic might sponsor the Graf Zeppelin in an Arctic mission. Through Eckener's knowledge of airships and Nansen's knowledge of weather, the two agreed that such a voyage would be feasible. Nansen wrote that "it may be understood that the object of the expedition with the Graf Zeppelin ... is not merely to fly across the North Polar region and to take a few accidental observations, but it is an important link in a great scientific programme, and will give results of importance to science". He expected that such a scientific program would provide information useful in weather forecasting, agriculture, shipping, trade and air traffic, but unfortunately died before it could take place.

The Aeroarctic/Graf Zeppelin Arctic expedition took place in 1931 with Eckener in command. The trip was a success on all fronts. A large amount of information was gathered related to meteorology, terrestrial magnetism and oceanography. Weather records were kept throughout the trip and meteorological isobaric maps were constructed three times per day. Molchanov sounding balloons were successfully launched from the airship near Franz Josef Land, Severnaya Zemlya and Vaigach Island. These balloons carried small radio transmitters that relayed measurements of temperature, pressure and humidity back to the airship.

Eckener would later write of the voyage that "my expectations, in so far as they were surpassed, were realized when I saw that, respecting the Arctic in summer, no anxieties need be felt regarding meteorological disturbances. Temperatures in the upper air regions are such that fears that an ice cap can be formed on the ship can be avoided by proper navigation".

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Antigua and Barbuda1632 (Mi1701)1992(125th anniv. birth, in 1993)
Antigua and Barbuda1711 (Mi1850)1993125th anniv. birth "Dr. Hugo Eckener"
Antigua and Barbuda1712 (Mi1851)
Antigua and Barbuda1716 (Mi1852)
Antigua and Barbuda1718 (BL265, Mi1853)
i1718
SS1
Imperforate SS1
Azerbaijan513 (BL?)SS11995(40th anniv. death, in 1994)
Barbuda1440 (Mi1573)Antigua and Barbuda 1711 overprinted "Barbuda Mail"1994125th anniv. birth (in 1993) "Dr. Hugo Eckener"
Barbuda1441 (Mi1574)Antigua and Barbuda 1712 overprinted "Barbuda Mail"
Barbuda1445 (Mi1575)Antigua and Barbuda 1716 overprinted "Barbuda Mail"
Barbuda1447 (BL226, Mi1576)SS1 (stamp), Antigua and Barbuda 1718 overprinted "Barbuda Mail"
Bequia (St. Vincent Grenadines)400c (Mi?)One of MS3 (400 (a-c))2007"Dr. Hugo Eckener"
Dominica1568 (Mi1705)1993125th anniv. birth
Dominica1570 (Mi1706)
Dominica1573 (Mi1707)
Dominica1576 (BL239)SS1
Dominica1576 fdcSS1 on FDC
Gambia1380 (Mi?)1993125th anniv. birth
Gambia1382 (Mi?)
Gambia1383 (Mi?)
Gambia1387 (BL?)SS1
GermanyNonePostcard back~1906"Dr. Hugo Eckener"
GermanyNoneCancel on cover1925
GermanyNonePostcard back, also front1926
GermanyNoneCinderella (5pf, green)~1926Zeppelin fundraising campaign
GermanyNoneCinderella (5pf, blue)
GermanyNoneCinderella (10pf, red)
GermanyNonePostcard, also back1932
GermanyNonePostcard back1936
GermanyNoneCommemorative card, also back1938
Germany (West)825 card (Mi? card)Cachet on card1968100th anniv. birth "Dr. Hugo Eckener"
Germany (West)NoneCancel on cover1968100th anniv. birth
Germany (West)None(Pictorial) cancel on postcard, also back1968100th anniv. birth
Germany (West)NoneCachet on cover1976
Germany (West)NoneCachet on cover1978
GermanyNoneCancel on postal card1993(125th anniv. birth)
Ghana1551A (Mi?)1993125th anniv. birth
Ghana1553 (Mi?)
Ghana1560 (Mi?)
Ghana1562 (BL?)SS1
Grenada1794 (Mi?)1990"Dr. Hugo Eckener" (at left)
Grenada2272 (Mi?)1993125th anniv. birth "Dr. Hugo Eckener"
Grenada2273 (Mi?)
Grenada2274 (Mi?)
Grenada2275 (BL?)SS1
HungaryC390 (Mi3235)1977(110th anniv. birth, in 1978)
Lesotho940 (Mi?)1993(125th anniv. birth)
Malagasy RepublicC160 (BL?)In (right) margin of SS11976Eckener (rightmost of the three men)
Mauritania346 (Mi540)
i346

Imperforate
1976"Dr. Hugo Eckener"
Nicaragua1989a (Mi?)From MS16 (1989 (a-i))1994(125th anniv. birth, in 1993)
Nicaragua1989e (Mi?)
Nicaragua1989o (Mi?)
Nicaragua1991 (BL?)SS1
St. Vincent1866 (Mi?)1993125th anniv. birth "Dr. Hugo Eckener"
St. Vincent1869 (Mi?)
St. Vincent1870 (Mi?)
St. Vincent1873 (BL?)SS1
St. Vincent1873 fdcSS1 on FDC
Solomon IslandsUnknown d (Mi?)One of MS4 (a-d)2014"Dr. Hugo Eckener"
Solomon IslandsUnknown fdcMS4 on FDC
Upper VoltaC237 (BL42)
iC237
In (upper-right) margin of SS1
In (upper-right) margin of imperforate SS1
1976"Dr. Eckener"
United StatesC11 fdc (Mi? fdc)Cachet (signature) on FDC1928
United StatesNonePostcard back, also front1929
United StatesNoneCachet (signature) on (airmail) cover1929
United StatesNoneCachet (signature) on (airmail) cover (different)1929
United StatesNone(Blue rubber-stamp) cachet on (airmail) cover1930
United StatesNone(Blue rubber-stamp) cachet on (airmail) cover (different)1930
United StatesNoneCachet on cover (4-line cancel)1933
United StatesNoneCachet (same) on cover (3-line cancel)1933
Uruguay1519b (Mi?)
i1519b
One of MS4 (1519 (a-d)) (BL60), stamps-on-stamp: Germany C39 and Uruguay C426c
One of imperforate MS4 (i1519 (a-d))
1993125th anniv. birth "Dr. Hugo Eckener"


Bonnel

Bonnel, Ferdinand
(1869–1945)

Ferdinand Bonnel, born in France near the border with Belgium, was a Jesuit priest and educator who worked in Sri Lanka. He founded St. Michael's College, which became known for its programs in meteorology and astronomy. Bonnel was the College director for more than 40 years.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Sri Lanka870 (Mi?)1988(120th anniv. birth, in 1989)


Wilson

Wilson, Charles Thomson Rees
(1869–1959)

Charles Wilson was a Scottish physicist best remembered for his cloud chamber and for his work in atmospheric electricity.

After his studies at Cambridge University, Wilson spent a short time as a volunteer at the Ben Nevis Observatory in 1894. Ben Nevis is the highest point in Scotland, and the observatory was at the summit. Wilson found the glories (philatelic examples 1 and 2) and coronas (philatelic examples 1 and 2) in the clouds and mists of the mountain particularly beautiful and was inspired to study them. Glories and coronas are two types of atmospheric optical phenomena. Furthermore, the thunderstorms that Wilson experienced may have been the seeds of his later interest in atmospheric electricity.

The Cloud Chamber

Wilson worked from 1895 to 1900 as a researcher at the Cavendish Laboratory at Cambridge University. His starting point was the work of John Aitken (1839–1919), a Scottish atmospheric physicist who cooled a sample of air in an expansion chamber to cause condensation and showed that the resulting water droplets formed on small atmospheric particles such as dust. Such particles are now known as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). Wilson developed an updated expansion chamber that came to be called the "cloud chamber" and used it to show that water droplets would also form in pure air (with no dust) if it was cooled enough to attain a very high humidity. He noticed that such droplets reacted to an electric field and hypothesized that the nuclei on which they had formed must therefore be ions (charged particles). Wilson then passed X-rays (discovered late in 1895) through the cloud chamber and found a resulting large increase in the number of cloud droplets. This experiment confirmed his hypothesis, since other researchers had established that the passage of X-rays through air makes it electrically conductive, and furthermore that air conductivity was due to the presence of ions.

Wilson demonstrated the cloud chamber to some other interested scientists in the late 1890s, including Kelvin, who had previously made some measurements of the atmospheric electrical field.

Wilson had some hopes of using his cloud chamber results as a basis for linking the behaviour of ions with the formation of clouds in the real atmosphere. In this he was unsuccessful. Such a link may not even be possible, since the conditions in the cloud chamber differ greatly from those in the real atmosphere.

In 1911, Wilson was the first to observe and photograph the tracks of alpha- and beta-particles and electrons in the cloud chamber. He described them as "little wisps and threads of clouds". The cloud chamber later provided other discoveries in the field of nuclear physics. As a result, Wilson, together with Arthur Compton, received the 1927 Nobel Prize for Physics. Wilson was cited for the invention of the cloud chamber, which the Nobel committee described as being at the heart of "his method of making the paths of electrically charged particles visible by the condensation of vapour".

Atmospheric Electricity

Wilson's interest in atmospheric electricity grew in the late 1890s. Then in 1900 he was asked by the Meteorological Council of the Royal Society to do some scientific work on the subject. To start, he made observations of the atmospheric electric field in 1900 and 1901 in Peebles, Scotland, where he used captive balloons and kites to measure the electric field strength at various heights, and also made improvements to the Kelvin electrograph technique. Within a few years he had constructed an instrument to measure the atmospheric electric potential gradient and the vertical flow of current in fair weather. Those measurements allowed him to calculate the electrical conductivity of the air. Of this work Wilson would reminisce, in an article published posthumously in 1960:

"I remember the satisfaction I had when my work led to the fulfilment of my dream of isolating a portion of the Earth's surface and measuring the charge upon it and the current flowing into it from the atmosphere".

His instrument, later called the "Wilson apparatus" by the Meteorological Office, became a standard for measurements of atmospheric electricity. Instruments with the same basic design were used at the Kew Observatory until 1979. Interestingly, data from the Wilson apparatus has also been used to reconstruct historic air pollution data in England.

Since atmospheric conductivity is almost exclusively due to the presence of ions, Wilson's measurements of electrical conductivity allowed him to calculate the concentration of those ions. He was also able to examine them in the cloud chamber. He published papers describing the cloud chamber and its uses in 1911 and 1912. In subsequent years he continued to make observations of atmospheric electricity and worked on droplet charging, thunderstorm electrification and the development of a capillary electrometer. In 1913 he was appointed Observer in Meteorological Physics at the Cambridge Solar Physics Observatory, where he carried out in particular work on thunderstorm electricity. In 1918 he was appointed Reader in Electrical Meteorology at the Cavendish Laboratory, and he was the Jacksonian Professor at Cambridge from 1925 until his retirement in 1935.

In the years after WWI, Wilson turned to the question of why the Earth's surface should retain an overall negative charge despite the observed electrical gradient (positive charge in the atmosphere, negative at the surface) which at first glance should neutralize the surface negative charge. It was known that there were electrical discharges associated with thunderstorms, and this led to the suggestion that lightning might be the replenishing agent of the surface negative charge. Wilson's cloud chamber experiments suggested another mechanism: they showed that if the CCN on which cloud droplets formed were negatively charged, more vapour would condense onto them than if they were positively charged. He therefore suggested that raindrops descending to the ground in thunderstorm areas (or possibly in other areas of unsettled weather with rain) were negatively charged, so that lightning and raindrops together could act to continuously replenish the observed surface negative charge in the presence of the overall atmospheric positive charge. To complete the picture, it was necessary to postulate that a vertical charge separation occurs in thunderstorms: negative at the base and positive at the top. The high level positive charge could migrate upward to a conducting layer (the ionosphere) which then would transfer it to all the remaining areas without thunderstorms, thus maintaining the observed electrical structure of the atmosphere and the surface. This theory has come to be known as the global atmospheric electrical circuit, and current flowing in the circuit is referred to as the Wilson current. Even today all the details have not been worked out, but the general theory is well-accepted. Wilson published these ideas in various papers including those of 1921, 1929 and 1956.

References (some scientific papers by Wilson):

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
LiberiaMi2903From and in (left) margin of MS17 (Mi2893-2909 + label)2000(Charles) Wilson's cloud chamber
LiberiaMi2905Charles Wilson
LiberiaMi2907Photograph from (Charles) Wilson's cloud chamber


Aston

Aston, Francis W.
(1877–1945)

Francis Aston was a British chemist who invented the mass spectrometer. Modern measurements of atmospheric CO2 concentration have been done by gas chromatograph and laser absorption techniques, but can also be done using mass spectrometers (Bender, M.L., Sowers, T., Barnola, J.-M., Chappellaz, J. Geophys. Res. Lett., 1994; 21: 189).

Aston's research was interrupted by WWI. During the war years he studied the effects of atmospheric conditions on the fabrics and dopes used in airplanes, as part of the war effort.

He won the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1922.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Gabon804h (Mi?)One of MS9 (804 (a-i))1995(50th anniv. death)


Gökmen

Gökmen, Fatin
(1877–1955)

Fatin Gökmen was a Turkish mathematician and astronomer. From 1904 to 1910, he was professor of Astronomy and Mathematics at the University of Istanbul.

The Imperial Meteorological Observatory had been established in 1868 but was destroyed in the uprising of March 1909. The new government formed after the uprising appointed Gökmen director of the Imperial Observatory and charged him with finding a location for a new building. He established the new Observatory, named Kandilli, in 1911. A class 1 meteorological observing station was set up there, and from 1 July 1911 continuous weather observations were made and recorded there. Also from that time, daily weather forecasts for Istanbul were prepared at the Observatory. Magnetic observations were introduced by Gökmen in 1927. The modern Observatory has maintained its meteorological function, but other geophysical and astronomical areas of study have been added to its responsibilities over the years, including, most recently, the study of earthquakes.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
TurkeyB83 (Mi1812)1961Gökmen; 50th anniv. Kandilli Observatory
Turkey1674 (BL11)SS1, stamp-on-stamp: B83 (detail) partially reproduced in (right) margin1964(10th anniv. death, in 1965)


Terada

Terada, Torahiko
(1878–1935)

Torahiko Terada was a Japanese meteorologist and university professor. He established the Earth Sciences Department at Tokyo University, where he taught meteorology. One of his students was Sakuhei Fujiwara, who became well-known for his research on what came to be called the "Fujiwara effect" in tropical cyclones.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Japan496 (Mi?)1952


du Toit

du Toit, Alexander Logie
(1878–1948)

Alexander Du Toit was a South African geologist who was one of the strongest early supporters of Wegener's theory of continental drift. Du Toit's arguments were mostly geological, but he also was intrigued by the observations that some fossils from tropical plants had been found in Antarctica, and glacial deposits had been found in Africa. Like Wegener, du Toit realized that historical climate change could be explained if the continents had drifted from one climatic zone to another, and furthermore that a rearrangement of the Earth's continents and oceans could act to change climate patterns.

In his 1937 work Our Wandering Continents: A Hypothesis of Continental Drifting, du Toit expressed these climate-related ideas: he stated that different continents could show "in their fossil remains common or allied forms of terrestrial life, possessed during certain epochs of climates that may have ranged from glacial to torrid or pluvial to arid, though contrary to meteorological principles when their existing geographic positions are considered".

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
British Antarctic Territory86-91 fdc (Mi88-93 fdc)Insert back from FDC, also insert front and cover front1982"Dr. Alex du Toit"
South Africa813 (Mi828)1991du Toit and maps of early continents
South Africa813 maxiStamp and cancel and cachet on maxicard
South Africa810-813 fdcOne of four stamps on FDC


Simpson

Simpson, Sir George Clarke
(1878–1965)

Simpson was an English meteorologist. He studied atmospheric electricity in Lapland in 1902 and was appointed meteorological lecturer at Manchester University in 1905. He became the Imperial Meteorologist for the Indian Meteorological Service in 1906, where his responsibilities included inspecting meteorological observing stations in India and Burma. In 1910 he joined Robert Scott's second Antarctic expedition (the British Antarctic Expedition) as expedition meteorologist. He served aboard the ship Terra Nova as it made its way to Antarctica. In Antarctica, he was responsible for one of the continent's first weather observing stations, at the Cape Evans base camp. A knoll just behind the Cape Evans hut, 66 feet above sea level, was named Wind Vane Hill. A run-of-the-wind anemometer and a Stevenson screen were set up on the knoll. Electric wires connected the anemometer cups to a recorder in the hut. The cup rotations were electrically counted; with every four miles of wind a signal sent to the hut caused a pen on a chronograph to register a step. The screen was visited (generally by Simpson) at 0800 each morning, in all weather, and the thermometers (maximum, minimum and present) were read. BAT Scott 432b shows Simpson standing in front of the screen and recording those temperatures. Furthermore, Simpson made the first Antarctic upper-air measurements using instrumented balloons. This document describes in some detail those measurements. This stamp shows expedition members, including Simpson, launching a weather balloon. Simpson also studied the local meteorological effects of the area. For example, he established that Minna Bluff acts to divide the airflow into two separate currents, which results in the cold and foggy "windless bight" area on the south coast of Ross Island.

Simpson returned to the Indian Meteorological Service early in 1912. There he compiled his notes about Antarctic meteorology. In 1919 he published the first volume of the expedition's meteorological records, entitled British Antarctic Expedition 1910-1913. Meteorology. Two other volumes followed.

Simpson was drafted into WWI military service and served in 1916 as meteorological advisor to the British Expeditionary Force in Mesopotamia. In 1920 he became the Director of the British Meteorological Office in London, where he conducted research into atmospheric electricity, ionization, lightning, radioactivity and solar radiation. In 1926 he established a wind force scale known as the Simpson scale, a modification of the Beaufort wind force scale.

Simpson retired from the Meteorological Office in 1938 but was recalled into active service in 1939 because of WWII. He was appointed head of the Kew Observatory, where he continued to study the electrical structure of thunderstorms until 1947. He served as president of the British Meteorological Society from 1940 to 1942.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
British Antarctic Territory426f (Mi534)One of MS8 (426 (a-h)) (Mi529-536)2010(probably) Simpson recording temperatures at the Stevenson screen in 1911 near the Cape Evans Hut, during Robert Scott's second Antarctic expedition
British Antarctic Territory430c (Mi563)One of MS8 (430 (a-h)) (Mi561-568)2011Simpson and other expedition members inflating a weather balloon)
British Antarctic Territory432b (Mi574)From MS4 (432 (a-d)) (BL20, Mi573-576)(probably) Simpson recording temperatures at the Stevenson screen in 1911 near the Cape Evans Hut, during Robert Scott's second Antarctic expedition
British Antarctic Territory432c (Mi575)Simpson's lab in the Cape Evans Hut in 1911 during Robert Scott's second Antarctic expedition. The white vertical drum in the centre of the image rotated and recorded the wind speed measured by an anemometer on a knoll behind the hut known to the expedition as Wind Vane Hill.


Milanković

Milanković, Milutin
(1879–1958)

Milutin Milanković was a Serbian engineer and mathematician who was intrigued by the ice ages and the climatic changes that must have caused the advance and retreat of the glaciers. His general ideas about this question followed those of the Scot James Croll, who in 1864 had published a paper in the Philosophical Magazine that hypothesized that variations in the Earth's orbit might have caused the ice ages.

In the WWI years Milanković studied the interactions between solar radiation and the temperature of the Earth. His results were published in Paris in 1920 in a monograph entitled Théorie mathématique des phénomènes thermiques produits par la radiation solaire (Mathematical theory of thermal phenomena caused by solar radiation). In it, he presented a curve describing the solar insolation at the Earth's surface. Köppen and Wegener used it in their 1924 work Klimate der geologischen Vorzeit (Climates of the Geological Past). In 1927 they invited Milanković to collaborate with them on their Handbuch der Klimatologie (Handbook on Climatology). He wrote the introduction to the Handbook: Mathematische Klimalehre und astronomische Theorie der Klimaschwankungen (Mathematical science of climate and astronomical theory of the variations of the climate). The ideas contained therein would form the basis of a theory that he formulated in the 1930s. That theory, which came to be known by the name of "Milanković cycles", presents a relationship between long-term cycles in the Earth's climate and changes in its orbital eccentricity, axial tilt and precession. The precession changes slightly in an approximate 26,000 year cycle. The Earth's orbit about the Sun changes in 100,000 year and 400,000 year cycles. The tilt of the Earth's axis changes in a cycle of about 41,000 years. Milanković derived the mathematical formulas that describe these cycles and showed how they can interact so that at some times there is more sunlight striking the Earth, and at others there is less. When there is less, snow and ice can accumulate and glaciers can advance, forming an Ice Age. When there is more, there is warming and the ice retreats. Milanković presented the complete theory in his 1941 work Kanon der Erdbestrahlung und seine Anwendung auf das Eiszeitenproblem (A Study of Insolation reaching the Earth and its Application to the Problem of the Ice Ages).

The theory of Milanković cycles remained controversial, but a paper published in the journal Science in 1976 ("Variations in the Earth's orbit: pacemaker of the Ice Ages" by Hayes, Imbrie and Shackleton) confirmed the basic ideas. In it, measurements from deep ocean sediment cores along with new understanding of celestial mechanics were used to show that variations in solar insolation were the main cause of the advance and retreat of ice sheets in the Quaternary period. Here is the abstract of their paper.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Bosnia and Herzegovina (Serb Admin.)226 (Mi303)Stamp + label, from MS8 (8x single + label)2004125th anniv. birth
Bosnia and Herzegovina (Serb Admin.)226 fdcStamp and cancel and cachet on FDC
Serbia374 (Mi174)2007(50th anniv. death, in 2008)
Serbia374 fdc1Stamp on FDC (Serbia Post cachet)
Serbia374 fdc2Stamp on FDC (multi-color printed cachet)
Serbia-KrajinaMi62A
Mi62B
From strip of 2 and label, or from MS8 (8x Mi62A + label)
Mi62B and label from imperforate MS8 (8x Mi62B + label)
1996
Serbia-KrajinaMi62A fdcStamp and cancel and cachet on FDC
Serbia242 (Mi319)2004125th anniv. birth
Serbia242 fdcStamp and cancel and cachet on FDC
Serbia242_var (Mi?)Variety, with the initials of the stamp designer printed in the stamp image
SerbiaNone(Bronze) medallion, also reverse?
SerbiaNone(Silver) medallion, also reverse
SerbiaKM5220 dinara (copper-nickel-zinc) coin obverse, also reverse2009
SerbiaP61(2000 dinara) banknote, also back2011-2012
Serbia862 (Mi822)2019140th anniv. birth
Serbia1128 (BL44, Mi1205)SS12023"100th anniv. Milankovic calendar"
Serbia1128 fdcSS1 and (Serbia Post) cachet on FDC
Yugoslavia1432 (Mi1793)
i1432

Imperforate
1979100th anniv. birth
Yugoslavia1432 fdc1Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and cachet on FDC
Yugoslavia1432 fdc2Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and cachet (slightly different) on FDC


Wegener

Wegener, Alfred
(1880–1930)

Alfred Wegener was a German scientist and Arctic explorer who made major contributions to geophysics, glaciology, climatology and meteorology. His research in atmospheric physics and meteorology included the studies of cloud microphysics, thermodynamics, the vertical structure of the chemical composition of the atmosphere, atmospheric optics, and European tornadoes. In addition to all that, he proposed the then-revolutionary theory of continental drift, which was a seminal contribution to the field of geophysics.

Wegener received a doctorate in astronomy in 1904, but found that he was more interested in geophysics, meteorology and climatology. At that time the telegraph, Atlantic cable and wireless were beginning to supply the data necessary for analysis and forecasting of storms. In 1905 he went to work at the Royal Prussian Aeronautical Observatory near Berlin, where he studied the atmosphere with kites and balloons. He was then invited to join a 1906 Danish expedition to Greenland's northeast coast. This was a dream come true for Wegener. In Greenland from 1906 to 1908 Wegener became the first person to use kites and tethered balloons to study the polar atmosphere. From 1909, he lectured on meteorology and astronomy at the University of Marberg. In 1911 he collected his meteorology lectures into a book, Thermodynamik der Atmosphäre (The Thermodynamics of the Atmosphere), which became a standard text in Germany.

Wegener also worked in the area of cloud and precipitation physics. As early as 1784, Benjamin Franklin had speculated that rainfall at the ground began as some form of snow in the clouds. Wegener considered that water can exist in the atmosphere in supercooled liquid form (at a temperature below 0°C), and also that the saturation vapour pressure over liquid water is greater than that over ice. He concluded that as a result, cloud ice crystals would necessarily grow at the expense of supercooled liquid cloud droplets. The resulting large ice crystals would be Franklin's 'snow', which could melt to form raindrops as it fell. These ideas were contained in Thermodynamik der Atmosphäre. Wegener never got the chance to document this process in real clouds, but Tor Bergeron and Walter Findeisen proved the theory in the 1930s. The process, often now known as the Bergeron-Findeisen process, is more correctly referred to as the Wegener-Bergeron-Findeisen process.

Wegener went back to Greenland in 1912-13 and crossed the Greenland ice cap with Danish explorer J.P. Koch and two others in a trip from Dove Bay on the east coast to Upernavik on the west coast. The data that he gathered during this journey made him one of the world's leading experts on polar meteorology and glaciology. According to fellow meteorologist and Greenland explorer Dr. Johannes Georgi, "Wegener was the first to trace storm tracks over the Greenland ice cap". He continued to work at Marburg until 1919, when he was appointed head of the Department of theoretical meteorology at the German Hydrographic Office (The Deutsche Seewarte) in Hamburg. In 1924 he was appointed professor of Meteorology and Geophysics at the Institute of Physics, University of Graz. In addition to his continuing interest in continental drift and polar meteorology, he also conducted investigations concerning processes in the upper atmosphere and the Aurora Borealis. Furthermore, he also studied optical effects in the frigid air above the Greenland ice cap, where spectacular optical phenomena can occur in the presence of ice crystals. In a 1926 article, Wegener explained the formation process of two rare arcs that can appear opposite the Sun in the presence of ice crystals. The arcs were then named in his honour.

Wegener's interest in tornadoes probably dates from the first of his four Greenland expeditions, for which he acted as physicist and meteorologist. In July of 1907, he and other expedition members observed a series of waterspouts from Cape Bismarck in the Northeast Greenland National Park. In subsequent years he tried to provide a physical explanation for the formation of tornadoes and waterspouts. He was drafted into the German army in 1914 and served in WWI. In 1916, as commanding officer of the German Army's Field Weather Station 12, he was responsible for the station's weather observations. He devoted his free time to meteorological research and focused on the theory of tornadoes and on bringing together all available empirical observations of European tornadoes. He corresponded with Wladimir Köppen about this project. His book on tornadoes, Wind- und Wasserhosen in Europa (Tornadoes and Waterspouts in Europe), was finished in August of 1916 and published in 1917. It was essentially a synthesis of everything that was known at the time about European tornadoes. It included Wegener's ideas about their formation and structure and effects, along with the first catalogue of all known observations of tornadoes and waterspouts in Europe before 1915. Wegener presented 258 such reports, which served as the basis for his European tornado climatology, the first such climatology that had ever been produced. He showed, for example, that European tornadoes occurred mainly in the months of June through August, with a peak in July. Modern work has confirmed the overall conclusions of Wegener's climatology of European tornadoes.

In addition to his meteorological work, Wegener originated a revolution in geophysics: the idea of continental drift. This theory accounted for geological and fossil evidence that ancient climates had been vastly different from modern ones. Wegener thought that actual motion of continents might explain this climatic puzzle, so he and the climatologist Wladimir Köppen (who was also his father-in-law) plotted ancient deserts, jungles and ice sheets on paleogeographic maps based on the theory. The result was a plausible picture of past climates. Evidence of an ice age from some 280 million years ago, for example, scattered over almost all the Earth in modern times, clustered neatly around the South Pole in Wegener's map. This was because Africa, Antarctica, Australia and India had once comprised a southern hemispheric supercontinent (Gondwanaland). Wegener considered such paleoclimatic validation one of the strongest proofs of his theory. Conversely, continental drift has since become one of the main supporting principles of paleoclimatology. The South African geologist Alexander du Toit, working more or less independently, reached similar conclusions to those of Wegener and so became one of the early supporters of his theory.

Wegener returned to Greenland in the spring of 1930 as the leader of an expedition designed to systematically study the Greenland ice cap and its climate. Ernst Sorge, Johannes Giorgi and Fritz Lowe were part of this team. During this expedition, three research stations were set up: West camp, East camp, and Eismitte (Middle Ice camp, located on the ice cap at some 3000 m elevation). Unfortunately, in November 1930 Wegener and Rasmus Villumsen died while trying to reach West camp from Eismitte. Wegener was only 50. Despite his death, the expedition succeeded in its goal of recording one full year of meteorological observations at the Eismitte station as well as at the West camp station.

Germany's Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine research, established in 1980, was named in honour of Wegener.

Other selected publications by Wegener:

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Austria1169 (Mi1660)1980(100th anniv. birth; 50th anniv. death)
Austria1169 fdc1Stamp on FDC
Austria1169 fdc2Stamp and cachet on FDC
Austria1169 fdc3Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and cachet (same) on FDC
Austria1169 fdc4Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and cachet (different) on FDC
Austria1169 fdc5Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and cachet (different) on FDC
Austria1169 fdc6Stamp and (pictorial) cancel (different) and cachet (same) on FDC
Austria1169 fdc7Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and cachet (different) on FDC
Austria1169 fdc8Stamp and (pictorial) cancel on FDC
Austria1169 fdc9Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and cachet (different) on FDC
Austria1169 scSouvenir card
AustriaNoneCancel on cover1984Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI)
British Antarctic Territory86-91 fdc (Mi88-93 fdc)Insert back from FDC, also insert front and FDC front1982"Professor Alfred Wegener"
Denmark1004 (Mi?)1994Wegener's weather balloon, 1906-1908 Danish Greenland expedition (same design as cachet on Greenland 268-269 fdc)
Denmark1004-1005 fdcOne of two stamps on FDC
Germany (Berlin)9N451 (Mi616)1980Wegener and continental drift; 100th anniv. birth; (50th anniv. death)
Germany (Berlin)9N451 fdc1Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and cachet on FDC
Germany (Berlin)9N451 fdc2Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and cachet (different) on FDC
Germany (Berlin)9N451 fdc3Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and cachet (different) on FDC
Germany (Berlin)9N451 fdc4Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and cachet (different) on FDC
Germany (Berlin)9N451 maxiMaxicard
Germany (Berlin)9N451 scSouvenir card
Germany (Berlin)9N451 cover1 (Mi616 cover1)Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and cachet on cover1980Wegener's polar exploration; continental drift; (100th anniv. birth; 50th anniv. death)
Germany (Berlin)9N451 cover2 (Mi616 cover2)Stamp and (text) cancel on cover1980Wegener's polar exploration; continental drift; (100th anniv. birth; 50th anniv. death)
Germany (Berlin)9N451 cover3 (Mi616 cover3)Stamp and (text) cancel and cachet on cover1980Wegener's polar exploration; continental drift; (100th anniv. birth; 50th anniv. death); "Dr Sorge's route" (in German text)
Germany (Berlin)9N451 cover4 (Mi616 cover4)Stamp and (text) cancel and cachet on cover1980Wegener's polar exploration; continental drift; (100th anniv. birth; 50th anniv. death)
Germany (Berlin)None(Pictorial) cancel1986Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI)
Germany (East)2091 (Mi?)1980(100th anniv. birth; 50th anniv. death)
Germany (East)2088+2091+2093 fdcOne of three stamps on FDC
Germany (East)2091 cover (Mi? cover)(Text) cancel and cachet on cover1980100th anniv. birth; (50th anniv. death)
Germany (East)None(Black printed) cachet on postal card1980(100th anniv. birth); 50th anniv. death
Germany (East)NoneCancel on cover1988"Koch/Wegener" cross Greenland "1912/1913"
Germany (West)NoneCachet on cover1982Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) for Polar Research
Germany (West)1404 sc (Mi1187 sc)Souvenir card back, also front1983"Wegener"
Germany (West)None(Blue rubber-stamp) cachet1983Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI); Antarktis-1
Germany (West)1353 cover (Mi? cover)(Lower-left rubber-stamp) cachet on cover1984Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI); Antarktis-2
Germany (West)None(Blue rubber-stamp) cachet1985Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI); Antarktis-3
Germany (West)NoneCachet on cover1985Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI); Antarktis-4
Germany (West)1353 cover (Mi? cover)(Pictorial) cancel on cover1986"Alfred Wegener Institut"
Germany (West)None(Black rubber-stamp) cachet on cover1986Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI)
Germany (West)None(Black rubber-stamp) cachet on cover1986Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI); Antarktis-5-1/3
Germany (West)None(Blue rubber-stamp) cachet on cover1986Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI); Antarktis-5-1/3
Germany (West)None(Purple rubber-stamp) cachet on cover1987"Alfred Wegener Institut" (AWI); Antarktis-5-4
Germany (West)None(Red rubber-stamp) cachet on cover1987Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI); Antarktis-6
Germany (West)None(Blue rubber-stamp) cachet on cover1987Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI); air-sea interaction project
GermanyNoneOne of two (blue rubber-stamp) cachets on cover2001Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI)
GermanyNoneCancel on cover2003Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI)
GermanyNoneCancel on cover2005Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI)
GermanyNoneCancel (different) on cover2005(125th anniv. birth; 75th anniv. death)
GermanyNoneCancel (different) on cover200525th anniv. Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI)
GermanyNoneCancel (different) on cover200525th anniv. Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI)
GermanyNone(Pictorial) cancel on cover2006Wegener's 1930 Greenland expedition
GermanyNone(Pictorial) cancel2007Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI)
Greenland268-269 fdc (Mi247-248 fdc)(Greenland Post Office) cachet on FDC1994Wegener's weather balloon, 1906-1908 Danish Greenland expedition (same design as Denmark 1004)
Greenland475 (Mi?)2006
Greenland475 fdcStamp on FDC
Greenland475a (BL?)SS1
Greenland475a folderFolder (front and back), also inside
NorwayNoneCachet on cover1993Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI)
RomaniaNone(Pictorial) cancel and cachet on card2005125th anniv. birth; 75th anniv. death
RomaniaNone(Pictorial) cancel and cachet (different) on card2005125th anniv. birth; 75th anniv. death
RomaniaNone(Pictorial) cancel on cover2005125th anniv. birth; 75th anniv. death
Russia (USSR)NoneCancel and cachet on cover197140th anniv. 1930-31 Wegener expedition to Greenland
RussiaNone(Violet rubber-stamp) cachet on cover2005Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI)
St. Vincent2764f (Mi4835)One of MS18 (2764 (a-r + label)) (Mi4830-4847)1999Wegener and continental drift
South AfricaNone(Violet rubber-stamp) cachet on cover1984Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI); Antarktis-2
United StatesNonePostcard2007Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) logo


Regener

Regener, Erich
(1881–1955)

Erich Regener was a German physicist and professor of physics at Berlin and Stuttgart. He was also the director of the early Max Planck Institute for Stratospheric Physics in the years between the two World Wars (this Institute is now known as the Institute for Aeronomy). His research with upper air balloons launched from the Institute helped to define the chemical composition of the troposphere and the stratosphere. One particular area of interest for Regener was the influence of ultraviolet (UV) light on the chemical equilibrium between molecular oxygen (O2) and ozone (O3). In 1934 he became the first scientist to directly measure the absorption of UV energy in the ozone layer. He also studied cosmic rays in the stratosphere, and had plans to study Earth's upper atmosphere with instruments aboard a German V-2 rocket.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Germany2052 cover (Mi2073 cover)(Pictorial) cancel on cover2000"Erich Regener, extraterrestrial physics pioneer" and his A-4 research rocket and ejected instrument package; also 120th anniv. birth, in 2001
GermanyB857 cover (Mi2097 cover)(Pictorial) cancel and (black printed) cachet on cover2000"Prof. Dr. Erich Regener"; "A-4 rocket with a 'Regener canister' for high atmospheric research" (in German text and also illustrated in the cachet); "Erich Regener, extraterrestrial physics pioneer" and A-4 research rocket and ejected instrument package (in the cancel); also 120th anniv. birth, in 2001


Langmuir

Langmuir, Irving
(1881–1957)

Irving Langmuir was an American physical chemist who spent much of his career with the General Electric (GE) corporation. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1932, but is remembered by meteorologists mostly for his pioneering work in the area of weather modification through cloud seeding.

He invented the Langmuir probe, an instrument designed to measure the properties of ionized gases (known as 'plasma', a term that he coined in 1927) in the upper atmosphere. In 1946, a Langmuir probe and other instruments were carried aloft from White Sands Missile Range by a V2 rocket. Although the V2 failed, the launch marked the first attempt to explore the upper atmosphere through direct measurements by rocket-borne instruments.

Langmuir had a strong interest in meteorology, particularly in the area of cloud microphysics. In the war years, he was involved in research on smoke screens and on aircraft de-icing capabilities. He and his colleague Vincent Schaefer invented the artificial fog smoke screen generator widely used during WWII. This work led him to think about clouds in general, and airborne particulates and ice nucleation in particular. In 1946, Langmuir and Schaefer realized that clouds might be modified by "seeding" them with dry ice pellets. The dry ice supplied to the cloud would form extra ice particles to which cloud water would migrate, resulting in more cloud droplets and potentially more rain. They demonstrated the effect later that year. Their work continued in the post-war years with dry ice and also silver iodide as seeding agents. The hope was that a certain amount of seeding could induce clouds to produce rain, while overseeding could potentially reduce hail and so reduce hail damage to crops. The work was controversial, and considerations of possible financial liability led GE to turn the program over to the military in 1947. The military continued to conduct cloud seeding experiments, some of which were carried out in the area of Socorro, New Mexico, which since 1963 has been home to the Irving Langmuir Laboratory for Atmospheric Research.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Micronesia471 (BL98)SS12001Irving Langmuir, cloud seeding pioneer


von Kármán

von Kármán, Teodor
(1881–1963)

Teodor von Kármán was a Hungarian fluid dynamicist and aerodynamicist whose work has some applications to the atmosphere. He emigrated to the US in 1930. In the period 1915 - 1938, von Kármán and Prandtl developed mixing-length hypotheses for the atmosphere, using eddy diffusivities and flux-gradient concepts based on analogies with molecular transfer (Garratt, J. R., 1992. The Atmospheric Boundary Layer, p.3-4. Cambridge University Press).

The von Kármán constant is used in studies of turbulence in the planetary boundary layer. Von Kármán "cloud streets" can occur in some cases in the low levels of the atmosphere downstream of an island or other low barrier across which a moderate wind is blowing. These atmospheric flow patterns may be visible in the low level cloud formations downstream of the barrier. If there is no obscuring middle or upper-level cloud, satellite imagery can clearly show them. Here is an example.

Von Kármán was the recipient of many awards, including, in 1963, the first US Medal of Science, which he received from John F. Kennedy.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
von Kármán (on non-launch-cover postal items)
Central African Republic761 (Mi1165A)
i761 (Mi1165B)

Imperforate
1985
Central African Republic761a (BL347A)
i761a (BL347B)
SS1 (761)
Imperforate SS1 (i761)
Central African Republic1060a (Mi?)One of strip of 3 (1060 (a-c))1994(30th anniv. death, in 1993)
Chad710d (Mi1520A)
i710d (Mi1520B)
One stamp of MS6 (710 (a-f)) (Mi1517A-1522A)
One stamp of imperforate MS6 (i710 (a-f)) (Mi1517B-1522B)
1997
HungaryNone (Mi_P255)Postal card1981(100th anniv. birth)
Hungary3353 (Mi?)1992(110th anniv. birth, in 1991); (30th anniv. death, in 1993)
Maldive IslandsMi8214One of MS4 (Mi8214-8217)2019"Von Kármán Crater"
Maldive IslandsMi8214-8217_ms4 fdcMS4 on FDC
Mali1037d (Mi2270)One of MS4 (1037 (a-d)) (Mi2267-2270)1999
Mali1037 fdcMS4 on FDC
Micronesia178b (Mi?)One of block of 8 (178 (a-h)), or two of MS16 (2x (a-h))1993(30th anniv. death)
Micronesia178b fdcStamp and cancel and cachet on FDC
TogoMi9852One of MS4 (Mi9851-9854)2024"On 3 January 2019, the [Chang'e-4] lander touched down in the von Kármán crater on the far side of the Moon" (in French text)
United StatesNone dOne of (RRI) imperforate cinderella MS41969
United StatesNoneCachet on cover, also back1990
United States2699 (Mi2313)Also partial sheet with selvedge1992(110th anniv. birth, in 1991); (30th anniv. death, in 1993)
United States2699 fdc1Stamp on FDC (multi-color cachet)
United States2699 fdc2Stamp and (pictorial) cancel (design like stamp) on FDC (blank/no cachet)
United States2699 fdc3Stamp and (ArtCraft/PCS) cachet on FDC
United States2699 fdc4Stamp and (ArtCraft) cachet on FDC
United States2699 fdc5Stamp and (Fleetwood) cachet on FDC, also back
United States2699 fdc6Stamp and tab1 and (Fleetwood) cachet on FDC, also back
United States2699 fdc7Stamp and tab2 and (Fleetwood) cachet on FDC, also back
United States2699 fdc8Stamp and tab3 and (Fleetwood) cachet on FDC, also back
United States2699 fdc9Stamp and tab1 and (Fleetwood) cachet on FDC card
United States2699 fdc10Stamp and (Artmaster) cachet on FDC, also back
United States2699 fdc11Stamp and (Robert C. Graebner Chapter #17 AFDCS) cachet on FDC
United States2699 fdc12Stamp and (PCS) cachet on FDC, also insert
United States2699 fdc13Stamp and (? hand-painted) cachet on FDC
United States2699 fdc14Stamp and (HF) cachet on FDC
United States2699 fdc15Stamp and (Therome Cachets) cachet on FDC
United States2699 fdc16Stamp and (Edken) cachet on FDC (with extra stamps)
United States2699 fdc17Stamp and (Steve Wilson Design) cachet on FDC
United States2699 fdc18Stamp on FDC (Collage cachet)
United States2699 fdc19Stamp and (Elmer Otto) cachet on FDC, and insert
United States2699 fdc20Stamp and (Fridson hand-painted) cachet on FDC
United States2699 fdc21Stamp on FDC (Geerlings cachet)
United States2699 fdc22Stamp on FDC (Kribbs cachet)
United States2699 fdc23Stamp and (David Peterman) cachet on FDC
United States2699 fdc24Stamp and (Collins) cachet on FDC (Landing NJ cancel)
United States2699 fdc25Stamp and (Fleetwood) cachet on postcard FDC, also back
United States2699 fdc26Stamp and (Space Voyage/First Rank orange and cyan) cachet (and signature) on FDC (with extra stamp)
United States2699 fdc27Stamp and (pictorial) cancel (design like stamp) and (Space Voyage/First Rank orange and cyan) cachet (and signature) on FDC
United States2699 fdc28Stamp and tab1 and (Space Voyage/First Rank orange and cyan) cachet (and signature) on FDC (different extra stamp)
United States2699 fdc29Stamp and tab2 and (Space Voyage/First Rank orange and magenta) cachet (and signature) on FDC (with extra stamp)
United States2699 fdc30Stamp and tab3 and (Space Voyage/First Rank orange and green) cachet (and signature) on FDC (different extra stamp)
United States2699 fdc31Stamp and (pictorial) cancel (design like stamp) and (Space Voyage/First Rank orange and green) cachet (and signature) on FDC
United States2699 fdc32Stamp and (Colorano silk) cachet on FDC
United States2699 fdc33Stamp and (purple pictorial) cancel (design like stamp) on FDC card
United States2699 fdc34Stamp on FDC (Ranto cachet), also back
United States2699 fdc35Stamp on FDC (Ranto cachet, different), also back
United States2699 fdc36Stamp on FDC (Ranto cachet, different), also back
United States2699 fdc37Stamp on FDC (Ranto cachet, different), also back
United States2699 fdc38Stamp and (KMC Venture) cachet on FDC (Washington DC cancel), also back
United States2699 fdc39Stamp and (pictorial) cancel (design like stamp) and (KMC Venture) cachet on FDC (Houston TX cancel), also back
United States2699 fdc40Stamp and (LRC) cachet on FDC (Washington DC cancel)
United States2699 fdc41Stamp on FDC (photo/sticker cachet)
United States2699 fdc/sdoiStamp and (pictorial) cancel and (JPL Stamp Club) cachet (and signature) on FDC/SDOI (Second Day of Issue) cover
United States2699 sdoi1Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and (Space Voyage/First Rank orange and magenta) cachet (and signature) on SDOI (Second Day of Issue) cover
United States2699 sdoi2Stamp and (pictorial) cancel on SDOI (Second Day of Issue) cover
United States2699 sc(PCS) souvenir card (or commemorative panel?)
United StatesSP1022(USPS) souvenir page (2699)
United StatesCP400(USPS no.392) commemorative panel (2699)

CountryCancel DateCancel LocationType of ItemNotes on Content
von Kármán (on satellite launch covers)
United States2019-06-20Monument Beach MA(Coverscape) cachet on (sub-orbital) rocket launch coverA V-2 rocket launched on 20 June 1944 from Peenemünde reached 176 km altitude and was "the first man-made object ever to travel into outer space" (i.e. to rise above the "Kármán line" (100 km altitude) which was named for "Theodore von Kármán")
United States2019-11-05GSFC, Greenbelt MD(Red Eagle) cachet on Chang'e-4 event coverChang'e-4 "made the first-ever soft landing in the Von Kármán crater ... on the far side of the Moon"
Pakistan2018-12-08Karachi GPO(Multi-color printed) cachet on Chang'e-4 launch cover"Von Karman Crater"


Mărăcineanu

Mărăcineanu, Ştefania
(1882–1944)

Ştefania Mărăcineanu was a Romanian physicist and chemist. In Paris under Marie Curie she studied the effects of solar radiation on radioactive substances. She claimed that it could induce what she termed an 'artificial radioactivity' in those substances. Modern research does not support this idea.

Mărăcineanu moved to the University of Bucharest in 1930 where she continued her research. One of her colleagues, Dimitrie Bungentianu, was interested in the atmosphere and meteorology, and she was drawn to those areas as well. Her work with radiation led her to theorize that radioactive sources might have something to do with the onset of rain. In 1931 the hypothesis was tested in Baragan, Romania, which was experiencing a drought. Low clouds were injected with radioactive salts released from an airplane, and some rainfall was noted. In 1934, the French government supported similar artificial rainfall experiments in the Touggourt desert region of Algeria. The results were inconclusive, and the idea faded away with the approach of World War II. After the war, the focus of weather modification research shifted to the United States, where it was found that dry ice or silver iodide (without radioactivity) could be used as cloud seeding agents.

Mărăcineanu also claimed that there was a correlation between earthquake activity and rainfall, because of certain electrical or radioactive perturbations in the atmosphere and in the ground at the time of the earthquake. The mechanism was not clear and the idea was not confirmed by other researchers.

Mărăcineanu died in 1944, probably as a result of cancer caused by her lifelong work with radioactive substances.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Romania5441 (Mi?)From MS6 (5441a (6x 5441))2013First artificial rain experiment, based on the work of Ştefania Mărăcineanu
Romania5441-5443 fdcOne of three stamps and cachet on FDC
RomaniaNone(Posta Romana) stamped envelope


Goddard

Goddard, Robert H.
(1882–1945)

Robert Goddard was an American physicist, engineer and rocketry pioneer whose work created the foundations of space flight. He is now considered to be the "father" of modern rocketry.

In 1899, Goddard first speculated about using rockets to explore the upper atmosphere. In 1919 he published his classic work, A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes, in which he proposed that rockets could be used to explore the upper atmosphere by lifting weather-recording instruments to higher levels than would be possible with balloons. In 1920 he repeated that proposal in a paper titled "The Possibilities of the Rocket in Weather Forecasting" (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, VI (1920), p 493). However, his main challenge was to develop rockets that worked.

In 1926 Goddard launched the first liquid fuel rocket. On 17 July 1929 he launched the first instrumented rocket, carrying a barometer, a thermometer, and a small camera to record the readings of the instruments (the idea was that the camera shutter would be tripped when the rocket's parachute was deployed). These instruments were secondary to the goals of the flight, and were really no more than interesting secondary engineering devices that Goddard wished to test. In any case, the launch failed, reaching only 52 m altitude.

Nevertheless, the seed of the idea of sounding rockets was planted, and a very few people in America considered their scientific potential. For example, in 1931 W.J. Humphreys published an article titled "Mining the Sky for Scientific Knowledge" (Scientific American, 144, Jan 1931, p 22). On 27 January 1932, John A. Fleming, Head of the Carnegie Institution's Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee that some thought was being given to using Goddard's rockets for research during the Second International Polar Year beginning 1 August 1932. Nothing came of this proposal, though, and such ideas about rocketry continued to fall on deaf ears in America in the 1930s.

It was in Russia that the first rockets that could actually deliver atmospheric information were developed. They were based on the GIRD (Group for the Investigation of Reaction Propulsion) rockets developed in the early 1930s. GIRD-9 was successfully tested in August 1933, and GIRD-10 in November of that same year. As members of GIRD, the Soviet rocketry pioneers F. A. Zander and M. K. Tikhonravov were involved in the development and testing of those rockets. Zander did not live to see the two successful launches: he died in March 1933. Another GIRD-10 launch in 1935 apparently carried instruments for upper atmospheric research and reached an altitude of 11 km (Reference: Frederick Ordway III and Ronald C. Wakeford, International Missile and Spacecraft Guide, New York, 1960, p 4). As far as is known, no details of the instruments carried or the results ever reached the West. Tikhonravov continued to work on liquid-fuel rockets for upper-atmospheric research until the end of the 1930s.

Military rockets were developed by German scientists and engineers before and during WWII, and after the war and in the 1950s many of those same people contributed to the rapid development of American sounding rockets.

From the brief history presented above, we see that atmospheric sounding rocket instruments can be traced back to their most humble beginnings: Goddard`s test of 17 July 1929.

In 1963 the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) was formed, honouring Goddard with its name. The Center's Laboratory for Atmospheres had as its mission to study the Earth's atmosphere through the use of satellite remote sensing techniques.

In 1970 the astronomical/telescope satellite OAO-B was named "Goddard" to honour his accomplishments. Unfortunately, the launch of OAO-B failed.

A well-known photo of Goddard shows him standing beside the frame that supported his first liquid-propelled rocket in 1926. Many philatelic items reproduce this photo in their designs. A few others have a similar design but with Goddard in a different position beside the frame. We consider all such items depicting Goddard standing beside the frame as "common design" items, and they are highlighted in yellow in the table below.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Goddard (on non-launch-cover postal items)
AjmanMi9971971Goddard testing first liquid-propelled rocket, 1926 (common design); (90th anniv. birth, in 1972)
AjmanMi997 proofsProgressive proofs
AjmanMi997 dsDeluxe sheet (Mi997)
AjmanMi997 ds proofsDeluxe progressive proofs
AjmanMi991-998 ds proofsOne proof in proof deluxe sheet of 8 (Mi991-998)
British Virgin Islands1118 (Mi1205)2009"Goddard Rocket Shop"; Goddard (at left)
Central African Republic1365b (Mi2586)One of MS3 (1365 (a-c)) (Mi2585-2587)2000Goddard and launch of a rocket to 2300 m in 1935
Chad435 (Mi954A)
i435 (Mi954B)

Imperforate
1983(100th anniv. birth, in 1982)
Chad435a (BL145A)
i435a (BL145B)
On stamp of SS1
On stamp of imperforate SS1
Chad710b (Mi1518A)
i710b (Mi1518B)
One stamp and in selvedge of MS6 (710 (a-f)) (Mi1517A-1522A)
One stamp and in selvedge of imperforate MS6 (i710 (a-f)) (Mi1517B-1522B)
1997"Robert H. Goddard"
DjiboutiUnknown a (Mi none)One of MS2 (a-b) [known illegal issue]2013Goddard testing first liquid-propelled rocket, 1926 (common design)
DjiboutiUnknown ss (BL none)SS1 [known illegal issue]2014Test launch of Goddard's first liquid-propelled rocket; "Goddard" name (in stamp and margin); 70th anniv. death (in 2015)
Equatorial GuineaBL57SS11973Goddard (at left)
Equatorial GuineaBL173Imperforate SS11975Goddard (at left)
Franklin Mint (USA)None(Silver) medallion, also reverse1970s"March 16 1926: Robert Goddard launched America's first liquid-fuel rocket"
GabonUnknown b (Mi?)One stamp and in (upper-left) margin of MS4 (a-d)2020"Robert Goddard" (on stamp), frame that supported Goddard's first liquid-propelled rocket in 1926 (in upper-left margin)
Gambia783 (Mi793)1988"Robert Goddard"
Gambia800 (Mi820)1988"Robert Goddard"
Germany (West)None(Pictorial) cancel and (orange and brown and green printed) cachet on cover196950th anniv. publication of Goddard's A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes
Germany (West)None(Pictorial) cancel and (black printed) cachet on cover1969"Dr. Robert Hitchings Goddard"
Germany (West)None(Icarus) cachet on cover1970"Dr. R.H. Goddard"
Ghana2064 (BL360)1998Goddard testing first liquid-propelled rocket, 1926 (common design)
Ghana2386 (BL450)SS12003Goddard testing first liquid-propelled rocket, 1926 (common design)
Grenada2823a (Mi3828)One of MS6 (2823 (a-f)) (Mi3828-3833)1999"Robert H. Goddard"
Guinea Republic1862h (Mi3555)From MS12 (1862 (a-l)) (Mi3548-3559)2000Same design (but mirror image) as USA C69 fdc2
GuineaRepublic1862k (Mi3558)"Goddard rocket first launched Aug 26, 1937 in NM"
Guinea-BissauBL554SS12006"Robert H. Goddard"
Guyana2811c (Mi4706)One of MS6 (2811 (a-f)) (Mi4704-4709)1995"Robert H. Goddard"
Ivory CoastUnknown a (Mi none)
Unknown ia
One of MS2 (a-b) [known illegal issue]
One of imperforate MS2 (a-b)
2017"Robert Hutchings Goddard" (in stamp); "Robert Goddard" (in cachet)
Ivory CoastUnknown ms fdc1
Unknown ims fdc1
MS2 and cachet on FDC
Imperforate MS2 and cachet on FDC
Ivory CoastUnknown ms fdc2
Unknown ims fdc2
(Multi-color printed) cachet on FDC
(Multi-color printed) cachet on imperforate-stamped FDC
2017
Lesotho580 (Mi?)1987"Robert H. Goddard"
Lesotho580 fdcStamp and (Fleetwood) cachet on FDC
MalawiUnknown a (Mi none)
Unknown ia
One of MS2 (a-b) [known illegal issue]
One of imperforate MS2 (a-b)
2007
MalawiUnknown1_ms fdc
Unknown1 ims fdc
On one stamp of MS2 and cachet on FDC
On one stamp of imperforate MS2 on FDC
MalawiUnknown2 ms fdcOn cachet of FDCGoddard testing first liquid-propelled rocket, 1926 (common design) (in cachet at lower left)
Mali1037b (Mi2268)One of MS4 (1037 (a-d)) (Mi2267-2270)1999Goddard testing first liquid-propelled rocket, 1926 (common design)
Mali1037 fdcMS4 on FDC
Marshall Islands345a (Mi250)One of MS25 (345 (a-y)) (Mi250-274)1989Goddard testing first liquid-propelled rocket, 1926 (common design)
Marshall IslandsKM52$50. (silver coin)1989Goddard testing first liquid-propelled rocket, 1926 (common design)
Marshall Islands654h (Mi959)One of MS15 (654 (a-o)) (Mi952-966)1998Goddard testing first liquid-propelled rocket, 1926 (common design)
Marshall Islands654h fdcStamp and cachet on FDC
Micronesia210a (Mi406)One of block of 8 (210 (a-h)) (Mi406-413), or two of MS16 (2x (a-h))1995"Robert H. Goddard"
NetherlandsNone(DSTA) local post stamp and (cyan pictorial) cancel and (DSTA no.16) cachet on cover1964"Dr. Robert H. Goddard"
Netherlands343 cover (Mi? cover)(DSTA no.16 and red rubber-stamp) cachet on cover (USS Albany cancel)1964"Dr. Robert H. Goddard"
Portugal1265 (Mi1293)1975"R. Hutchin Goddard" (at left of group of four men)
Ras Al KhaimaMiA714A fdc(G. George) cachet (reproduction of USA C69) on FDC (silver foil stamp)1971"Robert H. Goddard"
Ras Al KhaimaMiB714A fdc(G. George) cachet (reproduction of USA C69) on FDC (gold foil stamp)
RomaniaC281 (Mi4578)1989Goddard lecturing at Clark University in 1924
RomaniaC278+C281-C282 fdcOne of three stamps on FDC
Romania5111 maxi (Mi6365 maxi)Annotated cachet on maxicard2009"Goddard" crater on Moon
RwandaUnknown o (Mi none)One of MS15 (a-o) [known illegal issue]2010Goddard testing first liquid-propelled rocket, 1926 (common design)
St. Helena985 (Mi1086)2009"Early [rocket] experiment by Dr. Robert Goddard"
St. Vincent2698 (Mi4627)1999"Robert H. Goddard"
St. Vincent2080g (Mi2967)One of MS9 (2080 (a-i)) (Mi2961-2969)1994Goddard testing first liquid-propelled rocket, 1926 (common design)
St. Vincent2080 fdcMS9 on FDC
St. Vincent2080g specimenOne of MS9 (2080 overprinted "specimen" (a-i))
Satellite Beach (USA)
Cape Kennedy (USA)
LocalsTwo local post stamps1966"First liquid fuel rocket launched by Dr. Robert H. Goddard, March 16, 1926"
Satellite Beach (USA)
Cape Kennedy (USA)
Locals fdcTwo local post stamps on FDC (with extra C69 stamp)
Tonga1452 (Mi2427-2430)MS4 (1452 (a-d))2021Goddard and the "Science of Rocketry"; also stamp 'b' shows Goddard testing the first liquid-propelled rocket, 1926 (common design)
Tonga1454 (BL144)SS1 (Mi2432)Model of Goddard's first liquid-propelled rocket (from 1926) and its supporting frame
Tonga1455 (BL145)SS1 (Mi2433)Launch of Goddard's A-series rocket in Roswell NM in 1935
Tristan da CunhaUnknown (Mi?)From MS6 (6x single)2012"Goddard Rocket, 1936"
Turks and Caicos Islands658 (Mi?)1985Goddard testing first liquid-propelled rocket, 1926 (common design)
United StatesNone
None imperf
Cinderella
Imperforate cinderella
early 1960s"Robert H. Goddard"
United States1193 fdc
3142f cover
(Sarzin metallic) cachet on cover1962
1998
"Dr. Robert Goddard"
United StatesC69 (Mi866)1964"Robert H. Goddard"
United StatesC69 fdc1Stamp on FDC (blank/no cachet)
United StatesC69 fdc2Stamp and (ArtCraft) cachet (same design (but mirror image) as Guinea Republic 1862h) on FDC (large-font cancel)
United StatesC69 fdc3Stamp and (ArtCraft) cachet (same design (but mirror image) as Guinea Republic 1862h) on FDC (small-font cancel)
United StatesC69 fdc4Stamp and (Ken Boll/Cachet Craft) cachet on FDC
United StatesC69 fdc5Stamp and (Sarzin metallic) cachet on FDC (small-font cancel)
United StatesC69 fdc6Stamp and (Marq) cachet on FDC
United StatesC69 fdc7Stamp and (An Exquisite Historical Cachet/T.D. Productions) cachet on FDC
United StatesC69 fdc8Stamp and (Fluegel Covers) cachet on FDC
United StatesC69 fdc9Stamp and (Artmaster) cachet on FDC (small-font cancel)
United StatesC69 fdc10Stamp and (Artmaster) cachet on FDC (large-font cancel)
United StatesC69 fdc11Stamp and (R. Dyer) cachet on FDC
United StatesC69 fdc12Stamp and (Chickering-Jackson) cachet on FDC
United StatesC69 fdc13Stamp and (IB) cachet on FDC
United StatesC69 fdc14Stamp and (HF) cachet on FDC
United StatesC69 fdc15Stamp and (ATA Space Unit) cachet on FDC
United StatesC69 fdc16Stamp and (Goldcraft, no logo) cachet on FDC
United StatesC69 fdc17Stamp and (tan and brown printed) cachet on FDC
United StatesC69 fdc18Stamp and (Fleetwood) cachet on FDCGoddard testing first liquid-propelled rocket, 1926 (common design) (on cachet)
United StatesC69 fdc19Stamp and (The Aristocrats) cachet on FDC
United StatesC69 fdc20Stamp and cinderella and (RRI) cachet on FDC, also insert
United StatesC69 fdc21Stamp and (imperforate) cinderella and (RRI) cachet on FDC, also insert
United StatesC69 program(Post Office Department) FDOI ceremony program(As above for stamp)
United StatesSP117(Post Office Department) stamp poster (C69)
United States (AFA)Local specimenOverprinted "specimen"1964(AFA) rocket mail; design like USA C69
United StatesNone aOne of (RRI) imperforate cinderella MS41969"Robert H. Goddard"
United StatesNone ssCinderella SS1
United States (NASA local post)Local(NASA) local post, from MS12 (12x local)197025th anniv. death "Dr. Goddard"; also reproduction of USA C69 (in cachet)
United StatesLocal cover(NASA) local post dual-cancel cover
United States1435b fdc (Mi1046-1047 fdc)(C. Stephen Anderson) cachet on FDC1971"Dr. Robert Goddard"
United StatesSC18(BEP/14th Interpex) Souvenir Card of 4 (4x 1173, background includes 976, 1435b, and C69)1972"Robert H. Goddard"
United States1529 folder (Mi1136 folder)(Fleetwood) FDC folder (with extra C69 canceled stamp)1974"Robert H. Goddard"
United States1570a fdc (Mi1179-1180 fdc)(Pasted on) cachet (with black-and-white reproduction of USA C69) on FDC1975"Robert H. Goddard"
United StatesNone(GSFC Stamp Club) postcard back, also postcard front1976"Robert H. Goddard"
United StatesNone(MoF no.37) cachet on cover197650th anniv. Goddard testing first liquid-propelled rocket, 1926 (common design)
United StatesNone(Space Voyage) cachet on cover197650th anniv. Goddard testing first liquid-propelled rocket, 1926 (common design)
United States (FMF Local Post)None(FMF) local post stamp1976"Fiftieth anniversary" of Goddard's "world's first liquid propellant rocket launch" (in 1926)
United States (FMF Local Post)None fdc(FMF) local post stamp on FDC
United States1710 cover (Mi1298 cover)(Midwest Postage Stamp and Coin Show/ATA) cachet (with stamp similar to C69) on cover1977"Robert H. Goddard"
United States1759 cover1 (Mi1356 cover1)(Midwest Postage Stamp and Coin Show /ATA) cachet on cover1978Goddard testing first liquid-propelled rocket, 1926 (common design)
United States1759 cover2 (Mi1356 cover2)(Midwest Postage Stamp and Coin Show /ATA) cachet on cover (different cancel date)
United StatesNoneIn lower-center of (GSFC multi-satellite blue rubber-stamp) cachet on cover1979"Robert H. Goddard - American Rocket Pioneer"; also Goddard testing first liquid-propelled rocket, 1926 (common design)
United States1283+1569 cover (Mi895+1179 cover)(W) cachet on cover1979"Goddard & rocket (1926)"
United States1912 fdc (Mi1481 fdc)(Reader's Digest) cachet on cover1981Goddard testing first liquid-propelled rocket, 1926 (common design)
United States1915+1919 fdc (Mi1484+1488 fdc)(Carrollton no.145, with USA C69) cachet on FDC1981"Robert H. Goddard"
United StatesNoneCachet on cover1981"55th anniversary of Robert Goddard's first liquid-fuel rocket launch"
United StatesNoneCachet on cover (different)1981"55th anniversary of Robert Goddard's first liquid-fuel rocket launch"
United States1919 cover (Mi1488 cover)(William J??/Globe) cachet on cover1982(100th anniv. birth)
United StatesNone(William J??/Globe) cachet on cover1982100th anniv. birth
United StatesNone(Goddard Centennial Station) cancel and (black printed) cachet on cover1982100th anniv. birth
United StatesNone(GSFC Stamp Club) cachet on cover1982100th anniv. birth
United StatesNoneBack of cover, also front1983"Goddard Sculpture courtesy of Goddard Memorial Library" (at Clark University, Mass)
United StatesNoneCachet on cover, also insert1989Cover contains Lesotho 580; Goddard testing first liquid-propelled rocket, 1926 (common design) (on cachet)
United States2699 fdc1 (Mi2313 fdc1)Extra (C69) stamp and (Space Voyage/First Rank orange and cyan) cachet (and signature) on FDC (text cancel)1992"Robert Goddard"
United States2699 fdc2 (Mi2313 fdc2)(Space Voyage/First Rank orange and cyan) cachet (and signature) on FDC (Rocket Pioneer Station pictorial cancel)
United States2699 fdc3 (Mi2313 fdc3)(Space Voyage/First Rank orange and cyan) cachet (and signature) on FDC (different extra stamp)
United States2699 fdc4 (Mi2313 fdc4)Extra (C69) stamp and (Space Voyage/First Rank orange and magenta) cachet (and signature) on FDC
United States2699 fdc5 (Mi2313 fdc5)(Space Voyage/First Rank orange and green) cachet (and signature) on FDC (different extra stamp, text cancel)
United States2699 fdc6 (Mi2313 fdc6)(Space Voyage/First Rank orange and green) cachet (and signature) on FDC (Rocket Pioneer Station pictorial cancel)
United States2699 sdoi (Mi2313 sdoi)(Space Voyage/First Rank orange and magenta) cachet (dand signature) on SDOI (Second Day of Issue) cover
United States2741 fdc (Mi2337 fdc)(Mystic Stamp Company) back of FDC, also front1993"Robert H. Goddard published a paper in 1919 explaining how rockets could be fired to the Moon and used to explore the upper atmosphere"
United States3187d fdc1 (Mi3126 fdc)(Paul Calle/Chris Calle) cachet (with reproduction of Romania C281) on FDC1999
United States3187d fdc2Extra (C69) stamp and (Ranto/SP117) cachet (with reproduction of C69) on FDC, also back
United StatesNoneCachet on cover200180th anniv. Goddard's initial research into liquid propellants for rockets
United StatesNoneCachet on cover201185th anniv. Goddard testing first liquid-propelled rocket, 1926 (common design)
Yemen Mutawakelite KingdomMi865From MS6 (6x Mi865)1969"Robert H. Goddard"

CountryCancel DateCancel LocationType of ItemNotes on Content
Goddard (on satellite and rocket launch covers)
United States1966-08-29Wallops Island VA(Sarzin?) cachet on (sub-orbital) rocket launch coverGoddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) firing atmospheric research rockets from Wallops Island VA
United States1968-04-04Cape Canaveral FL (machine cancel)(Orbit Covers) cachet on Apollo-6 launch cover"Dr. Robert H. Goddard"
United States1968-04-04Cape Canaveral FL (hand cancel)(Orbit Covers) cachet on Apollo-6 launch cover
United States1968-12-21Patrick AFB, FL(SpaceCraft/Swanson) insert2 from Apollo-8 launch cover, also insert2 back and insert1"Goddard"
United States1970-11-30Cape Canaveral FL(Space Voyage) insert from OAO-B [failed] launch cover, also front"The telescope ... was named Goddard (for the late Dr. Robert H. Goddard) Experiment Package (GEP)"
United States1970-11-30Satellite Beach FL(Space Voyage) insert from OAO-B [failed] launch cover, also front
United States1970-11-30Kennedy Space Center FL (hand cancel)(Space Voyage) insert from OAO-B [failed] launch cover, also front
United States1970-11-30Kennedy Space Center FL (machine cancel)(Space Voyage) insert from OAO-B [failed] launch cover, also front
United States1970-12-01Kennedy Space Center FL (machine cancel)(Space Voyage) insert from OAO-B [failed] launch cover, also front
United States1972-04-16Kennedy Space Center FL(C. Stephen Anderson) cachet on Apollo-16 launch cover"Dr. Robert Goddard"
United States1974-12-02Cape Canaveral FL(USA C69) stamp and (?) cachet on Pioneer-11 event cover, from folderGoddard testing first liquid-propelled rocket, 1926 (common design) (on cachet)
United States1975-09-10
1976-07-20
Greenbelt MD
Washington DC
Postcard back for Viking-2 launch and Viking-1 landing on Mars, also postcard front (with USA C69 stamp)"Robert Hutchings Goddard ... flew the world's first liquid propellant rocket ... on March 16, 1926"
United States1976-03-16Auburn MAIn lower-center of (GSFC Stamp Club blue printed) and red printed cachet on 50th anniv. first liquid fuel rocket flight/launch cover"Robert H. Goddard - American Rocket Pioneer"; also Goddard testing first liquid-propelled rocket, 1926 (common design); also "50th Anniversary of the First Liquid Fuel Rocket Flight, March 16, 1926, Auburn, Massachusetts"
United States1978-05-20GSFC, MDIn lower-center of (GSFC multi-satellite blue rubber-stamp) cachet (same design as immediately above) on Pioneer-12 launch cover"Robert H. Goddard - American Rocket Pioneer"; also Goddard testing first liquid-propelled rocket, 1926 (common design)
United States1978-10-24GSFC, MDIn lower-center of (GSFC multi-satellite blue rubber-stamp) cachet (same) on Nimbus-7 and CAMEO launch cover"Robert H. Goddard - American Rocket Pioneer"; also Goddard testing first liquid-propelled rocket, 1926 (common design)
United States1979-05-04GSFC, MD(Two) cancels and (GSFC Tracking Team black rubber-stamp) cachet on FltSatCom-2 launch coverGoddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Tracking Team
United States1983-01-25Greenbelt MDIn lower-center of (GSFC multi-satellite blue rubber-stamp) cachet (same as two above) on IRAS and PIX-2 launch cover"Robert H. Goddard - American Rocket Pioneer"; also Goddard testing first liquid-propelled rocket, 1926 (common design)
United States1983-01-31Cape Canaveral FL(Red typed) cachet on Explorer-1 anniversary cover"Robert H. Goddard - 'Father of American Rocketry'. Goddard designed and built the world's first liquid-fuel rocket, in 1926."
French Guiana1988-03-11Kourou(C.E. SEP Section Philatélie) cachet on Telecom-1C and Spacenet-3R launch coverGoddard's first liquid-propelled rocket, 1926 [#1 in the cachet]
French Guiana1997-04-16Kourou(C.E. SEP Section Philatélie) cachet on Thaicom-3 and BSat-1A launch cover"On 16 March 1926, the American R.H. Goddard tested the world's first liquid-propelled rocket in Auburn, Massachusetts"; he developed various "propulsion, guidance and flight systems" (in French text); (common design)
United States2016-03-17Sagamore Beach MA(Coverscape) cachet on Gemini-8 (and GATS-8) event cover1966 "was the 40th anniversary of Dr. Robert Goddard's first successful launch of a liquid-fueled rocket"


Potocnik

Potocnik, Hermann
(1882–1929)

Hermann Potocnik was an Austrian astronautics pioneer (through his birthplace was in what is now Croatia). After serving in WWI, he graduated from the electrical engineering faculty of the Vienna Technology University. As part of his work in astronautics, he was the first to establish the scientific basis of the geostationary orbit. Satellites in such an orbit, at 36,000 km above the equator, remain constantly above the same spot on the Earth's surface, since they revolve around the Earth in the same time as the Earth takes to make one rotation on its axis. Many communications and weather satellites take advantage of this type of orbit.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Austria1586 (Mi2082)1992100th anniv. birth
Austria1586 fdcStamp and (multi-color printed) cachet on FDC
Slovenia149 (Mi?)1992(100th anniv. birth)
Slovenia149 fdcStamp and (pictorial) cancel and (multi-color printed) cachet on FDC
Slovenia-VitanjeLocal?


Hess

Hess, Victor Franz
(1883–1964)

Victor Hess was an Austrian physicist who did work in the area of atmospheric electricity.

In balloon flights in 1910, Alfred Gockel estimated the electrical conductivity of the atmosphere as a function of height by measuring the rate of charge leakage from an insulated Wulf electrometer, in ascents to as high as 4500 m. The leakage rate was found to be greater aloft than near the Earth's surface, which meant that the atmospheric ionization was greater aloft than near the surface. This was unexpected because at that time the ionization was thought to be greatest at ground level, due to local radioactivity of the soil. Gockel had no explanation for his observations, but they would turn out to be a precursor of the discovery of cosmic radiation in the atmosphere. In 10 balloon ascents made from 1911 to 1913, Hess repeated the measurements and showed clearly that the ionization reached a minimum at 800 m and then increased steadily up to the highest altitude which he reached. He explained this in terms of a penetrating radiation entering the atmosphere from outside but not from the Sun. This was eventually recognized as the discovery of what came to be called cosmic radiation, for which Hess would share the Nobel Prize in physics in 1936. He also founded a research station at Hafelekar mountain (at 2300 m) near Innsbruck for observing and studying cosmic rays.

Cosmic rays are hypothesized to have some influence on weather and climate. For example, the ionization due to cosmic rays can change the atmospheric electric field. Lightning (and the associated thunder) will occur if the electric field becomes large enough.

In a paper published in 1997, Henrik Svensmark and Eigil Friis-Christensen of the Danish Meteorological Institute in Copenhagen found a correlation between cloudy days and high cosmic ray concentrations. A possible causal mechanism was described by Fangqun Yu (State University of New York at Albany): cosmic ray energy encourages the formation of atmospheric aerosols which act as cloud condensation nuclei which are necessary for cloud droplets to grow, and therefore for clouds to form. This idea is still considered speculative, however.

Cosmic rays are at the basis of carbon-14 (14C) dating, since their energy acts to form the carbon-14 in the first place. Relative 14C amounts have been measured in materials for which the age is also known by some other means (e.g. using the rings in tree trunks). This is useful because one can then deduce the amount of 14C that was present in the atmosphere at that time in the past. This in turn gives a history of the 14C flux. Other proxy paleontological measurements can give some idea of the global historical weather at that time. The cosmic ray flux and the weather can then be compared, and it turns out that there is a correlation between the flux and the weather: when the weather was generally cold, cosmic ray fluxes were high, and vice-versa. If colder weather can be related to greater cloudiness (due to less solar radiation reaching the Earth's surface), then this framework is consistent with the work mentioned in the previous paragraph.

Another possible use of cosmic rays is in the measurement of soil moisture. A project being conducted by the University of Arizona called COSMOS (COsmic ray Soil Moisture Observing System) will study the low energy neutrons produced when cosmic rays strike the soil. Some of them are absorbed by the soil, while others are reflected back into space. It turns out that the number of neutrons in the air above the soil surface is inversely related to the soil moisture. Soil moisture can have a significant effect on weather, so improved measurement of soil moisture could lead to improved short term and longer term weather forecasts.

Hess's publications relating to the atmosphere include:

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Austria1245 (Mi1743)1983100th anniv. birth
Austria1245 blackBlackprint
Austria1245 fdc1Stamp on FDC
Austria1245 fdc2Stamp on FDC
Austria1245 fdc3Stamp on FDC
Austria1245 fdc4Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and cachet on FDC
Austria1245 fdc5Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and cachet (different) on FDC
Austria1245 maxi1Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and cachet on maxicard
Austria1245 maxi2Stamp and (pictorial) cancel (different) and cachet (same) on maxicard
Austria1245 maxi3Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and cachet on maxicard
Austria1245 maxi4Stamp and (pictorial) cancel (different) and cachet (same) on maxicard
Austria2374 (Mi2993)2012
Austria2374 maxiMaxicard
Congo (Democratic Republic)Unknown a (Mi?)One of MS4 (a-d); also SS1; also four of MS42002(120th anniv. birth, in 2003)
Guinea Republic2129c (Mi?)One of MS6 (2129 (a-f))2001
SpainNone(Multi-color printed) cachet on (un-canceled) (Spanish Post) stamped envelope (from 2011)2013
UruguayC427a (Mi?)One of MS4 (C427 (a-d))1977


Piccard, A

Piccard, Auguste
(1884–1962)

Auguste Piccard was a Swiss physicist and aeronaut who explored both the heights of the atmosphere and the depths of the ocean. He and his twin brother Jean were pioneers in the balloon exploration of the stratosphere. Scientific balloon ascents in the 19th and early 20th Centuries had been done in an open nacelle, but in the 1920s the Piccards developed pressurized nacelles and new high-altitude balloons. On 27 May 1931, with his colleague Paul Kipfer, Auguste Piccard lifted off from Augsberg, Germany in the balloon FNRS and made the first manned balloon flight into the stratosphere, reaching a record altitude of about 15.8 km. On 18 August 1932, Piccard and Max Cosyns went even higher (approximately 16.2 km). During his flights, Piccard made measurements of cosmic rays in the stratosphere and also recorded stratospheric temperatures. Other aeronauts followed Piccard's lead in exploring the stratosphere by balloon, including Jean Piccard and the Americans Albert Stevens and Orville Anderson.

Following his work with stratospheric balloons, Auguste Piccard turned his interest to the exploration of the ocean depths. As a boy he had dreamed about pressurized gondolas that could be used underwater, and eventually realized that a bathyscaphe could be thought of as an underwater balloon that uses gasoline for lift, since gasoline is lighter than water, just as hydrogen and helium provide the necessary lift for atmospheric balloons because they are lighter than air. It is in this sense that he later wrote in his book Earth, Sea and Sky that "it was the submarine that led me to the stratosphere".

In the latter half of the 1930s and in the 1940s Jean Piccard worked to improve the materials used in high altitude balloons. Polyethylene eventually became the balloon fabric of choice. It was light, not too expensive, and allowed balloons to ascend to around 30 km, where scientific measurements could be made with almost no atmospheric interference. Instruments aboard high altitude balloons have since studied ozone, carbon dioxide, carbon-14, nitrous oxide, nitrogen, dust particles, solar energy, cosmic rays and radiation in the high atmosphere. Eventually James Van Allen would launch scientific rockets from high altitude balloons to get atmospheric measurements from even higher levels. All this work was possible in part as a result of the scientific legacy of the Piccard brothers.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
AustriaNoneCancel and cachet on cover1981FNRS balloon and 50th anniv. Piccard's 1931 flight, and landing in Obergurgl
AustriaNone(Pictorial) cancel2007Piccard and balloon FNRS; 75th anniv. Piccard's stratospheric ascents (in 1931 and 1932)
AustriaNone(Pictorial) cancel (different)2007Piccard's balloon FNRS
Belgium251 (Mi344)1932Prof. A. Piccard; balloon FNRS; for Piccard's 1931 and 1932 ascents
Belgium252 (Mi345)
Belgium253 (Mi346)
Belgium253 signatureStamp with A. Piccard signature
Belgium252 card (Mi345 card)Stamp and cachet on card1933Prof. A. Piccard; balloon FNRS; for Piccard's 1931 and 1932 ascents
Belgium251-253 cover (Mi344-346 cover)Three stamps on cover1933?Prof. A. Piccard; balloon FNRS; for Piccard's 1931 and 1932 ascents
BelgiumNone aOne of (Aerophila Expo) cinderella MS41963Piccard's balloon FNRS
BelgiumB889 cover (Mi? cover)Cachet on cover1972balloon FNRS; 1ière ascension dans la stratosphère [de Piccard]
Cambodia417 (Mi?)1983Balloon FNRS; (100th anniv. birth, in 1984)
Central African Republic658 (Mi1037A)
i658 (Mi1037B)

Imperforate
1984"A. Piccard" and balloon FNRS; (100th anniv. birth)
Central African Republic658 fdc
Central African Republic658a (BL285A)
i658a (BL285B)
On stamp of SS1
On stamp of imperforate SS1
Central African Republici662b (Mi1036-1041)On one of imperforate MS6 (i657-i662)
Central African Republic695 (Mi1076A)
i695 (Mi1076B)

Imperforate
1984Piccard, balloon FNRS and bathyscaphe Trieste; (100th anniv. birth)
Central African Republic695a (BL308A)
i695a (BL308B)
On stamp and in (left) margin of SS1
On stamp and in (left) margin of imperforate SS1
Central African Republic1365a (Mi2585)From MS3 (1365 (a-c)) (Mi2585-2587)2000Piccard and balloon FNRS
Chad550 (Mi1105)
i550

Imperforate
1985Piccard and bathyscaphe Trieste; (100th anniv. birth, in 1984); also Piccard in front of balloon FNRS nacelle (in left margin of SS1)
Chad550a (BL235A)
i550a (BL235B)
SS1
Imperforate SS1
ChadUnknown ms (Mi?)In (left) margin of MS4 (a-d)2013"Auguste Piccard's balloon FNRS [and] first stratospheric flight 1931" (in French text)
Congo (Democratic Republic)Unknown (Mi?)2004Piccard and bathyscaphe Trieste; (120th anniv. birth)
Congo (Democratic Republic)Unknown ss (BL?)SS1
Congo (Democratic Republic)Unknown ms (Mi?)On one of MS2 (a-b)
Congo (People's Republic)C312 (Mi924)1983Inaccurate drawing of balloon FNRS, 1931; (100th anniv. birth, in 1984)
Cuba1221 (Mi1291)1967A. Piccard's bathyscaphe Trieste (at lower-left)
France3330 (Mi4260)One of MS6 (3334a (3329-3334)) (Mi4259-4264)2007Prof. Tournesol (Auguste Piccard was the model for this character from the popular French comic series Tintin)
Germany (West)None(Blue printed) cachet on cover1962Rocket mail commemorating the first balloon flight into the stratosphere, on 27 May 1931 at Augsburg, in which Professor A. Piccard reached an altitude of 15,781 m in his balloon FNRS
Germany (West)None(Cyan printed) cachet on cover
Germany (West)None(Green printed) cachet on cover
Germany (West)None(Red printed) cachet on cover
Germany (West)None(Black and red printed) cachet on cover1962Rocket mail commemorating the first balloon flight into the stratosphere, on 27 May 1931 at Augsburg, in which Professor A. Piccard reached an altitude of 15,781 m in his balloon FNRS
Germany (West)None(Blue printed) cachet on cover
Germany (West)None(Cyan printed) cachet on cover
Germany (West)None(Reddish-purple printed) cachet on cover
Germany (West)NoneCachet (different) on cover1962Rocket mail commemorating the first balloon flight into the stratosphere, on 27 May 1931 at Augsburg, in which Professor A. Piccard reached an altitude of 15,781 m in his balloon FNRS
Germany (West)NoneCachet (different) on cover1962Rocket mail commemorating the first balloon flight into the stratosphere, on 27 May 1931 at Augsburg, in which Professor A. Piccard reached an altitude of 15,781 m in his balloon FNRS
Germany (West)None(MoF no.96) cachet on cover1981Piccard and 50th anniv. 1931 flight; inaccurate drawing of balloon FNRS
Great BritainNone(Ardath Co.) tobacco card (with reproductions of Belgium 252 and Russia C38)1939balloon FNRS; balloon USSR
Guinea Republic895 (Mi993)
i895

Imperforate
1984Piccard, balloon FNRS and bathyscaphe Trieste; (100th anniv. birth)
Guinea Republic895a (BL102A)
i895a (BL102B)
On stamp and in (upper and right) margins of SS1
On stamp and in (upper and right) margins of imperforate SS1
Guinea RepublicUnknown ms (Mi?)MS3 (a-c + 3 labels)2009Piccard (on all 3 stamps, at right in upper-left stamp); "A. Piccard" and balloon FNRS and bathyscaphe Trieste (in lower-right label)
Guinea RepublicUnknown ss (BL?)SS1Piccard and balloon FNRS (in stamp, also at right of the group of 3 in the left margin, also in text)
ItalyNoneCancel on cover198250th anniv. Piccard's 1932 stratospheric ascent; (20th anniv. death)
Ivory Coast625 (Mi720)1982(20th anniv. death)
Korea (North)1935 (Mi?)
i1935

Imperforate
1980Auguste and Jacques Piccard
Korea (North)1936a (BL?)On one stamp and label of MS5 (1933-1937 + label)
Laos464 (Mi?)1983Balloon FNRS; (100th anniv. birth, in 1984)
Madagascar1391 (BL283)SS11998Piccard and inaccurate drawing of balloon FNRS
MaliC344 (Mi667)1978Stamp-on-stamp: Belgium 252 (balloon FNRS)
MaliC344 dsDeluxe sheet (C344)
MaliC344 proofSigned proof
Micronesia269c (Mi573)One of MS9 (269 (a-i)) (Mi571-579)1997Piccard and bathyscaphe (1954)
Monaco523 (Mi?)1962Piccard's bathyscaphe Trieste
Monaco523 maxi1Maxicard
Monaco523 maxi2Maxicard (different)
Monaco1433 (Mi1631)1984100th anniv. birth; balloon FNRS
Monaco1433 fdcStamp and cachet on FDC
Monaco1433 proofColor proof
Monaco1433 maxiMaxicard
Monaco1434 (Mi1632)100th anniv. birth; bathyscaphe Trieste
Monaco1434 proofProof
Monaco1434 fdc1Stamp and cachet on FDC
Monaco1434 fdc2Stamp and cachet (different) on FDC
Monaco1433-1434 fdcTwo stamps and cachet on FDC100th anniv. birth; balloon FNRS; bathyscaphe Trieste
Monaco1433-1434 scTwo stamps and cachet on souvenir card
Monaco2195 (Mi2535?)2000Stamp-on-stamp: Monaco 1433 (balloon FNRS)
Monaco2195 fdc1Stamp and cachet on FDC
Monaco2195 fdc2Stamp on FDC
MongoliaC169 (Mi?)19821931 [balloon] FNRS, Switzerland; (50th anniv. Piccard's 1931 stratospheric ascent, in 1981)
Rwanda1188 (Mi1272)1984Prof. Piccard et Kipfer, 27-5-1931; balloon FNRS; (100th anniv. birth); E. Demuyter, 1937 and balloon Belgica
St. Thomas and Prince Islands560 (Mi624)1979Piccard's stratospheric balloon FNRS, 1931
St. Thomas and Prince Islands704b (Mi834A-836A_ms12)In (right) margin of MS12 (4x (703a+703b+704))1983"Prof. Auguste Piccard"
San Marino1049 (Mi1278)1983Piccard and balloon FNRS; (100th anniv. birth, in 1984)
San Marino1049 maxiMaxicard
San Marino1049 fdc1Stamp on FDC
San Marino1049 fdc2Stamp and cachet on FDCPiccard; balloon FNRS (on stamp); bathyscaphe Trieste (on cachet); (100th anniv. birth, in 1984)
San Marino1049-1050 fdcTwo stamps and cachet on FDCPiccard and bathyscaphe Trieste and inaccurate drawing of balloon FNRS; (100th anniv. birth, in 1984)
San Marino1050 (Mi1279)Piccard and bathyscaphe Trieste; (100th anniv. birth, in 1984)
San Marino1050 maxi1Maxicard
San Marino1050 maxi2Maxicard (different)
San Marino1050 maxi3Maxicard (different)
SwitzerlandNoneMedallion1931"Auguste Piccard" and balloon FNRS
SwitzerlandNone(WERABA-76) cinderella11976"from Piccard's stratospheric flight to planetary research"; balloon FNRS
Switzerland496 cover (Mi? cover)(WERABA-76) cachet on cover
Switzerland602+496+cinderella cover (Mi1049+896+cinderella cover)(WERABA-76) cinderella1 and (WERABA-76) cachet on cover (same, except with additional WERABA-76 magenta rubber-stamp cachet)
Switzerland529+555+496+cinderella cover (Mi945+988+896+cinderella cover)(WERABA-76) cinderella1 on cover (WERABA-76 cachet, different)
Switzerland471-472+602+496+555+529+cinderella cover (Mi823-824+1049+896+988+945+cinderella cover)(WERABA-76) cinderella1 on cover (WERABA-76 magenta rubber-stamp cachet)
Switzerland665 (Mi1140)1978
Switzerland662-665 fdcOne of four stamps on FDC
Switzerland665 cover (Mi1140 cover)Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and cachet on cover1981Balloon FNRS; 50th anniv. Piccard's 1931 stratospheric ascent
Switzerland708 cover1 (Mi? cover1)Cancel and cachet on cover1982Piccard and balloon FNRS; 50th anniv. Piccard's 1932 stratospheric ascent
Switzerland708+cinderella cover2 (Mi?+cinderella cover2)Cinderella (poster stamp) on cover
SwitzerlandKM635 francs (copper-nickel coin)1984"A. Piccard" and balloon FNRS and bathyscaphe Trieste
Switzerland946 (Mi1525)1994Piccard's bathyscaphe Trieste
Switzerland947 (Mi1526)Piccard's balloon FNRS
Switzerland946-947 fdcTwo stamps and cachet on FDCHeight reached by balloon FNRS in 1932; depth reached by bathyscaphe Trieste in 1960
Switzerland946-947 folder(Swiss PTT) FDOI folder outside (front and back), also inside
United StatesNoneCachet (with reproduction of Belgium 251) on cover1933balloon FNRS
United StatesNoneSignature on cover1933-08-05Auguste Piccard signature; but the cover commemorates the Jean Piccard/Arthur Compton Century of Progress balloon and [aborted] stratospheric flight (at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair)
United StatesNoneCachet on cover1933-08-05Auguste Piccard portrait in cachet; but the cover commemorates the Jean Piccard/Arthur Compton Century of Progress balloon and [aborted] stratospheric flight (at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair)
United StatesNoneCachet (same) and (black rubber-stamp) crash cachet on cover1933-08-05Auguste Piccard portrait in cachet; but the cover commemorates the Jean Piccard/Arthur Compton Century of Progress balloon and [aborted] stratospheric flight (at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair)
United StatesNoneCachet (same, plus signature) on cover1933-08-05Auguste Piccard portrait in cachet; but the cover commemorates the Jean Piccard/Arthur Compton Century of Progress balloon and [aborted] stratospheric flight (at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair), the signature is of Jean Piccard
United StatesNone(WERABA-76) cachet on cover1976"from Piccard's stratospheric flight to planetary research"; balloon FNRS
Upper Volta623 (BL59)On stamp and in (lower and right) margins of SS11983Piccard - 1931 - premier homme dans la stratosphère; balloon FNRS; Piccard et Kipfer, 1931 (in text); (100th anniv. birth, in 1984)
Upper VoltaC301 (Mi944)1984Piccard and bathyscaphe Trieste; (100th anniv. birth)
Upper VoltaC301a (BL77)On stamp and in (right and lower-left) margin of SS1Piccard and bathyscaphe Trieste; balloon FNRS; Kipfer and Piccard; (100th anniv. birth)
UruguayC433b (Mi?)One of MS3 (C433 (a-c)) (BL38)1978balloon FNRS (in background behind zeppelin)
UruguayC433 fdcMS3 on FDC
Vietnam2626 (Mi2700)1995"Piccard"; balloon FNRS
Wallis and Futuna IslandsC154 (Mi536)1987Piccard, balloon FNRS and bathyscaphe Trieste
Zaire1164 (Mi871)1984Piccard and balloon FNRS; (100th anniv. birth)
Zaire1163-1166 fdcOne of four stamps and cachet on FDC
Zaire1417 (Mi1092)1164 surcharged1994Piccard and balloon FNRS; (110th anniv. birth)

1 This WERABA-76 (exhibition) cinderella (vignette) contains reproductions of Switzerland 496, USA 1556, and Russia 4044


Piccard, J

Piccard, Jean
(1884–1963)

Jean Piccard was a Swiss engineer and aeronaut who became a US citizen in 1931. He and his twin brother Auguste were pioneers in the balloon exploration of the stratosphere. Scientific balloon ascents in the 19th and early 20th Centuries had been done in an open nacelle, but in the 1920s the Piccards developed pressurized nacelles and new high-altitude balloons. In Germany in May 1931, Auguste Piccard and Paul Kipfer in the balloon FNRS became the first men to rise into the stratosphere. Meanwhile, in the US Jean Piccard was the leader of the team that was working with the Century of Progress stratospheric balloon. It included the Nobel laureates Arthur Compton and Robert Millikan. Lt Commander T.G.W. Settle of the US Navy was the pilot. After an aborted demonstration flight at the Chicago World's Fair in August 1933, the team conducted a successful scientific flight in November of that year. During that flight, which reached an altitude of 18.6 km, various scientific measurements were conducted in the stratosphere. In addition to thermometers and barometers, the balloon carried instruments to measure cosmic rays, a polariscope to measure the polarization of light at high altitudes, equipment to take air samples and an infrared camera and spectrograph to study ozone. More details on the scientific equipment and measurements carried out during that flight are found in this document. Nearly a year later, on 23 October 1934, Jean Piccard and his wife Jeannette made what turned out to be the last flight of the Century of Progress. They reached an altitude of 17.5 km, and Jeannette Piccard became the first woman to enter the stratosphere.

In the latter half of the 1930s and in the 1940s Jean Piccard worked to improve the materials used in high altitude balloons. Polyethylene eventually became the balloon fabric of choice. It was light, not too expensive, and allowed balloons to ascend to around 30 km, where scientific measurements could be made with almost no atmospheric interference. Instruments aboard high altitude balloons have since studied ozone, carbon dioxide, carbon-14, nitrous oxide, nitrogen, dust particles, solar energy, cosmic rays and radiation in the high atmosphere. Eventually James Van Allen would launch scientific rockets from high altitude balloons to get atmospheric measurements from even higher levels. All this work was possible in part as a result of the scientific legacy of the Piccard brothers.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
United StatesNoneCachet (signature) on cover1933-08-04Jean Piccard's signature on (airmail) cover, for the [aborted] stratospheric flight of the Century of Progress balloon (at the Chicago World's Fair)
United StatesNone(Black typed) cachet on (airmail) cover, also back1933-08-05The Jean Piccard - Arthur Compton aborted stratospheric balloon flight in the Century of Progress balloon at the Chicago World's Fair on 5 August 1933
United StatesNoneCachet on cover (hand cancel)1933-08-05Century of Progress balloon and "[Jean] Piccard-Compton [aborted] stratospheric ascension" (at the Chicago World's Fair)
United StatesNoneCachet (same) on cover (machine cancel)1933-08-05Century of Progress balloon and "[Jean] Piccard-Compton [aborted] stratospheric ascension" (at the Chicago World's Fair)
United StatesNoneCachet (different) on cover1933-08-05Jean Piccard/Arthur Compton Century of Progress balloon and [aborted] stratospheric flight (at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair); (but the cachet contains a portrait of Auguste Piccard)
United StatesNoneCachet (same) and (black rubber-stamp) crash cachet on cover1933-08-05Jean Piccard/Arthur Compton Century of Progress balloon and [aborted] stratospheric flight (at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair), with crash cachet; (but the cachet contains a portrait of Auguste Piccard)
United StatesNoneCachet (same, plus signature) on cover1933-08-05Jean Piccard/Arthur Compton Century of Progress balloon and [aborted] stratospheric flight (at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair); (Jean Piccard signature, but the cachet contains a portrait of Auguste Piccard)
United StatesNone(Purple rubber-stamp) cachet on cover1933-08-05Century of Progress balloon and "[Jean] Piccard-Compton [aborted] balloon flight to the stratosphere" (at the Chicago World's Fair)
United StatesNone(Purple rubber-stamp) cachet on cover (different)1933-08-05Century of Progress balloon and "[Jean] Piccard-Compton [aborted] balloon flight to the stratosphere" (at the Chicago World's Fair)
United StatesNone(Black rubber-stamp) cachet and (purple rubber-stamp) crash cachet on cover (different), also insert1933-08-05Century of Progress balloon and "[Jean] Piccard-Compton [aborted] balloon flight to the stratosphere" (at the Chicago World's Fair)
United StatesNone(Red printed and purple rubber-stamp) cachet on cover1933-08-05"Piccard's balloon ascent" (refers to the Jean Piccard - Arthur Compton aborted stratospheric balloon flight in the Century of Progress balloon at the Chicago World's Fair on 5 August 1933)
United StatesNone(Red printed) cachet (different) on cover1933-08-05Century of Progress balloon and "stratosphere flight" (refers to the Jean Piccard - Arthur Compton aborted stratospheric balloon flight in the Century of Progress balloon at the Chicago World's Fair; it took place on 5 August 1933 rather than on 4 August as shown in the cachet)
United StatesNone(Red printed) cachet on cover (machine and hand cancels)1933-08-05Century of Progress balloon and "stratosphere flight" (refers to the Jean Piccard - Arthur Compton aborted stratospheric balloon flight in the Century of Progress balloon at the Chicago World's Fair; it took place on 5 August 1933 rather than on 4 August as shown in the cachet)
United StatesNone(Red printed) cachet and (black rubber-stamp) cachet (and signature) on cover1933-08-05Auguste Piccard signature; but the cover commemorates the Jean Piccard/Arthur Compton Century of Progress balloon and [aborted] stratospheric flight (at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair)
United StatesNoneCachet on cover1933-08-25Jean Piccard/Arthur Compton Century of Progress balloon; no flight took place on the cancel date 25 August 1933.
United StatesNoneCachet on cover1933-11-20Jean Piccard/Arthur Compton Century of Progress balloon and its scientific research flight into the stratosphere on 20 November 1933 (flown by T. W. Settle and C. L. Fordney)
United StatesNone(Black typed) cachet on cover1934-10-23Stratospheric flight of "Prof. and Mrs. Jean Piccard" (in the Century of Progress balloon)
United StatesNoneCachet on cover1934-10-23Stratospheric flight of Jean Piccard and Mrs. Piccard (in the Century of Progress balloon)
United StatesNoneCachet on cover1947"Don Piccard" (son of Jean Piccard) and his flight in a captured Japanese FU-GO balloon in Minneapolis (here is a photo of the flight)


Zubov

Zubov, Nikolai Nikolaevich
(1885–1960)

Nikolai Zubov was a Soviet oceanographer who founded the department of oceanography at the Moscow Hydrometeorological Institute in 1932, and was its director from 1932 to 1941. He did original work on ice forecasting in the Arctic Ocean, and studied how the atmospheric pressure pattern influences sea ice movement.

Zubov was in charge of the scientific programme of the ship Sadko expedition, which sailed from Arkhangelsk on 8 July 1935 to explore the western part of the Soviet Antarctic Ocean and the Greenland Sea. Its proposed areas of scientific investigation included meteorology, sea ice, marine biology, physical oceanography and the investigation of seabed sediments. The bulk of the work carried out was oceanographic, but ice observations and meteorological observations were also made, and up to three synoptic weather analyses were made daily.

In total in 85 days the Sadko steamed 12,000 km. A total of 21 meteorological radiosondes were released, and 280 meteorological observations were made (of which 263 were transmitted back to the mainland). The meteorological and ice data collected would be important in forecasting conditions along the Northern Sea Route for shipping in the years following the Sadko expedition.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Zubov (on non-launch-cover postal items)
Russia (USSR)None(Four rubber-stamp) cachets on stamped envelope1985Hydrometeorological research ship Professor Zubov
Russia (USSR)None(Four rubber-stamp) cachets on stamped envelope (different)1985Hydrometeorological research ship Professor Zubov
Russia (USSR)None(Four rubber-stamp) cachets on stamped envelope (different)1985Hydrometeorological research ship Professor Zubov
Russia (USSR)None(Multi-color printed) cachet on stamped envelope1985100th anniv. birth
Russia (USSR)None(Four rubber-stamp) cachets on stamped envelope (different)1986Hydrometeorological research ship Professor Zubov
RussiaNone cOne of cinderella MS3 (a-c)2008Zubov, and 65th anniv. Zubov Oceanographic Institute
Russia7231 (Mi1666)From MS6 (7231a (6x 7231))2010125th anniv. birth
Russia7231 fdc1Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and cachet on FDC
Russia7231 fdc2Stamp and (pictorial) cancel on FDC
RussiaNone(Four) cachets on cover2010Zubov; (125th anniv. birth); (50th anniv. death)

CountryCancel DateCancel LocationType of ItemNotes on Content
Zubov (on rocket launch covers)
French Guiana1971-12-14Kourou(Purple and red-brown rubber-stamp) cachet on (sub-orbital) rocket launch coverResearch ship Professor Zubov (in Russian text)
French Guiana1971-12-14Kourou(Lollini) cachet on (sub-orbital) rocket launch coverResearch ship Professor Zubov (in French text)
French Guiana1971-12-15Kourou(Lollini) cachet on (sub-orbital) rocket launch coverResearch ship Professor Zubov (in French text)
French Guiana1971-12-15Kourou(Lollini) cachet (slightly different) on cover


Priestley, R

Priestley, Raymond
(1886–1974)

Raymond Priestley was a British geologist and Antarctic explorer. After WWI, he held various academic and administrative posts in Australia and England. While he was vice-Chancellor of the University of Melbourne in the 1930s, he became involved with the university's Meteorology Section, and in 1937 arranged that Carnegie Foundation funds be used to bring meteorologist Fritz Loewe to Melbourne to take up the appointment of Reader in charge of the Section. (Loewe had accompanied Alfred Wegener on his last Greenland expeditions. While in Greenland, Loewe and Ernst Sorge made the first seismic measurments that demonstrated that the ice cap was surprisingly thick, even close to its margin). Loewe established the Department of Meteorology at the University of Melbourne in 1939.

Priestley served as head of the Royal Geographic Society from 1961 to 1963.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
British Antarctic Territory81 (Mi?)1980
British Antarctic Territory76-81 fdcOne of six stamps on FDC


Stevens, Capt. Albert W.
(1886–1949)

Stevens Anderson

Anderson, Capt. Orville A.
(1895–1965)

Captains Albert Stevens and Orville Anderson of the US Army Air Corps were military aeronauts who made stratospheric balloon flights soon after the pioneering stratospheric work of Auguste Piccard and Jean Piccard. Scientific observations were an important part of the ascents made by Stevens and Anderson. With Major William Kepner, they reached 18.3 km altitude on 28 July 1934 in a flight of the Explorer-I hydrogen balloon, but at that point it ripped apart, forcing the crew to parachute to safety. The flight had been designed to make measurements of cosmic rays and ozone, take air samples and determine if bacteria or spores existed in the stratosphere. On 11 November 1935, in a mission sponsored by the National Geographic Society, they flew the Explorer-II helium balloon to an altitude of 22 km above South Dakota. This was a record that would stand for 21 years. During the flight, measurements were made of the temperature and pressure, the chemical composition of the air, the vertical distribution of the concentration of ozone, and the intensity of cosmic rays. Data on the propagation of radio waves in the high atmosphere were also collected. Stevens and Anderson also brought back the first color photographs ever taken from the stratosphere. They showed the land below, the curvature of the Earth and the visual division between the troposphere and the stratosphere. Careful measurements of the balloon's altitude were made using photographs of terrain and angular measurements from the ground. The vertical distributions of air pressure and temperature were also carefully recorded. After the flight, those data were used to calculate the balloon's altitude through the use of the meteorological hydrostatic equation (a relationship involving pressure, temperature and height above the ground). The heights thus calculated were then compared with the other, independent measurements of altitude to verify the accuracy of the hydrostatic equation. Stevens and Anderson were awarded the National Geographic Society's Hubbard Gold Medal for their work on this mission.

Stevens is also known as the first person to take a photograph demonstrating the curvature of the Earth. He did that on 30 December 1930, from an airplane over South America. See this video for a brief discussion of the event.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Guinea-Bissau447 (Mi655)1983Explorer-II (balloon)
Marshall Islands947c (Mi?)One of strip of 5 (947 (a-e)); or two of MS10 (947f (2x (947 (a-e)))2009Explorer-II (incorrectly described as a hot air balloon); stamp design is also found in the cachet of a USA 2033 fdc
United StatesNone(Black rubber-stamp) cachet on (airmail) cover (Rapid City SD cancel)1934-07-28Explorer-I stratospheric flight
United StatesNone(Black rubber-stamp) cachet (and signatures) on (airmail) cover (Holredge NE cancel)1934-07-28Explorer-I stratospheric flight
United StatesNone(Blue and orange printed) cachet on cover, also (black rubber-stamp) cachet on back1934-07-28Explorer-I stratospheric flight
United StatesNone(Black rubber-stamp) cachet on cover1934-07-28"Stratospheric mail" carried in the 28 July 1934 ascent; was recovered after the crash
United StatesNone(Two blue printed) cachets on cover, also back1934-07-28Explorer-I balloon flight on 28 July 1934; the pilot, Kepner, is at left in the left-hand cachet; the co-pilot Anderson is also shown in that cachet, while the third crewmember, Stevens, is not shown. The balloon depicted in the other cachet is not the Explorer-I, however. Rather, it depicts the Century of Progress balloon (see the Jean Piccard page for information on the stratospheric missions of that balloon)
United StatesNone(Brown and red rubber-stamp) cachet on cover1934-07-28Explorer-I stratospheric flight
United StatesNoneCachet on cover1935-07-11Explorer-II balloon. The flight of this balloon by Stevens and Anderson planned for 12 July 1935 was canceled, and finally took place on 11 November 1935.
United StatesNoneSigned stratospheric mail insert, also front1935-07-12Stratospheric mail dated 12 July 1935 signed by Stevens and Anderson; flight planned for that date was canceled; the mail was carried in the 11 November 1935 ascent (see following item)
United StatesNoneCachet on cover1935-11-11Explorer-II (balloon, record-breaking stratospheric ascent was piloted by Stevens and Anderson)
United StatesNoneMedallion1935Explorer-II (balloon)
United StatesNoneCinderella (poster stamp) from cinderella MS41936Explorer-II (balloon)
United States2032 fdc (Mi1617 fdc)(DRC) cachet on FDC1983Explorer-II (balloon) (at left and right in cachet)
United States2033 (Mi1618)From block of 4 (2035a (2032-2035)) (Mi1617-1620)Explorer-II (balloon)
United States2033 fdc1Stamp and (PCS golden-replica) cachet on FDCExplorer-II (balloon)
United States2033 fdc2Stamp and (Fleetwood) cachet on FDC, also backExplorer-II (balloon); cachet design is also found in Marshall Islands 947c; "Albert W. Stevens and Orville A. Anderson" (in text on the back)
United States2035a fdc1MS4 on FDC (ArtCraft cachet)Explorer-II (balloon)
United States2035a fdc2MS4 on FDC (? cachet)
Upper Volta623 (BL?)In (right) margin of SS11983?"Stevens et Anderson, 1935"; Explorer-II (and other balloons)
UnknownNoneMedallion?Explorer-II (balloon)


Vize

Vize, V. U.
(1886–1954)

V. U. Vize was a Russian meteorologist, oceanographer and polar explorer, and a member of the Soviet Academy of Sciences. He participated in many Soviet Arctic expeditions, including the voyage of the icebreaker Sibiryakov in 1932. Under the leadership of Otto Schmidt, that expedition, undertaken as part of the Soviet work for the 2nd IPY (International Polar Year), marked the first time that a ship was able to travel the entire Northeast Passage from west to east in a single season. Vize was also aboard the icebreaker Litke in 1934, which in that year became the first ship to transit the Northeast Passage from east to west in a single season. These voyages were important building blocks in the establishment of the Soviet Northern Sea Route. In particular, from 1933 to 1935 the General Directorate of the Northern Sea Route, under Schmidt, not only improved navigation services and built new Arctic ports, but also increased the number of polar hydrometeorological stations and radio transmitting stations from 16 to 51.

Throughout his career, Vize published works on oceanography, meteorology and the history of Arctic exploration.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Vize (on non-launch-cover postal items)
RussiaNone(Red rubber-stamp) cachet on cover1978Hydrometeorological research ship Professor Vize (note the USA cancel on this item processed as "paquebot" mail at Wallops Island VA)
Russia (USSR)None(Red rubber-stamp) cachet on cover1989Hydrometeorological research ship Professor Vize
Russia6572 (Mi789)One of MS5 (6575a (6571-6575 + label)) (BL30)2000

CountryCancel DateCancel LocationType of ItemNotes on Content
Vize (on rocket launch covers)
United States1978-06-11Wallops Island VA(Space Voyage) cachet on (sub-orbital) rocket launch cover"Research ship Professor Vize"
United States1978-06-20Wallops Island VA(Space Voyage) cachet on (sub-orbital) rocket launch cover"Research ship Professor Vize"
United States1978-06-25Wallops Island VA(Space Voyage) cachet on (sub-orbital) rocket launch cover"Research ship Professor Vize"
United States1978-09-27Wallops Island VA(Space Voyage) cachet on (sub-orbital) rocket launch cover"Research ship Professor Vize"


Fridman

Fridman, Alexander Alexandrovich
(1888–1925)

Alexander Fridman was a Russian meteorologist. In February 1913 he was appointed to a position in the Aerological Observatory in Pavlovsk (a suburb of St. Petersburg), where he studied meteorology and made aerological observations. In 1914 he studied dynamic meteorology under the Norwegian Vilhelm Bjerknes, the leading theoretical meteorologist of the time. After 1914, Fridman took part in several flights in airships to make weather observations. Thereafter he continued to work in various scientific disciplines, including meteorology, aeronautics and mechanics. In July 1925 he made a record-breaking ascent in a balloon to 7400 metres altitude to make meteorological and medical observations.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Russia (USSR)NoneCachet on stamped envelope1988(100th anniv. birth)


Byrd

Byrd, Richard E.
(1888–1957)

Richard Byrd was an American military aviator and polar explorer. After a flight to the North Pole in 1926 and another across the Atlantic in 1927, he turned his sights to the Antarctic, which he would visit five times during the course of his career. His first Antarctic expedition took place from late 1928 through early 1930. His goals for were:

  1. to add to the scientific knowledge of Antarctica, particularly in the areas of meteorology, geography, geology and geomagnetism;
  2. to explore the interior plateau; and
  3. to fly over the South Pole.

Byrd succeeded in all of these objectives (the South Pole flight took place on 29 November 1929).

Byrd returned to Antarctica in early 1934, again with scientific research as his primary goal. Drawing partly on the scientific experience of researchers who had participated in the Antarctic work of the 2nd IPY (International Polar Year) of 1932-33, Byrd and his team, based at Little America, began a program of survey and mapping flights and geological, biological and meteorological research, including regular weather observations. Byrd himself wanted to make meteorological observations away from the coast, and spent the winter at a camp some 120 miles south of Little America on the Ross Ice Shelf. Known as the Bolling Advance Weather Station, it was a fully-equipped weather observing site, and Byrd's observations were the first ever made in winter at an Antarctic inland station. Byrd was alone at the station starting March 28, and later nearly perished from carbon monoxide poisoning. A rescue team of three arrived at Bolling on 11 August. The four men together then completed the winter observing program and finally abandoned the station on 14 October 1934.

Byrd later wrote a book titled Alone in which he described his sojourn at Bolling. He wrote that his decision to occupy the station alone was in part personal: "beyond the solid worth of weather and auroral observations in the hitherto unoccupied interior of Antarctica and my interest in these studies, I really wanted to go for the experience's sake".

In Alone, Byrd described the observing instruments at his disposal at Bolling, and the observing schedule:

"I was not long in discovering one thing: that, if anything was eventually to regularize the rhythm by which I should live at Advance Base, it would not be the weather so much as the weather instruments themselves. I had eight in continuous operation. One was the register, already described, which kept a continuous record of wind velocities and directions. The electrical circuit, connecting with the weather vane and wind cups on the anemometer pole topside, was powered by nine dry cell batteries; and the brass drum with the recording sheet was turned by a clock-work mechanism which I had to wind daily. The sheet was lined at intervals corresponding to five minutes in time; and between these lines two pens, one representing the speed of the wind and the other its direction, wrote steadily from noon of one day to noon of the next.

Two other instruments were thermographs, which recorded temperature changes. The so-called inside thermograph was a fairly new invention, whose unique virtue was that it could be housed inside the shack. A metal tube filled with alcohol projected through the roof, and the expansions and contractions of the liquid in the tube drove a pen up and down over a rotating sheet set in a clock-faced dial hanging from the wall, just over the emergency radio set. The sheet, marked with twenty-four spokes for the hours and with concentric circles for the degrees of temperature, made one rotation in twenty-four hours; it would record accurately down to 85 degrees below zero. The outside thermograph was a compact little mechanism which served the same function, except that it stood in the instrument shelter topside and the sheets needed changing only once a week.

Besides these instruments, I had a barograph to record atmospheric pressure, which was kept in a leather case in the food tunnel. Plus a hygrometer employing a human hair, for measuring humidity (not very reliable, though, at cold temperatures). Plus a minimum thermometer, which measured the lowest temperature. In it was a tiny pin which was dropped by the contraction of alcohol in the column. Alcohol was used instead of mercury because mercury freezes at -38 degrees whereas, pure grain alcohol will still flow at -179 degrees. This instrument was useful as a check on the thermographs. It was kept in the instrument shelter, a boxlike structure set on four legs, which stood shoulder high, close to the hatch. The sides were overlapping slats spaced an inch apart to allow air to circulate freely and yet keep out drift. If I had had any illusions as to being master in my own house, they were soon dispelled. The instruments were masters, not I; and the fact that I knew none too much about them only intensified my humility. There was scarcely an hour in the living day of which a part was not devoted to them or observations connected with them.

Every morning at 8 o'clock sharp, and again at 8 o'clock in the evening, I had to climb topside and note the minimum temperature reading, after which I would shake the thermometer hard to put the pin back into the fluid. Then, standing five minutes or so at the hatch, I would consult the sky, the horizon, and the Barrier, noting on a piece of scratch paper the percentage of cloudiness, the mistiness or clarity, the amount of drift, the direction and speed of the wind (a visual check on the register), and anything particularly interesting about the weather. All of these data were dutifully entered on Form No.1083, US Weather Bureau.

Every day, between 12 o'clock and 1 o'clock, I changed the recording sheets on the register and the inside thermograph. The pens and the pads supplying them always needed inking, and the thermograph clock had to be wound. Mondays I performed the same service for the outside thermograph and the barograph."

In another part of his book, Byrd describes some of the difficulties he encountered with instrument maintenance in the harsh Antarctic conditions:

"The wind vane has been giving quite a bit of trouble lately. I've had to climb the pole once or twice every day to scrape the contact points. The temperature is holding pretty steadily between 50 degrees and 60 degrees below zero; and I must admit that the job is chillier than I bargained for." ... "Just when I was congratulating myself on having mastered the job of weather observer, the outside thermograph began to act up. A devilish contrivance, it occupied the instrument shelter topside, where hoarfrost settled on the trace, the pen, the drum, and even the workings. On the one occasion I brought the instrument into the shack to change the sheet and make an adjustment, the difference in temperature coated the metal with rime and stopped it dead. Thereafter I had no choice but to make the adjustments in the chill of the tunnel, with no protection for my hands except thin silk gloves; even those seemed infernally clumsy when I had to deal with the speed regulator, which must have been invented for the specific purpose of plaguing weather men."

As may be imagined, the winter temperatures at Bolling Advance Weather Station were generally bone-chilling. Byrd recorded that in May, there were 20 days colder than -40°F, 12 days colder than -50°F, three colder than -60°F and two colder than -70°F. However, warm temperatures did occur for brief periods: May 24 in particular was "unbelievably warm", with a maximum temperature of 18°F above zero. This was the result of maritime air making its way inland. July, closer to the middle of the austral winter, was brutal: there were 20 days colder than -60°F and six colder than minus 70°F! However, there was again a short mild period: on 27 July, the temperature reached nearly 0°F. The weather was very changeable: Byrd experienced weather that ran the gamut from calm and clear conditions to howling blizzards with zero visibility.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Argentina757-758 cover (Mi834-835 cover)(Red and blue printed) cachet on cover1964"Byrd Station"
Australian Antarctic TerritoryL2+2xL3 cover (Mi? cover)(Red and blue printed) cachet on cover1964"Byrd Station"
Australian Antarctic TerritoryL6 cover (Mi? cover)(Red and blue printed) cachet on cover
Australian Antarctic TerritoryL1 cover (Mi? cover)(Red and blue printed) cachet on cover1965"Byrd Station"
Australian Antarctic TerritoryL1+L5 cover (Mi? cover)(Red and blue printed) cachet on cover
Australian Antarctic TerritoryL6 cover (Mi? cover)(Red and blue printed) cachet on cover
Australian Antarctic TerritoryL1 cover (Mi? cover)(Red and blue printed) cachet on cover1966"Byrd Station"
Australian Antarctic TerritoryL2 cover (Mi? cover)(Red and blue printed) cachet on cover
Australian Antarctic TerritoryL2+L4 cover (Mi? cover)(Red and blue printed) cachet on cover
Australian Antarctic TerritoryL3 cover (Mi? cover)(Red and blue printed) cachet on cover
Australian Antarctic TerritoryL33 (Mi?)1973"Byrd's Ford Tri-Motor, 1929" (dropping US flag over South Pole)
Australian Antarctic TerritoryL24+L26+L30-L33 fdc1One of six stamps and cachet on FDC (Macquarie Island cancel)
Australian Antarctic TerritoryL24+L26+L30-L33 fdc2One of six stamps and cachet (same) on FDC (Mawson cancel)
Australian Antarctic TerritoryL35 (Mi?)197950th anniv. Byrd's South Pole flight; (90th anniv. birth, in 1978)
Australian Antarctic TerritoryL35 fdcStamp and cachet on FDC
Australian Antarctic TerritoryL36 (Mi?)
Australian Antarctic TerritoryL36 fdcStamp and cachet on FDC
Antarctica PostLocal2007(50th anniv. death)
Antarctica PostLocal stripImperforate trial strip
Belgium615 cover (Mi1359 cover)(Red and blue printed) cachet on cover1964"Byrd Station"
British Antarctic Territory1+5 cover (Mi1+5 cover)(Red and blue printed) cachet on cover1966"Byrd Station"
British Antarctic Territory6 cover (Mi6 cover)(Red and blue printed) cachet on cover
BurundiUnknown d (Mi?)One of MS4 (a-d)2023"Richard E. Byrd"
Cook IslandsKM111$50 (silver coin)1988(100th anniv. birth)
FranceNoneLotto ticket1965
Gambia2747d (Mi?)On one stamp and in (upper-center) margin of MS4 (2747 (a-d))2003Byrd's flight over North Pole in 1926
Guinea-BissauUnknown ss (BL?)In (left) margin of SS12023"Richard E. Byrd"
Ivory CoastUnknown ms (Mi none)MS2 (2x single) [known illegal issue]2012
ManamaMi511 ssSS1 (Mi511)1971
Monaco1041 (Mi?)1976(20th anniv. death, in 1977); Byrd (at left)
Monaco1041 fdcStamp and (Éditions CEF) cachet on FDC(20th anniv. death, in 1977); Byrd (at left on stamp and cachet)
Monaco1041 fdc2Stamp and (Éditions P.J.) cachet on FDC(20th anniv. death, in 1977); Byrd (at left on stamp, at right in cachet)
Monaco1041 fdc3Stamp and (Éditions J.F.) cachet on FDC(20th anniv. death, in 1977); Byrd (at left on stamp and cachet)
New ZealandNone(Red and blue printed) cachet on cover1964"Byrd Station"
RomaniaC225 cover (Mi? cover)(Pictorial) cancel and (black printed on yellow) cachet on cover197950th anniv. Byrd's South Pole flight; (90th anniv. birth)
RomaniaNone(Pictorial) cancel and (Blue printed) cachet on cover197950th anniv. Byrd's South Pole flight; (90th anniv. birth)
Romania3351 (Mi?)1985
Romania3351 fdcStamp and cancel and cachet on FDC
Romania3351 cardStamp and cancel and cachet on card1992
RomaniaNonePrinted stamp and cancel and cachet on postal card2003
RomaniaNonePrinted stamp and cancel and cachet on postal card2006Byrd, and 50th anniv. Little America
RomaniaNone(Pictorial) cancel and (Cercul Filatelic Turda - Polar Section) cachet on postal card200750th anniv. death
RomaniaNone(Pictorial) cancel and (upper) cachet on postal card200880th anniv. Byrd's 1st Antarctic Expedition (1928-9); (50th anniv. death)
RomaniaNone(Pictorial) cancel and cachet (different) on postal card200880th anniv. Byrd's 1st Antarctic Expedition (1928-9); (50th anniv. death, in 2007)
Ross Dependency (NZ)None(Red and blue printed) cachet on cover1964"Byrd Station"
Ross Dependency (NZ)L36 (Mi?)1995Byrd and airplane Floyd Bennett
RomaniaNone(Pictorial) cancel and (multi-color printed) cachet on postal card (different)200980th anniv. Byrd's 1st Antarctic Expedition (1928-9)
SomaliaUnknown ms (Mi?)
Unknown ims
In (upper-right and right) rmargin of MS6 (a-f)
In (upper-right and right) margins of imperforate MS6 (a-f)
2004Byrd memorial statue in McMurdo
SomaliaUnknown ms fdc
Unknown ims fdc
MS6 on FDC
Imperforate MS6 on FDC
South GeorgiaNone(Red and blue printed) cachet on cover1964"Byrd Station"
United StatesNone(Blue and red printed and purple rubber-stamp) cachet on cover1930"South Pole discovered from air, Nov. 29, 1929"
United StatesNone(Purple rubber-stamp) cachet on (airmail) cover1931Byrd's visit to Fort Wayne, Indiana, on 2 May 1931
United States733 (Mi359)19332nd Byrd Antarctic Expedition (1933 - 1935)
United States733 fdc1Stamp and (?) cachet on FDC
United States733 fdc2Stamp and (Beverly Hills (Chicago) Philatelic Society) cachet on FDC (larger-font cancel)
United States733 fdc3Stamp and (Beverly Hills (Chicago) Philatelic Society) cachet on FDC (smaller-font cancel), also back
United States733 fdc4Stamp and (?) cachet on FDC
United States733 fdc5Stamp and (?) cachet on FDC
United States735Imperforate pane of 6 (6x 735a), no gum, issued as a single pane only19342nd Byrd Antarctic Expedition (1933 - 1935)
United States735a fdc1Stamp and (black printed) cachet on FDC
United States735a fdc2Stamp and (National Stamp Exhibition) cachet on FDC
United States735a fdc3Stamp and (National Stamp Exhibition) cachet (different) on FDC
United States735a fdc4Stamp and (National Stamp Exhibition) cachet on FDC (National Stamp Exhibition Station cancel)
United States753 (Mi?)Same as 733, except guide line on vertical and horizontal gutters between stamps19342nd Byrd Antarctic Expedition (1933 - 1935)
United States768 (2 panes attached horizontally)
768 (2 panes attached vertically) (BL?)
Imperforate pane of 6 (6x 735a); no gum; issued in sheets of 25 panes19342nd Byrd Antarctic Expedition (1933 - 1935)
United States768aCross-gutter block of 4 (735a)
United States733 cover (Mi359 cover)Stamp and (Anderson) cachet on cover19345th anniv. Byrd's South Pole flight (29 Nov 1929)
United States733 cover1 (Mi359 cover1)Stamp and (BAE II) cachet on cover1935"Byrd Antarctic Expedition II"
United States733 cover2 (Mi359 cover2)Stamp and (BAE II) cachet (different) on cover1935"Byrd Antarctic Expedition II"
United States733 cover3 (Mi359 cover3)Stamp and (BAE II) cachet (different) on cover1935"Byrd Antarctic Expedition II"
United StatesNone(Black and red printed) cachet on cover19413rd Byrd Antarctic Expedition
United States1128 fdc1 (Mi751 fdc1)(C. Stephen Anderson black) cachet on FDC1959"Richard Byrd"
United States1128 fdc2 (Mi751 fdc2)(C. Stephen Anderson red) cachet on FDC
United States1128 fdc3 (Mi751 fdc3)(Cachet Craft/Ken Boll) cachet on FDC"Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd"
United States1041 cover (Mi? cover)(?) cachet on cover, also back1960"Marie Byrd Land" and portrait of Richard Byrd
United StatesNoneCancel on cover1961Byrd Station, Antarctica
United StatesNone(Black rubber-stamp) cachet on cover1967"Byrd Sta[tion]"
United StatesNoneCachet on cover, also back1968(80th anniv. birth; 10th anniv. death, in 1967)
United StatesNoneCachet on cover1971Commemorating Byrd's flights to the Poles
United StatesNoneCachet (different) on cover1971Byrd Station, Antarctica
United StatesNone(MoF no.21) cachet on cover197445th anniv. Byrd's South Pole flight
United StatesNoneCachet on cover197750th anniv. Byrd's trans-Atlantic flight
United StatesNoneCachet (different) on cover197750th anniv. Byrd's trans-Atlantic flight
United StatesNone(Two) cachets on cover back197950th anniv. [1st] Byrd Antarctic Expedition; (90th anniv. birth, in 1978)
United StatesNoneCachet on cover1981Byrd Surface Camp
United States2388 (Mi2006)One of block of 4 (2389a (2386-2389)) (Mi2004-2007)1988(100th anniv. birth)
United States2388 fdcStamp on FDC (? cachet)
United States2386+2388 fdcOne of two stamps and (Collins) cachet on FDC
United States2388 maxiMaxicard
United States2388-2389 fdcOne of two stamps and (ArtCraft) cachet on FDC
United States2389a fdc1Block of 4 stamps and (Artmaster) cachet on FDC (2-line cancel), also back
United States2389a fdc2Block of 4 stamps and (Artmaster) cachet on FDC (3-line cancel), also back
United States2389a fdc3Block of 4 stamps and (Ham hand-painted) cachet on FDC
United States2389a fdc4Block of 4 stamps and (Fleetwood) cachet on FDC, also back
United StatesSP835(USPS) souvenir page (2389a)
United StatesCP319(USPS no.317) commemorative panel (2389a)
United StatesC130 maxi (Mi2148 maxi)(Unicover) maxicard back, also front1991"Byrd"
United StatesC130 fdc (Mi2148 fdc)(Fleetwood) back of FDC, also front"Byrd"
United StatesCP366(USPS no.366) commemorative panel (C130)"Richard E. Byrd"; "Byrd Station"
United StatesNoneCachet on cover1995"Byrd Station" (Antarctica)
United States2474+C60 cover (Mi? cover)Cancel on cover1997"Richard Evelyn Byrd"; (40th anniv. death)
United StatesNoneCancel on cover200475th anniv. Byrd's South Pole flight (29 Nov 1929)
United StatesNone(Coverscape) cachet on cover2013125th anniv. birth "Admiral Richard E. Byrd"


Wilkins

Wilkins, Sir Hubert
(1888–1958)

Hubert Wilkins was an Australian polar explorer and adventurer. As a child, he experienced the effects of a severe drought and so became interested in weather and climate. As a young man, he learned to fly, and studied the climate, meteorology and sea ice of the polar regions. He learned how to survive in those regions, and put forth the idea of improving weather forecasting by establishing permanent stations at both Poles. In 1923 he became a fellow of the Royal Geographic Society and the Royal Meteorological Society. Also in the 1920s, he turned his attention more and more to the idea of polar exploration by air, and in April 1928 became the first person (with Carl Eielson as pilot) to fly across the Arctic from the New World to the Old. They flew in a Lockheed Vega monoplane from Point Barrow, Alaska to Spitzbergen. Wilkins closed out the 1920s with two trips to the Antarctic, where he did more aerial exploration.

In 1931 Wilkins tried to navigate a submarine (leased for $1 per year from the US) under the ice pack to the North Pole. He said that "... the expedition is for the purpose of gathering data in connection with a plan for comprehensive meteorology study, including the polar areas and with the hope that once polar meteorological study, including the polar areas and with the hope that once polar meteorological stations are established it will be possible to forecast for several years in advance, the seasonal conditions, and to collect scientific data of academic and economic interest from an area hitherto unapproached by a scientific staff equipped with a complete scientific laboratory and facility for comfortably carrying out their investigation and provided with adequate means of sustenance and means of safe retreat. Millions of dollars are spent each year by various institutions in oceanographic and geophysical research. A submarine will provide means for similar investigations in an economic and safe manner, in areas as yet untouched by scientists". The attempt failed because of multiple mechanical problems. Thereafter in the 1930s, Wilkins collaborated with Lincoln Ellsworth in his (Ellsworth's) aerial exploration of the Antarctic.

In WWII, Wilkins worked for the Quartermaster Corps of the US Army, where he studied clothing, rations and survival techniques for conditions of extreme cold. In the late 1940s, he served as an adviser to the US Weather Bureau.

Throughout his career, Wilkins received many honours including a knighthood, and was recognized by geographical and scientific societies for his work in geography, climatology and meteorology.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
AustraliaNonePrinted stamp and cancel and cachet on aerogramme1994"First to fly across the North Pole" (in 1928)
Australian Antarctic TerritoryL30 (Mi?)1973"Wilkins' Lockheed Vega, 1928"
Australian Antarctic TerritoryL24+L26+L30-L33 fdc1One of six stamps and cachet on FDC (Macquarie Island cancel)
Australian Antarctic TerritoryL24+L26+L30-L33 fdc2One of six stamps and cachet (same) on FDC (Mawson cancel)
British Antarctic Territory57a (Mi?)Watermarked 3141973"Hubert Wilkins"; (85th anniv. birth); (15th anniv. death)
British Antarctic Territory57 (Mi57)Watermarked 3731979"Hubert Wilkins"
British Antarctic Territory57b (Mi?)Perforated 121980"Hubert Wilkins"
French Southern and Antarctic Territories154 cover (Mi? cover)(Blue rubber-stamp) cachet on cover2001"Ice ship Sir Hubert Wilkins"
RomaniaNoneCancel and cachet on postal card200850th anniv. death; (120th anniv. birth); 80th anniv. Wilkins' 1928 Antarctic flight
RomaniaNoneCancel and cachet on postal card (different)200850th anniv. death; (120th anniv. birth); 80th anniv. Wilkins' 1928 Antarctic flight
Tristan da Cunha980 (Mi1126)2012
United StatesNone(Black printed and purple rubber-stamp) cachets on cover1931"Wilkins-Ellsworth Trans-Arctic Submarine Expedition"
United StatesNone(Red and black rubber-stamp) cachet on cover (different)1931"Wilkins-Ellsworth Trans-Arctic Submarine Expedition"
United StatesNoneCancel and cachet on cover1981(50th anniv.) Wilkins-Ellsworth Trans-Arctic Submarine Expedition, Submarine Nautilus"


Väisälä

Väisälä, Vilho
(1889–1969)

Väisälä was a Finnish physicist and meteorologist. He began a 36-year career with the Finnish Meteorological Institute in 1912. His first task was to make magnetic measurements in Finland. He then turned to upper-air meteorological measurements which were at the time made with instrumented kites. He was appointed head of the Ilmala kite station in 1916 and director of the aerological department in 1919. Väisälä had a flair for instrumentation and his department developed various upper-air measurement techniques and instruments, culminating in the Väisälä radiosonde (a small package of instruments carried aloft by a weather balloon). It was first flight-tested on 30 December 1931 and was introduced to the international meteorological community in 1935. It was simple, reliable and moderately-priced. It soon became the standard in Scandinavia, and found broad international acceptance as well. It won a gold medal at the Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne in Paris in 1937.

The Russian meteorologist Pavel Molchanov independently developed radiosonde instrumentation at about the same time as Väisälä, and is credited with the launch of the first radiosonde at the Main Geophysical Observatory in Pavlovsk on 30 January 1930.

In 1936 Väisälä founded a private company to manufacture radiosondes. At first called Mittari Oy, its name was changed to Vaisala in 1955. Väisälä was its director until his death. As the company grew, its product line expanded to include other meteorological instruments. It is today a major provider of meteorological instrumentation, with clients in some 120 countries around the world.

Väisälä was appointed professor of meteorology at the University of Helsinki in 1948.

The Professor Vilho Väisälä Award was established in 1985 by the World Meteorological Organization to honor outstanding research involving meteorological observation methods and instruments.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
FinlandNoneMeter1990Vaisala (company)


Dobson

Dobson, Gordon Miller Bourne
(1889–1976)

Gordon Dobson was an English physicist and meteorologist. He took a position as University Lecturer in Meteorology at Oxford in 1920. There he studied meteor trails and with F. A. Lindemann deduced that there must exist a region above the tropopause in which the temperature increased substantially with height (this region is the stratosphere). Dobson then concluded that the warming of the stratosphere must be caused by the absorption of solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation by ozone. He proceeded to measure the ozone by observing its absorption in the solar UV spectrum following the technique of Fabry and Buisson. To this end he built his first spectrograph in 1924, and with a year had used it to demonstrate the main features of the seasonal variability of total column ozone and also the correlation between the ozone amount and the meteorological conditions in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. He continued this work through the late-1920s with more extensive measurements made by his instrument at locations throughout the world. Further development of his spectrograph led to the instrument that became known as the Dobson spectrophotometer, which became the international standard for ozone measurement. The units used to measure ozone came to be known as "Dobson Units" (DU). Modern measurements of total column ozone are still expressed in Dobson Units.

In 1926 Dobson presented the Halley lecture on "The uppermost regions of the Earth's atmosphere" in which he presented a summary diagram of those regions. A year later he was elected to a new Readership in Meteorology. In the 1930s he developed an interest in atmospheric pollution, and from 1934 to 1950 served as Chairman of the Atmospheric Pollution Committee of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, where he directed the development of methods to measure smoke, deposited particulate matter and sulphur dioxide.

In order to understand and forecast atmospheric conditions at levels where condensation trails from aircraft were occurring, Dobson and Alan Brewer studied stratospheric humidity during World War II. To make the necessary measurements, Brewer modified one of Dobson's hygrometers so that it would accurately measure the frost-point (rather than the dew point) when mounted in an airplane. Measurements with that hygrometer revealed that the stratosophere was extremely dry. Brewer hypothesized that the dry air could only have originated in the area of the equatorial tropopause, and postulated a circulation in which air enters the stratosphere in the equatorial area, moves poleward and exits the stratosphere at higher latitudes. Dobson and Brewer published some of these ideas in 1946. Brewer continued to develop the theory and in 1949 published the details of what came to be known as the "Brewer-Dobson circulation" in a seminal paper in the Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society. The Brewer-Dobson circulation is generally accepted as the breakthrough in understanding why the stratosphere is so remarkably dry. Its details are still a subject of study to this day, world wide.

Those studies of humidity in turn led Dobson to examine the mechanism by which water drops freeze. He and his students built cloud chambers in which they could study the phenomenon, and showed that drops of pure water would not spontaneously freeze until a temperature of -40°C was reached, while drops that contained various impurities would freeze at warmer temperatures.

Dobson was awarded the Symons Gold Medal of the Royal Meteorological Society in 1938, and was the president of the Society from 1947 to 1949.

In the early 1950s Dobson and Brewer began to study how ozone would fit into the Brewer-Dobson circulation. In 1955 a version of Dobson's ozone-measuring spectrograph was mounted in an airplane, and Brewer operated it during four stratospheric flights at Tromsö, Norway. The measurements showed that there was a sharp transition to higher values of ozone concentration at the tropopause. This work was only part of ongoing ozone studies by both Dobson and Brewer which eventually did show that stratospheric ozone has a latitudinal dependence consistent with the Brewer-Dobson circulation.

In 1956 some 44 Dobson spectrophotometers were in operation throughout the world and many more were built and put into operation for the International Geophysical Year (IGY). Dobson continued his work on ozone until the end of his life. Brewer designed an updated instrument to replace the ageing Dobson spectrophotometer in the early 1970s. The new Brewer ozone spectrophotometer became the worldwide standard instrument for measuring total column ozone, but it still uses the basic principles of Dobson's instrument.

Here is a complete list of Dobson's scientific papers.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
AntarcticaP6$100. (banknote), also back1996"Dobson units"
AntarcticaP13$100. (banknote), also back2001"Dobson units"
AntarcticaP13s$100. (banknote) overprinted "specimen", also back2009
Argentina2966c (Mi3926)One of MS4 (2966 (a-d)) (BL181, Mi3924-3927)2022making an ozone observation with a Dobson spectrophotometer in Antarctica at the Marambio Base
Argentina2966 fdcMS4 on FDC
Argentina2966 brochureBrochure outside
British Antarctic Territory177 (Mi178)1991Dobson spectrophotometer
British Antarctic Territory176-179 fdcOne of four stamps on FDC, also insert and insert back
Cuba3391 (Mi3556)1992"Unidades Dobson" (Dobson units)
Cuba3390-3391 fdcOne of two stamps on FDC
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands375 (BL?)MS2 (375 (a-b))2009"Total ozone (Dobson units)"
United StatesNone(Coverscape) cachet on cover2014"In 1924, British meteorologist Gordon Dobson invented an instrument (Dobsonmeter [i.e. the Dobson spectrophotometer]) used to measure ozone in the atmosphere"; also 20th World Ozone Day


Armstrong

Armstrong, Edwin H.
(1890–1954)

Edwin Armstrong was an American electrical engineer and inventor. Radio in the early 1920s operated on the AM (amplitude modulation) principle, in which the sound patterns were defined by varying (modulating) the amplitude (which is related to the power) of the carrier wave, at a fixed frequency. However, electrical storms and other atmospheric phenomena were known to distort the AM patterns and create interference and static. Armstrong wanted to eliminate these problems, and reasoned in the late 1920s that the carrier wave frequency should be modulated, with its amplitude remaining constant. He introduced this new FM (frequeny modulation) system in 1933, and tests showed that it provided clear reception even in the presence of violent thunderstorms.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Czechoslovakia954 (Mi1175)1959(70th anniv. birth, in 1960; 5th anniv. death)


Kezhen

Kezhen, Zhu (Coching Chu)
(1890–1974)

Zhu Kezhen was a meteorologist and geographer who is considered to be the founder of modern meteorology in China. After studies in the USA (PhD in meteorology from Harvard), he taught meteorology at schools in Wuhan, Nanjing, Shanghai and Tianjin. He was the chairman of the Department of Meteorology at Nanjing University from 1920 to 1929. In 1929 he became the director of the Chinese Meteorological Research Institute of the Central Academy. During his career he served as president of the Chinese Meteorological Society and the Chinese Geographical Society as well as several other scientific bodies. In 1934 Kezhen invited Chang Wang Tu to return to China from England to take up the post of researcher at the Institute of Meteorology at the Central Academy. Tu would later become the director of the Chinese Meteorological Bureau.

Kezhen specialized in climatology, and introduced the science of phenology (the study of periodic natural cycles related to climate, such as the migration of birds) to China, and established a Chinese phenological observing network in 1934. He was the author of a detailed study of the Chinese climate over the last 5000 years (A Study of Climate Changes in China over the Past Five Millenia) based on a temperature index that he created. Kezhen considered that the study of historical climate changes could be useful in forecasts of future climate changes. He published some 300 scientific papers in his areas of interest, which included the study of typhoons and monsoons. In addition to the climate study mentioned abouve, his major meteorological publications include Phenology; An Outline of Meteorology in China; The Interrelationship between Meteorology and Agriculture; A Few New Facts in the Centre of a Typhoon; A New Classification of Typhoons in the Far East; The Place of Origin and Recurvature of Typhoons; Movements of Air Currents in China; The Southeast Monsoon and Rainfall in China; Relations of Climate to Men and Other Lives; On the Characteristics of China's Climate and the Relations between those Characteristics and Food Production; China's Subtropical Zone; and A Preliminary Study of Climate Types of East Asia.

Another of Kezhen's interests was the history of science, and particularly the ancient scientific legacy of China.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
China (People's Republic)2146 (Mi2173)1988
China (People's Republic)2145-2148 fdc1One of four stamps on FDC
China (People's Republic)2145-2148 fdc2One of four stamps on FDC (different)
China (People's Republic)2145-2148 folderFour stamps on FDC folder; also folder front
China (People's Republic)NonePostal card2004(30th anniv. death); statue of Kezhen in front of the Jiangsu Meteor. Bureau, in Nanjing (where modern Chinese meteorology was born, according to the text)


Schmidt

Schmidt, Otto Yulievich
(1891–1956)

Otto Schmidt was a Russian geophysicist, mathematician, polar explorer and member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He was the head of several Arctic expeditions. The earliest of these was the Georgy Sedov expedition of 1929-1930, which established the first scientific research station, including a weather observatory, in Franz Josef Land (it was located on Tikhaya Bay on Hooker Island, and began operations in 1929. From 1930 to 1932 Schmidt was Director of the Arctic Institute (the precursor of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI) which would later be headed by A. F. Treshnikov). In 1932, as part of the Soviet contribution to the 2nd IPY (International Polar Year), Schmidt led an expedition aboard the icebreaker Sibiryakov. It sailed the whole Northeast Passage, from west (Archangelsk) to east (Bering Strait) in a single summer season. This was the first time the trip had ever been made without wintering en route. After this success, the General Directorate of the Northern Sea Route was established, with the goal of preparing the route for safe marine navigation. Schmidt was appointed as its Chief. Under his guidance, more trial runs were conducted in 1933 and 1934, and the route was officially opened and commercial exploitation began in 1935. This was possible partly because of improved infrastructure: from 1933 to 1935, Schmidt and the Directorate not only improved navigation services and built new Arctic ports, but also increased the number of polar hydrometeorological stations and radio transmitting stations from 16 to 51.

In the winter of 1933-1934, Schmidt led the disastrous expedition in which the icebreaker Chelyuskin was lost in the Chukchi Sea, crushed by the ice (E.T. Krenkel was also part of this expedition). In 1935 Schmidt headed the interagency Office of Ice Forecasting which combined oceanographic and meteorological information to produce ice forecasts for the Northern Sea Route. In that year he also became a member of the Academy of Sciences.

In 1937 Schmidt organized an airborne expedition that established a research station on the Arctic Ocean ice. It started at a point only about 20 km from the North Pole, and was known as the NP-1 (North Pole-1)1 drifting ice station. The four crewmembers of the station were Papanin, Fedorov, Krenkel and Shirshov. NP-11 provided regular weather observations which were sent by wireless back to the USSR. It was the first ever research station on the Arctic ice and during its lifetime drifted to a point off the northeastern Greenland coast. NP-11 opened a new stage in the history of Arctic research, in which more systematic scientific studies were possible than. The Soviet Union (USSR) and Russia have operated a total of 37 such NP stations, generally with a scientific component that included meteorology.

Two hydrometeorological observatories have been named after Schmidt. One, in his home town of Mogilev (now in Belarus), is the Otto Schmidt Mogilev Regional Hydrometeorological Observatory. The other is the Cape Schmidt Hydrometeorological Observatory in eastern Siberia, on the Arctic coast to the south of Wrangell Island. The Institute of Earth Physics in Moscow was also named after Schmidt.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Belarus406 (BL?)SS1 (stamp and label)2001110th anniv. birth
ChadUnknown b (Mi?)
Unknown ib
One of MS4 (a-d)
One of imperforate MS4 (a-d)
2010(120th anniv. birth, in 2011)
ChadUnknown ms fdcMS4 on FDC
Russia (USSR)C59 (Mi500)1935Schmidt and Chelyuskin expedition rescue
Russia (USSR)C67 (Mi508)1935Emergency camp on the Arctic ice after the sinking of the expedition ship Chelyuskin on 13 Feb 1934 (Otto Schmidt was the expedition leader)
Russia (USSR)3191A (Mi3291)1966(10th anniv. death)
Russia (USSR)3191A cover (Mi3291 cover)Stamp and (purple rubber-stamp) cachets on cover1968RV Otto Schmidt
Russia (USSR)3191A sheet (Mi3291 sheet)Exhibition sheet with 3191A1974
Russia (USSR)NoneCachet on stamped envelope197850th anniv. Schmidt Institute of Earth Physics
Russia (USSR)4885 (Mi5016)1980Schmidt and RV Otto Schmidt
Russia (USSR)4885 fdcStamp and (multi-color printed) cachet on FDC
Russia (USSR)4885 cover (Mi5016 cover)Stamp and (multi-color printed and purple rubber-stamp and text) cachets on stamped envelope originally from 1966?1980(10th anniv. death) in 1966 (probable year of issue of the stamped envelope); "Cape Schmidt Hydrometeor. Observatory" (in violet cachets)
Russia (USSR)None(Small rubber-stamp) cachet on cover1981RV Otto Schmidt
Russia (USSR)None(Black rubber-stamp and black printed) cachets on cover1985"Otto Schmidt"; RV Otto Schmidt
Russia (USSR)None(Red and black printed and two rubber-stamp) cachets on cover1989RV Otto Schmidt
Russia (USSR)None(Multi-color printed) cachet on stamped envelope1991100th anniv. birth
Russia (USSR)3191A cover (Mi3291 cover)Stamp and (violet rubber-stamp) cachet on same envelope as previous item1991Otto Schmidt Mogilev Regional Hydrometeor. Centre (on cachet); (100th anniv. birth)
RussiaNone(Multi-color printed and triangular and square rubber-stamp) cachets on stamped envelope1992Schmidt (on printed cachet); (100th anniv. birth, in 1991); 60th anniv. Cape Schmidt Hydrometeor. Observatory (on rubber-stamp cachets)
RussiaNone(Multi-color printed and triangular and one different rubber-stamp) cachets on stamped envelope like the one immediately above1992Schmidt (on printed cachet); (100th anniv. birth, in 1991); 60th anniv. Cape Schmidt Hydrometeor. Observatory (on rubber-stamp cachet)
RussiaNone(Upper and lower rubber-stamp) cachets on back of envelope above1992(100th anniv. birth, in 1991); Cape Schmidt Hydrometeor. Observatory
Russia (USSR)None(Multi-color printed) cachet on stamped envelope1992"O.Y. Schmidt"; (100th anniv. birth, in 1991)
Russia (USSR)NoneCancel on stamped envelope1993"Cape Schmidt"


Appleton

Appleton, Edward Victor
(1892–1965)

Edward Appleton was an English physicist who studied the physics of the upper atmosphere.

Marconi's transatlantic wireless transmissions in 1910 had shown that there must exist an upper atmospheric layer from which radio waves are reflected back down to the surface. Gauss had hypothesized some 100 years earlier that such a layer must exist. Appleton in 1924 used a BBC radio transmitter to beam radio signals of varying wavelengths into the upper atmosphere. His analysis of the received signals allowed him to calculate that the height of the reflecting layer was about 100 km. The layer was named the 'ionosphere' by Watson-Watt in 1926. Appleton's technique is now known as 'frequency modulation radar', a precursor of modern forms of radar. The ionosphere was therefore the first 'object' detected by radiolocation. Watson-Watt would build on this work to develop the first workable radar system in the 1930s. This system allowed Britain to detect enemy aircraft during WWII. Radar techniques were also applied to meteorology: weather radar able to detect hydrometeors (liquid and/or solid precipitation) was developed, starting in the war years.

In 1926 Appleton discovered a higher layer (250 - 350 km) of the ionosphere that came to be called the Appleton layer. In the late 1920s and 1930s he and his colleagues used instruments known as 'vertical sounding ionosondes' to determine the properties of the various ionospheric layers. They provide records known as ionograms. An international network of ionosondes was later established for the International Geophysical Year (IGY), and continued to operate thereafter. Consisting of some 40 observing stations around the world, its observations allow forecasts of the most suitable wavelengths for worldwide radio communications to be made.

In 1929 Appleton continued his upper atmospheric research in northern Norway. While there he also studied the Aurora Borealis.

Using sunspot observations taken at the sunspot minimum in 1934 and the maximum in 1937, Appleton demonstrated that the ionization and therefore the reflective power of the ionosphere vary with sunspot activity.

Appleton noted that lightning affects radio reception, and therefore investigated the electric waves that are produced as a result of lightning discharges. He was able to use special sounding equipment that could locate lightning strikes (and therefore thunderstorms) at great distances. He hypothesized that thunderstorms as far away as the equatorial areas could cause disturbances that affect radio reception.

Appleton was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics in 1947 for his upper atmospheric research.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Appleton (on non-launch-cover postal items)
Chad734 (Mi?)
i734
From SS1 (734a), or from MS4 (734b (4x 734))
From imperforate SS1 (i734a)
1997
Chad734 fdc
i734 fdc
Stamp on FDC
Imperforate stamp on FDC
Chadi734a fdc1Imperforate SS1 on FDC
Chadi734a fdc2Imperforate SS1 on FDC (different)
Chad734b fdcMS4 on FDC
Congo (Democratic Republic)Unknown (Mi?)From SS1, or from MS4 (4x single); also one of MS2 (a-b)2002(110th anniv. birth)
Malagasy (DR)1132h (Mi?)One of MS16 (1132 (a-p))1993(100th anniv. birth, in 1992)
SpainNoneLotto ticket1997
SpainNone(Multi-color printed) cachet on (un-canceled) (Spanish Post) stamped envelope (from 2011)2013
Togo1658g (Mi2294)One of MS9 (1658 (a-i))1995(30th anniv. death)

CountryCancel DateCancel LocationType of ItemNotes on Content
Appleton (on satellite and rocket launch and event covers)
United Kingdom1974-10-15Slough, Berkshire(Black and blue printed) cachet on Ariel-5 launch cover"Appleton Laboratory" logo


Watson-Watt

Watson-Watt, Robert Alexander
(1892–1973)

Robert Watson-Watt was a Scottish physicist best known for the development of radar. He worked at the British Meteorological Office in 1917 on the radio detection of thunderstorms. This was an important project due to the hazard such storms posed to aviators, and was the basis for his later work on radio pulse techniques and radar.

Watson-Watt's work included consideration of the structure of the upper atmosphere and its effect on radio waves. Marconi's transatlantic wireless transmissions in 1910 had shown that there must exist an upper atmospheric layer from which radio waves are reflected back down to the surface. Gauss had hypothesized some 100 years earlier that such a layer must exist. Appleton in 1924 used a BBC radio transmitter to beam radio signals of varying wavelengths into the upper atmosphere. His analysis of the received signals allowed him to calculate that the height of the reflecting layer was about 100 km. Appleton's technique, now known as 'frequency modulation radar', was a precursor of modern forms of radar.

In 1926 Watson-Watt coined the term "ionosphere" for the reflecting layer and proposed it in a letter to the United Kingdom Radio Research Board. The term was adopted and came into common use some years later.

Watson-Watt developed a radio pulse technique in the 1920s and 30s that was based partially on Appleton's 'frequency modulation radar'. Watson-Watt was eventually able to locate aircraft through his radio pulse technique, and is credited with the development of the first workable radar system in the 1930s (radar is an acronym for RAdio Detection And Ranging). He was appointed Director of Radio Research at the British National Physical Laboratory in 1935. In 1942, he was knighted for his work on radar. His radar system allowed Britain to detect enemy aircraft during WWII. Radar techniques were also applied to meteorology: weather radar able to detect hydrometeors (liquid and/or solid precipitation) was developed, starting in the war years.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Great Britain518-521 fdc1 (Mi470-473 fdc1)In (lower-left of) cachet on FDC (Plymouth cancel), also insert1967"The 4d stamp depicts a radar screen and pays tribute to the work of Sir Robert Watson-Watt in the discovery and development of radar" (in insert text)
Great Britain518-521 fdc2 (Mi470-473 fdc2)In (lower-left of) cachet on FDC (Edinburgh cancel), also insert
Great Britain518-521 fdc3 (Mi470-473 fdc3)In (lower-left of) cachet on FDC (London cancel), also insert
Great Britain520 fdc (Mi472 fdc3)In (lower-left of) cachet on FDC (Middlesex cancel), also insert
Great Britain1362 (Mi1322)1991"Radar - Watson-Watt". (100th anniv. birth, in 1992)
Great Britain1362 fdc1Stamp and (Benham silk) cachet on FDC (Royal Signals and Radar Establishment Malvern Works cancel)
Great Britain1362 fdc2Stamp and (Fleetwood) cachet on FDC (Edinburgh cancel)
Great Britain1360-1363 fdc1One of four stamps on FDC (Royal Mail cachet, Canterbury cancel)
Great Britain1360-1363 fdc2One of four stamps on FDC (Royal Mail cachet, Twickenham cancel)
Great Britain1360-1363 fdc3One of four stamps on FDC (Fleetwood cachet)


Molchanov

Molchanov, Pavel A.
(1893–1941)

Pavel Molchanov was a Soviet meteorologist who worked at the Main Geophysical Observatory in Pavlovsk from 1917 to 1939. He was interested in applying aerological data (upper air data, measured in the atmosphere above the surface) to weather forecasting. He experimented with meteorographs that could be carried aloft by balloons, but they were complicated and had to be recovered before their recorded data could be examined. Molchanov's goal was to develop a cheap and reliable means of sounding the atmosphere for temperature, moisture and wind data. This goal was met through his development of the radiosonde, a balloon-borne instrument package that could transmit observations back to a receiving station by radio. Many philatelic examples of weather balloons and radiosondes are found here.

On 30 January 1930, he launched the first radiosonde from the Geophysical Observatory. It reached an altitude of 7.8 km and sent observed data in the first-ever upper air message to the Leningrad Weather Bureau and the Central Forecast Institute in Moscow. Molchanov's radiosondes were used in the Arctic as part of the USSR's contribution to the Second International Polar Year (IPY) in 1931. They provided the first upper-air observations ever made in the Arctic.

Mass production of Molchanov's radiosonde began in 1935. His design provided observations that were accurate and stable enough that it was used without any major changes until 1958.

The ship Professor Molchanov was named in his honour. It has served as an oceanographic research vessel and a polar cruise ship.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Russia (USSR)NoneCachet on stamped envelope197950th anniv. first radiosonde (developed by Molchanov)
RussiaNone(G&G) cachet on cover1993Molchanov; (100th anniv. birth); ship Professor Molchanov
RussiaNone(Pictorial) cancel and (multi-color printed and blue rubber-stamp) cachet on cover1994ship Professor Molchanov
RussiaNone(Pictorial) cancel and (four) cachets on cover1994ship Professor Molchanov
RussiaNoneCachet on cover1996ship Professor Molchanov
Russia7081c (Mi1481)From MS3 (7081 (a-c))2008ship Professor Molchanov
Russia7081c maxiMaxicard
Russia7081 fdc (BL114 fdc)On one stamp in MS3 on FDC
Russia7081c cover (Mi1481 cover)Stamp and cachet on cover2008R.V. Professor Molchanov
Russia7081c cover (Mi1481 cover)(G&G) cachet on cover2009


Demuyter

Demuyter, Ernest
(1893–1963)

Ernest Demuyter was a Belgian Army lieutenant and balloon pilot who flew the balloon Belgica to victory in the Gordon Bennett balloon race in 1920, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1936 and 1937.

Early in his career Demuyter was employed as a meteorology instructor. This background stayed with him throughout his life as a balloonist.

Meteorology was not closely considered in hot air ballooning in the early 20th Century. Speaking of the 1913 Gordon Bennett race, Demuyter noted that "meteorology in those days was in its childhood. Of course the pilots got handed out the information from all meteorological stations around the world, and often the forecast for beginning rain, snowfall or storm was true. But there were no weather maps as we know today from the television every evening. There was also no weather briefing before launch. Everybody got his own information. What he then concluded and how he put it to practice was his own affair". Demuyter was convinced that the best balloon pilots were those who were also meteorologists, or at least very familiar with meteorology. Those pilots could put meteorological information to good use. Demuyter was one of the first pilots to carefully consider the influence of meteorological conditions in his planning for balloon flights and competitions. For example, he pointed out that "every balloon pilot knows (or should know) that the wind turns right [i.e. clockwise] in a high pressure area and counter clockwise in a low. Today we [also] know the gradient winds, floating almost parallel to the isobars".

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
BelgiumNoneCachet on airmail postcard1935Demuyter (in text); balloon Belgica
BelgiumNoneCachet on balloon flight cover1936Demuyter and Belgica (in text)
BelgiumNoneCachet and address and (red) vignette on (Gordon Bennett balloon race) post flight cover1937Demuyter and Belgica (in text); Belgica and "E.D." (Ernest Demuyter) on balloon post vignette
BelgiumNoneCachet and (blue) vignette on (Gordon Bennett balloon race) post flight cover back1937Demuyter (in text); Belgica and "E.D." (Ernest Demuyter) on balloon post vignette
BelgiumB210 cover (Mi? cover)Cachet on balloon post flight cover (Gordon Bennett race)1938Demuyter and Belgica (in text); also canceled in Romania)
BelgiumNoneCachet and address (and signature) on balloon post flight cover (Gordon Bennett race)1939Demuyter and Belgica (in text)
Romania448 cover (Mi? cover)Cachet on balloon post flight cover (Gordon Bennett race)1938Demuyter and Belgica (in text); also canceled in Belgium
Rwanda1188 (Mi1272)1984E. Demuyter, 1937; Belgica balloon; also A. Piccard and stratospheric balloon FNRS


Ibarra

Ibarra, José María Velasco
(1893–1979)

José Ibarra was an Ecuadorian politician who was president of the country on five separate occasions between 1934 and 1972. After the earliest meteorological observations made by de La Condamine in the 1730s, the science of meteorology developed gradually in Ecuador. The effects of El Niño episodes came to be studied, particularly after the devastating El Niño of 1925. At subsequent scientific conferences in Rio de Janeiro (1935) and Montevideo (1939) the importance of meteorology to South American states including Ecuador was emphasized, and resolutions were passed concerning national meteorological services. Ibarra knew the importance of state infrastructure and institutions and on 20 October 1944 complied with the resolutions and signed a presidential decree that established the Meteorological Service of the Astronomical Observatory of Quito. The Service developed over the years, and on 4 August 1961 Ibarra (he was again president) signed the executive decree that created Ecuador's National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (INAMHI). This allowed the country to join the modern international meteorological community.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Ecuador1308 (Mi?)1993100th anniv. birth
Ecuador1308 fdcStamp and cancel and cachet on FDC


Urey

Urey, Harold Clayton
(1893–1981)

Urey was an American chemist who won the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1934 for his studies of isotopes. During the 1940s while at the University of Chicago, his work with oxygen isotopes led him to hypothesize that the 18O/16O ratio in calcite (CaCO3) should vary as a function of the temperature at which the mineral had precipitated. He and his colleagues and students then measured that ratio over a wide range of temperatures and came up with an equation relating the ratios to temperatures. The equation can be considered as a "paleothermometer" since the ratios obtained from the calcite shells of fossilized foraminifera in lake or ocean sediments (sediment coring provides the necessary samples) can be used to estimate the paleotemperatures (the temperatures of the ancient times from which the shells came). Urey published his results in a paper titled "The thermodynamic properties of isotopic substances" (J. Chem. Soc. 1947 Apr: 562-81).

The technique works because 16O evaporates preferentially from oceanic and lake water, compared to 18O. Some of those isotopes then return to the water (e.g. through rainfall and runoff) but some also fall to the land as snow. In cold periods with snow and glacial ice buildup, this process extracts more 16O than 18O from the water, so the ratio changes. The ratio is therefore a proxy for the volume of glacial ice on the planet as well as for temperature.

The technique became a cornerstone of the science of paleoclimatology. It has been used by many other climatologists, including Shackleton. Calculations using it have been compared to those from the Milanković's theory. Both agree broadly on a long series of relatively warm and cold periods extending back at least 2.6 million years. Those periods are called Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) or Oxygen Isotope Stages (OIS).

Urey can be considered the "father" of this field of study, referred to generally as isotopic paleoclimatology.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Romania4314 (Mi5428)1999
Romania4313-4314 fdcOne of two stamps on FDC
SpainNone(Multi-color printed) cachet on personalized postage stamped envelope2011(30th anniv. death)
SpainNone(Multi-color printed) cachet on (un-canceled) (Spanish Post) stamped envelope (from 2011)2013(120th anniv. birth)
United States1685 fdc (Mi? fdc)Cachet (signature) on FDC1976


Kapitsa

Kapitsa, Pyotr L.
(1894–1984)

Pyotr Kapitsa was a Soviet physicist. While out of favour with Stalin in the late 1940s and early 1950s due to his refusal to work on nuclear weapons development, he conducted research on ball lightning. He won the Nobel Prize for physics in 1978.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Congo (Democratic Republic)Unknown b (Mi?)One of MS2 (a-l)2002
Congo (Democratic Republic)Unknown ss (BL?)On stamp and in (left) margin of SS1
Russia6224 (Mi?)1994(10th anniv. death; 110th anniv. birth)
Russia6597e (Mi829)One of MS12 (6597 (a-l)) (Mi825-836)2000
Russia7602 (Mi2130)From MS11 (7602a (11x 7602 + label))2015Sergey Kapitsa (son of Pyotr Kapitsa)
Russia7602 fdcStamp and cancel and cachet on FDC
Russia8029 (Mi?)From MS9 (8029a (9x 8029))2019
Russia8029 fdcStamp and cancel on FDC
St. Vincent2218f (Mi?)One of MS12 (2218 (a-l))1995(10th anniv. death, in 1994; 110th anniv. birth, in 1994)


Schonland

Schonland, Sir Basil
(1896–1972)

Basil Schonland was a South African physicist who studied atmospheric electricity and lightning. In 1937 he was selected as the founding director of the Bernard Price Institute of Geophysical Research at the University of Witwatersrand, where from 1937 to 1939 he chased storms, photographed lightning and measured the electrical fields around and under thunderclouds. His work in the area of lightning was hailed as the greatest advance in the field since the studies of Benjamin Franklin.

Schonland also played a key role in South Africa's independent development of radar during World War II. He was voted South Africa's Scientist of the Century in 1999.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
South Africa811 (Mi826)1991(20th anniv. death, in 1992)
South Africa811 maxiStamp on maxicard
South Africa810-813 fdcOne of four stamps on FDC


Dumbrava

Dumbrava, Constantin
(1898–1935)

Constantin Dumbrava was a Romanian naturalist and polar explorer. He was involved in three expeditions to Greenland. The first, in 1927-1928, took place in the Angmassalik region, where he made an ethnographic study of the native people, and completed work in glaciology and meteorology. The second expedition took place in 1930-1931, in the Scoresby Sund area. Dumbrava was left on the east side of Hurry Inlet in the summer of 1930, where he built a hut for shelter. During his time there he made meteorological and magnetic observations and studied sea currents and tides, and the sea temperature. He returned home in 1931. The third expedition in 1934 was disastrous. The balloon carrying him to Greenland crashed in the water off the Angmassalik coast. Dumbrava was injured and contracted pneumonia and never recovered. He died a year later in France.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
RomaniaNoneCancel and cachet on cover1978Dumbrava's 1st Greenland expedition, 1927-1928
RomaniaNoneCachet on stamped envelope1984Dumbrava's 1st Greenland expedition, 1927-1928
Romania3396 (Mi4284)1986Dumbrava's 1st Greenland expedition, 1927-1928; (50th anniv. death, in 1985)
Romania3394+3396-3397 fdc (Mi4282+4284-4285 fdc)One of three stamps on FDC
RomaniaNoneCancel on stamped envelope198860th anniv. Dumbrava's 1st Greenland expedition, 1927-1928
Romania3396-3397 cover (Mi4284-4285 cover)Cancel (different) on cover1988
Romania3396 maxi (Mi4284 maxi)Stamp and (pictorial) cancel (different) and cachet on maxicard1992Dumbrava's 1st Greenland expedition, 1927-1928
RomaniaNone(Pictorial) cancel on stamped envelope from 19841992Dumbrava's 1st Greenland expedition, 1927-1928
RomaniaNoneCancel (different) and cachet on cover1993Dumbrava's 1st Greenland expedition, 1927-1928
RomaniaNonePrinted stamp and cachet on postal card2001Dumbrava's 1st Greenland expedition, 1927-1928
RomaniaNone(Pictorial) cancel and (Posta Romana) cachet on stamped envelope200470th anniv. Dumbrava's 3rd Greenland expedition; (70th anniv. death, in 2005)
RomaniaNone(Pictorial) cancel and (multi-color printed) cachet on postal card200975th anniv. Dumbrava's 3rd Greenland expedition; (75th anniv. death, in 2010)
RomaniaNone(Pictorial) cancel and (multi-color printed) cachet (different) on postal card200975th anniv. Dumbrava's 3rd Greenland expedition; (75th anniv. death, in 2010)


Post

Post, Wiley
(1898–1935)

Wiley Post was an American aviation pioneer. In 1931 he and navigator Harold Gatty flew around the world in eight days, 15 hours and 51 minutes (the first round-the-world flight in 1924 had taken 175 days!). In 1933 Post became the first man to fly solo around the world (and did it in just less than 8 days). During both circumnavigations, he took advantage of strong westerly tailwinds that he found were sometimes present at the higher altitudes at which he flew. This was his first hint of strong upper-level winds that would come to be known as the jet stream.

In 1934, Post turned his attention to the potential of long-distance, high-altitude flight. He developed, with the BF Goodrich Company, a pressure suit that allowed him to take his airplane, the Winnie Mae, into the stratosphere. In test flights later that year, he flew as high as 50,000 feet and confirmed the existence of the jet stream. (Johannes Georgi had discovered the jet stream during his work in northern Greenland in 1926 and 1927, and made what appears to be the first written reference to it in 1933 in his book Im Eis Vergraben (translated in 1934 into English as Mid-Ice: the Story of the Wegener Expedition to Greenland)).

In 1935, Post attempted four non-stop transcontinental stratospheric flights from California to New York (22 February, 15 March, 14 April, and 15 June). All, however, ended in mechanical failure, but in some he did succeed in taking advantage of the jet stream. For example, in the March flight he got as far as Cleveland OH, using the jet stream to increase his ground speed to an average of 279 mph. At times his ground speed hit 340 mph. (The Winnie Mae, a Lockheed Vega, had a normal cruising speed of 179 mph).

In August 1935, Post and his friend Will Rogers died near Point Barrow, Alaska when the airplane Post was piloting crashed on takeoff.

Another meteorological legacy left by Post is that he inspired the American author and artist Eric Sloane. In 1933, Post taught Sloane to fly in exchange for art lessons, and during his first flights with Post, Sloane fell in love with the aerial view of the sky and clouds that lay beneath him. "Some day", Post told him, "a fellow will come along and paint nothing but the sky itself. Where else can you find higher mountains? Look at the cumulonimbus over yonder - twice the height of the Matterhorn and twice as beautiful. Where else but up here could you see a better landscape of clouds?" Sloane replied "What you mean is a cloudscape, and I wouldn't be surprised if the first fellow to try painting cloudscapes turns out to be me." Sloane indeed became a prolific painter of cloudscapes, and the author of meteorological works as well. His first book, Clouds, Air and Wind was published in 1941 and was adapted by the US Army Air Corps as a basic weather manual for pilots. Many other weather-related books would follow.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Comoro IslandsUnknown (Mi?)Stamp from SS12009(110th anniv. birth, in 2008)
Liberia2540 (Mi?)MS6 (2540 (a-f))200875th anniv. Post's 1933 first solo around-the-world flight
Liberia2541 (BL?)SS1
Tuvalu1077 (Mi?)MS6 (1077 (a-f))200875th anniv. Post's 1933 first solo around-the-world flight
United StatesNoneCachet on cover1931Los Angeles homecoming of Post and Gatty after their around-the-world flight
United StatesNoneCachet on cover1933Washington welcomes Post (after his solo around-the-world flight)
United StatesNoneCachet (different) on cover1933Post receiving Harmon trophy (after his solo around-the-world flight)
United StatesNoneCachet on cover1934Post's record altitude attempt
United StatesNone(Blue rubber-stamp) cachet on cover back; also front; also detail1935Post's (attempted four) airmail stratospheric flights
United StatesNoneCachet (partly the same) on cover1935Post's (attempted four) airmail stratospheric flights
United StatesNoneCachet (different) on cover1935Post-Rogers memorial beacon
United StatesNoneCachet on cover19383rd anniv. death of Post and Rogers
United StatesNoneCachet (different) on cover1938Post and Rogers memorial in Alaska
United StatesNoneCachet on cover196835th anniv. Post's 1933 solo around-the-world flight
United StatesNone(MoF no.6) cachet on cover197340th anniv. Post's 1933 solo around-the-world flight
United States1684 fdc (Mi? fdc)(Fleetwood) cachet on cover, also back1976"Wiley Post" helped prove in 1935 that "high-altitude flights were possible; using special equipment he reached an unofficial altitude of 49,000 feet [14.9 km]"
United StatesC95 (Mi1376)From (vertical) strip of 2 (C96a (C95-C96)) (Mi1376-1377)1979(80th anniv. birth, in 1978)
United StatesC95 fdc1Stamp and (Fleetwood) cachet on FDC, also back
United StatesC95 fdc2Stamp and (Colorano silk/HE Harris and Co.) cachet on FDC, also back
United StatesC95 fdc3Stamp and (ArtCraft/PCS) cachet on FDC
United StatesC95 fdc4Stamp and (HF) cachet on FDC
United StatesC95 fdc5Stamp and (Aristocrat Cachet) cachet on FDC
United StatesC95 fdc6Stamp and (National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution) cachet on FDC
United StatesC95 fdc7Stamp and (Spectrum) cachet on FDC
United StatesC95 fdc8Stamp and (Andrews Cachet) cachet (reproduction of stamp) on FDC, also back
United StatesC96 (Mi1377)From (vertical) strip of 2 (C96a (C95-C96)) (Mi1376-1377)
United StatesC96 fdc1Stamp and (Fleetwood) cachet on FDC
United StatesC96 fdc2Stamp and (Colorano silk/HE Harris and Co.) cachet on FDC, also back
United StatesC96 fdc3Stamp and (ArtCraft/PCS) cachet on FDC
United StatesC96 fdc4Stamp and (HF) cachet on FDC
United StatesC96 fdc5Stamp and (Bazaar no.340) cachet on FDC
United StatesC96 fdc6Stamp and (Artmaster) cachet on FDC
United StatesC96 fdc7Stamp and (Aristocrat Cachet) cachet on FDC
United StatesC96 fdc8Stamp and (Spectrum) cachet on FDC
United StatesC96 fdc9Stamp and (Andrews Cachet) cachet (reproduction of stamp) on FDC, also back
United StatesC96a fdc1Strip of 2 stamps and (Fleetwood) cachet on FDC, also back
United StatesC96a fdc2Strip of 2 stamps and (Artmaster) cachet on FDC
United StatesC96a fdc3Strip of 2 stamps and (First Rank) cachet on FDC
United StatesC96a fdc4Strip of 2 stamps and (Collins) cachet on FDC
United StatesC96a fdc5Strip of 2 stamps and (Aristocrat Cachet) cachet on FDC
United StatesC96a fdc6Strip of 2 stamps and (Andrews Cachet) cachet (reproductions of stamps) on FDC, also back
United StatesC96a fdc7Strip of 2 stamps and (extra) cancel and (Andrews Cachet) cachet (reproductions of stamps) on FDC
United StatesC96a fdc8Strip of 2 stamps and (HF) cachet on FDC
United StatesC96a fdc9Strip of 2 stamps and (Colorano silk/H.E. Harris and Co.) cachet on FDC, also back
United StatesC96a fdc10Strip of 2 stamps and (?) cachet on FDC
United StatesC96a fdc11Strip of 2 stamps and (Ellis hand-painted) cachet on FDC
United StatesC96a fdc12Strip of 2 stamps and (Spectrum) cachet on FDC
United StatesC96a fdc13Strip of 2 stamps and (HF) cachet on FDC
United StatesC96a fdc14Strip of 2 stamps and (ArtCraft) cachet on FDC
United StatesC96a fdc15Strip of 2 stamps and (Ginny) cachet on FDC
United StatesC96a fdc16Strip of 2 stamps and (C. Thompson) cachet on FDC
United StatesC96a fdc17Strip of 2 stamps and (Carrollton no.87) cachet on FDC
United StatesC96a fdc18Strip of 2 stamps and (Carrollton no.89) cachet on FDC
United StatesC96a fdc19Strip of 2 stamps and (Pugh Cachets) cachet on FDC
United StatesC96a fdc20Strip of 2 stamps and (Softones) cachet on FDC
United StatesC96a fdc21Strip of 2 stamps and (Ham) cachet on FDC
United StatesC96a fdc22Strip of 2 stamps and (Bazaar no.340) cachet on FDC
United StatesC96a fdc23Strip of 2 stamps and (Cover Craft Cachets) cachet on FDC, also insert
United StatesC96a fdc24Strip of 2 stamps and (Western silk no.82) cachet on FDC
United StatesSP480(USPS) souvenir page (C96a)
United StatesNoneStrip of 2 stamps and cancel and (Supex) cachet on cover197944th anniv. death of Post and Rogers
United StatesNoneCancel on cover1980
United StatesNone(Coverscape) cachet on cover2013"Wiley Post'
Upper Volta464 (Mi?)1977(80th anniv. birth, in 1978)
Upper Volta464 fdcStamp and cachet on FDC
Upper Volta464 dsDeluxe sheet (464)


Sorge

Sorge, Ernst
(1899–1946)

Ernst Sorge was a German geographer, glaciologist and polar researcher who participated in the German Greenland expedition of 1930 with meteorologists Alfred Wegener, Johannes Giorgi and Fritz Lowe. The expedition studied the meteorology and glaciology of the Greenland ice cap. Unfortunately Wegener died during this expedition.

Georgi would later describe Sorge's work: "Sorge measured the density of blocks of nevé cut at different levels of his shaft. He succeeded, with this primitive equipment, in distinguishing the strata of the precipitation of summer and winter, and of measuring its content of water, for 20 years back to 1911!" This pioneering research on the glaciology and climatology of Greenland was conducted during the winter of 1930-31 at the Eismitte station on the Greenland ice cap.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Germany (Berlin)9N451 cover (Mi616 cover)Stamp and (text) cancel and (black printed) cachet on cover1980Sorge's route across Greenland in the 1930 Wegener expedition
Germany (East)NoneCancel and cachet on cover1983


Nakaya

Nakaya, Ukichiro
(1900–1962)

Ukichiro Nakaya was a Japanese physicist who studied the crystal structure of snow and ice. Starting in the 1930, he was a professor of physics at the University of Hokkaido.

Nakaya was captivated by the beauty of snowflakes. His research included taking photographs of snowflakes and ice crystals, producing artificial snow crystals, and studying the relationship between crystal structure and meteorological conditions. He created the first snowflake classification system, was the first person to systematically study the formation of snow crystals, and the first to grow artificial snowflakes under controlled laboratory conditions. Nakaya also contributed to pioneering scientific documentaries in the late 1930s and early 1940s, including Snow Crystals and Frost Flowers.

In 1994, the Ukichiro Nakaya Museum of Snow and Ice was established in his home town of Katayamazu,

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Japan2749 (Mi?)2000(100th anniv. birth)
Japan2749 fdcStamp and (pictorial) cancel and (blue and tan printed) cachet on FDC


Bower

Bower, S. Morris
(~1900?–1982)

Morris Bower was a British amateur meteorologist who in 1924 set up in his home an organization that he called the Thunderstorm Census Organization (TCO). It existed until his death in 1982. Its goal was to record thunderstorm activity in the UK. To this end, volunteer observers were recruited, and printed-to-private-order postcards were distributed to them. They were to be used for all thunderstorm observations to ensure standard reporting procedures. The design of these postcards remained changed little through the life of the TCO. They included on the back a blank compass rose on which the observer could plot the motion of the thunderstorm. From its humble beginnings, the TCO grew to have over 3000 volunteer observers in 1937. Indeed, the 1930s were its heyday. There were also TCO subgroups charged with, for example, investigating trees struck by lightning, building structural damage, damage to means of land transport, and personal injuries due to thunderstorms.

Bower published some results of the TCO's work in scientific journals, including:

The TCO became part of the British TORRO (Tornado and Storm Research Organisation) in 1982.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Great BritainNonePPO postcard, addressed to S. Morris Bower; also back1933Thunderstorm observation postcard, used by the Thunderstorm Census Organization
Great BritainNonePPO postcard, addressed to S. Morris Bower1936Thunderstorm observation postcard, used by the Thunderstorm Census Organization
Great BritainNonePPO postcard, addressed to S. Morris Bower; also back1937Thunderstorm observation postcard, used by the Thunderstorm Census Organization


Lindbergh

Lindbergh, Charles
(1902–1974)

Charles Lindbergh was the American aviator who made the first solo nonstop crossing of the Atlantic (from New York to Paris) in May 1927.

Lindbergh was convinced that commercial aviation was destined to have a rosy future. As a pilot, however, he knew that weather could have a major effect on aircraft operations. In an interview in Popular Mechanics (November 1927), he identified two conditions of particular difficulty and potential danger to pilots (his use of the term "sleet" refers to freezing rain):

"Airplanes can fly now under all conditions but in sleet. Sleet forms on the wings and changes the camber, in addition to increasing the weight. Heating the wings or some other method will change that. The only other difficulty is flying in fog. The actual flying is not hard, for with modern instruments a pilot can take off today and fly without seeing ground or sky for a long time. In landing, however, he has trouble. This latter obstacle will be overcome in the near future by radio signals, fog-piercing lights, special altitude instruments or some other means. The radio beacon is a great help in fog, as a pilot can tell when he is even slightly off his course on either side."

As a result of the effects of weather on aircraft operations, Lindbergh foresaw that weather forecasting would become increasingly important as an integral part of commercial aviation. He stated that "experts will provide complete weather forecasts and reports for any desired route or airport on a route, to eliminate danger of flying into bad conditions. Most of this information will be given planes in the air by radio. Airplane pilots will receive orders just as engineers now get them from train dispatchers, and lines will be handled as methodically as railroads."

Lindbergh made several aviation surveys for Juan Trippe, the owner of Pan American Airlines. In one of them, Lindbergh and his wife Anne traveled in 1933 as far as Moscow, searching for potential new terminal sites for Pan American in northern Europe. During that trip he compiled a report on meteorology and other issues of importance to commercial aviation, in which he concluded that there was favourable potential for service to Europe. He presented the report to Trippe in 1934.

In his later years, Lindbergh was outspoken on environmental issues such as the plight of the humpback and blue whales. He also objected to the development of supersonic jets because of their potential effects on the stratosphere.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
This list is an incomplete sample of the numerous postal items that contain this person.
Lindbergh (on non-launch-cover postal items)
Antigua and Barbuda903 (Mi?)1985(10th anniv. death, in 1984)
Antigua and Barbuda2573 (Mi?)MS3 (2573 (a-c))200275th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic; (100th anniv. birth)
Antigua and Barbuda2574 (BL?)SS1
Antigua and Barbuda3419 (Mi?)2018
ArgentinaB168 (Mi?)1996"Charles A. Lindbergh" and Spirit of St. Louis
Barbuda320 (Mi360-363)Block of 4 (320 (a-d)), from MS20 (322e (318-322 (a-d) + 4 labels)) (BL129, Mi352-371)197750th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic; Spirit of St. Louis (in upper-center and right margins of MS20)
Belize375 (Mi?)1976"Landed in Belize in 1927"; (50th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic, in 1977)
Belize375 fdcStamp and cachet on FDC
BhutanBL81A
BL81B
SS1
Imperforate SS1
1977"50th annivsary of C.A. Lindbergh's trans-Atlantic solo flight"; also Spirit of St Louis (in the stamp)
BurundiUnknown c (Mi?)One stamp and in (upper-left and upper-right) margins of MS4 (a-d)2023"Charles Lindbergh and Spirit of St Louis
BurundiUnknown ms (Mi?)In (upper-left and upper-right) margins of MS4 (a-d)
CanadaNone(Fleetwood) cachet on cover, also back197750th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic and Spirit of St. Louis
Central African Republic297 (Mi501)
i297

Imperforate
197750th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic
Central African Republic302 (BL19, Mi506)SS1
Central African Republic1362 (Mi2576A-2578A)
i1362 (Mi2576B-2578B)
In (upper-left) margin of MS3 (1362 (a-c))
In (upper-left) margin of imperforate MS3 (i1362 (a-c))
2000"Charles Lindberg" (no "h")
ChadC215 fdc (Mi795 fdc)(Text) cancel on FDC (EDILA cachet)1977"Charles Lindbergh"
ChadC216-C219 (Mi796-799)Set of 4 stamps"Charles Lindbergh" and Spirit of St. Louis
ChadC216 fdc1(Text) cancel and (EDILA) cachet on FDC
ChadC216 fdc2(Text) cancel and (EDILA) cachet (different) on FDC
ChadC217 fdc(Text) cancel and (EDILA) cachet on FDC
ChadC219 fdc1(Text) cancel and (EDILA) cachet on FDC
ChadC219 fdc2(Text) cancel and (EDILA) cachet (different) on FDC
ChadC219 dsDeluxe sheet (C219)
Comoro IslandsMi4331978"Charles Lindbergh", Spirit of St. Louis
Comoro IslandsBL149A
BL149B
On stamp (Mi435A) of SS1
On stamp (Mi435B) of imperforate SS1
Comoro IslandsBL154A
BL154B
On stamp of SS1
On stamp of imperforate SS1
1978Lindbergh and Spirit of St Louis
Comoro Islands1047f (Mi1993)One of MS6 (1047 (a-f)) (Mi1988-1993)2009"Charles Lindbergh"
Comoro Islands1047f_ss1 (BL?)SS1
Congo (Democratic Republic)Unknown iss (BL?)Imperforate SS12006"Charles Augustus Lindbergh"
Congo (Democratic Republic)Unknown ss fdc(At lower-left of multi-color printed) cachet on SS1 (different) FDCLindbergh and Spirit of St. Louis
CubaC2 (Mi?)Overprinted stamp1928"Lindbergh, Febrero 1928"
DjiboutiC230 (Mi483A)
iC230 (Mi483B)

Imperforate
1987"Charles A. Lindbergh" and Spirit of St. Louis
DjiboutiMi5772-5774_ms3MS3 (Mi5772-5774); stamp 'b' of the MS3 contains reproduction of USA C102022"95th anniv. Lindbergh's solo transatlantic flight" (in French text), and Spirit of St. Louis
DjiboutiBL1926SS1 + label
DjiboutiBL1927SS1 + label
Dominica562 (Mi?)197850th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic, in 1927
Dominica563 (Mi?)
Dominica564 (Mi?)
Dominica565 (Mi?)
Dominica569 (Mi?)MS2 (569 (a-b))
DominicaUnknown (Mi?)Gold stamp1978?"First nonstop solo trans-Atlantic flight"; 50th anniv. in 1977
Dominica1206e (Mi?)One of MS6 (1206 (a-f))1989Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic in 1927; (15th anniv. death)
Dominica2730 (Mi?)MS2 (2730 (a-b))200275th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic; (100th anniv. birth)
Dominica2731 (BL?)SS1
Dominican RepublicNone(Two) cachets on cover1928Airmail flight, Santo Domingo to Havana
Dominican RepublicNone(Two) cachets (different) on cover1928Airmail flight, Santo Domingo to Havana
FranceC49 (Mi2032)197750th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic
FranceC49 fdc1Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and (Éditions J.F.) cachet on FDC
FranceC49 fdc2Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and (Éditions J.F.) cachet (different) on FDC
FranceC49 fdc3Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and (Éditions CEF) cachet on FDC
FranceC49 fdc4Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and (Éditions P.J.) cachet on FDC
FranceC49 fdc5Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and (Fleetwood) cachet on FDC
FranceC49 fdc6Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and (Fleetwood) cachet (different) on FDC
FranceC49 fdc7Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and (black printed) cachet on FDC
FranceC49 maxiMaxicard
FranceC49 scSouvenir card
FranceC49 cover1 (Mi2032 cover1)Stamp and (black printed) cachet on cover1977Charles Lindbergh and Spirit of St. Louis
France
United States
C49 fdc
1710 fdc
Two stamps, one of two cancels, and (ArtCraft/PCS) cachet on dual-country FDC1977
1977
50th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic
France
United States
1496 cover
1710 fdc
One of two stamps and (pictorial) cancel and (ArtCraft) cachet on dual-country cover/FDC1977
1977
50th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic
France1535 cover (Mi2025 cover)(Fleetwood) cachet on cover197750th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic
FranceNone(Zaso) cachet on cover197750th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic
FranceNone(Pictorial) cancel and (Fleetwood) cachet (different) on cover197750th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic
FranceNone(Pictorial) cancel197750th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic
France
United States
B199 cover
1710 fdc
One of two stamps and ("Hommage à Lindbergh" pictorial) cancel and (Ardee Covers) cachet on dual-country cover/FDC1977
1978
50th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic
FranceC49 cover2 (Mi2032 cover2)Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and (photo/sticker) cachet on FDC1978Charles Lindberth
FranceNone(Lollini purple printed) cachet on cover1987"60th anniversary of Lindbergh's flight [across the Atlantic]"
FranceNone(Lollini purple printed) cachet (slightly different) on cover
France2769c (Mi3455)One of MS10 (2769 (2x (a-e))) (Mi3453-3457)2000Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic in 1927
France2769c maxiMaxicard
French PolynesiaC149 (Mi239)
iC149

Imperforate
197750th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic
French PolynesiaC149 dsDeluxe sheet (C149)
French PolynesiaC149 fdcStamp and (pictorial) cancel and (multi-color printed) cachet (design like stamp) on FDC
Gambia2697 (Mi?)MS4 (2697 (a-d))2002(100th anniv. birth)
Gambia2698 (Mi?)MS4 (2698 (a-d))
Great BritainNone(Fleetwood) cachet on cover197750th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic
Grenada835 (Mi873)197850th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic (in 1977)
Grenada837 (Mi875)
Grenada838 (Mi876)
Grenada841a (Mi?)One of MS2 (841 (a-b))
Grenada Grenadines264 (Mi268)Stamp-on-stamp: France C43197850th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic (in 1977)
Grenada Grenadines266 (Mi270)Stamp-on-stamp: Panama 257
Grenada Grenadines268 (Mi272)Stamp-on-stamp: Spain C56
Grenada Grenadines269a (Mi273)One stamp and in (left) margin of MS2 (269 (a-b)) (BL33, Mi273-274), stamp-on-stamp: USA C10 (upper stamp and in left margin); Germany C57 (lower stamp); USA C13-C15 (in upper-left margin)
Grenada Grenadines264+266+268 fdcThree stamps and (Artmaster) cachet on FDC
GuatemalaC742 (Mi1193)198150th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic (in 1977)
Guatemala473 (Mi1370)2001(100th anniv. birth, in 2002)
Guinea RepublicBL1128In (upper-right) margin of SS1 (Mi4614)2007Also "Spirit of St. Louis"
Guinea-BissauMi3930A-3935A_ms6 fdc(Multi-color printed) cachet on FDC, also cachet detail2008Lindbergh and Spirit of St. Louis
Guinea-BissauUnknown c (Mi?)One of MS4 (a-d)2023"Charles Lindbergh"
IndiaNone(Two) cachets on cover1974(year of death)
ItalyNone(Pictorial) cancel and (blue printed) cachet on cover197750th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic
Libya1227n (Mi1452A)
i1227n (Mi1452B)
One of MS16 (1227 (a-p)) (Mi1439A-1454A)
One of imperforate MS16 (i1227 (a-p)) (Mi1439B-1454B)
1984"Lindbergh" and "Spirit of St. Louis"
Maldive Islands701 (Mi721)197750th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic; "Charles A. Lindbergh", "Spirit of St. Louis"
Maldive Islands702 (Mi722)
Maldive Islands703 (Mi723)
Maldive Islands707 (Mi727)
Maldive Islands709 (BL4A)
i709 (BL4B)
MS2 (709 (a-b))
Imperforate MS2 (i709 (a-b))
Maldive IslandsBL680SS1201440th anniv. death "Charles Lindbergh"; also "Spirit of St. Louis"
MaliC302 (Mi576)1977"Charles Lindbergh" and Spirit of St. Louis
MaliC302 dsDeluxe sheet (C302
MaliC302 fdcStamp and (Mali Post) cachet on FDC
MaliC303 (Mi577)
iC303

Imperforate
MaliC303 dsDeluxe sheet (C303)
MaliC303 fdcStamp and (Mali Post) cachet on FDC
MaliC355 (Mi679)1979"Lindbergh" and Spirit of St. Louis
MaliC531 (Mi1087)C355 overprinted in black1986"Lindbergh" and Spirit of St. Louis
Marshall Islands1161j (Mi3884)One of MS25 (1161 (a-y)) (Mi3875-3894)2017"Lindbergh flight" and Spirit of St. Louis
Mauritania367 (Mi576)
i367

Imperforate
1977"Charles Lindbergh"
Mauritania367 dsDeluxe sheet (367)
Mauritania372 (BL18A)
i372 (BL18B)
SS1
Imperforate SS1
Micronesia362e+label (Mi886+label)One of MS15 (362 (a-o) + 15 labels) (Mi882-896)2000"The Spirit of St. Louis built for Charles Lindbergh's flight from New York to Paris"
Monaco576 (Mi767)1964Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic; "Spirit of St. Louis"
Monaco576 maxiMaxicard
Monaco576 fdcStamp and (Éditions P.J.) cachet on FDC (with extra 569 stamp)
Monaco1062 (Mi1268)197750th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic; "Spirit of St. Louis"
Monaco1062 fdc1Stamp and (ArtCraft) cachet on FDC
Monaco1062 fdc2Stamp and (Fleetwood) cachet on FDC, also back
Monaco1062 fdc3Stamp and (black printed and magenta rubber-stamp) cachet on (airmail) FDC, also back
Monaco1062 fdc4Stamp and (Éditions CEF) cachet on FDC
Monaco1062 fdc5Stamp and (Éditions J.F.) cachet on FDC
Monaco1062 sc(Document artistique philatélique) souvenir card (1062)
Mozambique1612b (Mi?)From MS4 (1612 (a-d))2002(100th anniv. birth); (75th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic)
Mozambique1612c (Mi?)
NetherlandsNone(Black printed) cachet (and signature) on cover196740th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic
Nicaragua1050 (Mi?)197750th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic
Nicaragua1051 (Mi?)
Nicaragua1052 (Mi?)
Nicaragua1053 (Mi?)
Nicaragua1054 (Mi?)
Nicaragua1055 (Mi?)
NicaraguaC926 (Mi?)
NicaraguaC927 (Mi?)
NicaraguaC928 (Mi?)
NicaraguaC929 (Mi?)
NicaraguaC930 (BL?)SS1
Nicaragua1053-1054+C928 fdcThree stamps and cachet on FDC
NigerMi8946-8949_ms4MS4 (Mi8946-8949 + 2 labels)2022"95th anniv. Lindbergh's solo transatlantic flight" (in French text), and Spirit of St. Louis
NigerBL1478SS1 (Mi8950)
Panama256 (Mi142)1928"Homenaje a Lindbergh"; Lindbergh's visit to Central America
Panama257 (Mi143)
Panama256 cover (Mi142 cover)Stamp and (red text) cancel and cachet on cover1928"Panama's commemorative Lindbergh stamp; llegada de Lindbergh a Panama"
Panama256-257 cover (Mi142-143 cover)Two stamps and (red text) cancel on cover (different)1928"Llegada de Lindbergh a Panama"
Panama257 cover (Mi143 cover)Stamp(s) and cachet on cover1928"Lindbergh Day, Panama; Homenaje a Lindbergh"
Paraguay1744 (BL?)SS1197750th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic
Romania3348 (Mi?)1985(10th anniv. death, in 1984); Spirit of St. Louis
Romania3346-3348 fdcOne of three stamps and cachet on FDC
Romania3348 maxiMaxicard
RomaniaNonePrinted stamp and cachet on postal card1993(90th anniv. birth, in 1993); (20th anniv. death, in 1993)
St. Thomas and Prince Islands702c (Mi830A-833A)In (left) margin of SS1 (3x (701a+701b+702a+702b)), also margin detail1983"Charles A. Lindbergh"
St. Thomas and Prince Islands2187 (Mi4271-4275)MS4 (2187 (a-d))2009"35th anniv. death Charles A. Lindbergh" (in Portuguese text)
St. Thomas and Prince Islands2630 (Mi5539-5542)MS4 (2630 (a-d))2014"40th anniv. death Charles Lindbergh" (in Portuguese text); also reproduction of USA C10 on stamp 'c'
St. Thomas and Prince Islands2650 (BL967, Mi5543)SS1
Salvador, El1606a (Mi2355)One of strip of 5 (1606 (a-e)) (Mi2355-2359), or four of MS20 (1606f (4x (1606 (a-e))))2004"Charles Lindbergh" and Spirit of St. Louis
Samoa450 (Mi350)197750th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic, in 1927
Samoa451 (Mi351)
Samoa452 (Mi352)
Samoa453 (Mi353)
Samoa450-453 fdcFour stamps and (text) cancel and (Samoa Post) cachet on FDC
Samoa453a (BL13)MS4 (450-453)
Samoa453a fdcMS4 and (text) cancel and (Samoa Post) cachet on FDC
SamoaKM26$1. (copper-nickel) coin, also obverse197750th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic, in 1927
Sierra Leone3722d (Mi7176)One stamp and in (lower-right) margin of MS4 (3722 (a-d)) (Mi7173-7176)2016"Charles Lindbergh"; Spirit of St. Louis
Sierra Leone3722 fdcMS4 on FDC
Solomon IslandsUnknown ms (Mi?)MS4 (a-d)2014"40th memorial anniversary of Charles Lindbergh"
Solomon IslandsUnknown ss (BL?)SS1
SpainC56 (Mi559)From MS25 (C56a (25x C56))1930Lindbergh, Spirit of St. Louis; Lindbergh's cat Patsy (in lower right of stamp) watching his plane take off
SpainC56 fdcStamp and (magenta and black sticker) cachet on FDC
SpainC56_var (Mi559K)
SwedenNone(Text) cancel1977"Charles Lindbergh"; Spirit of St. Louis; 50th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic, in 1927
SwedenNonePostcard, also back197750th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic, in 1927; Spirit of St. Louis (on cancel and back and in text); Lindberg (on back and in text)
SwedenNonePostcard, also back (different)
Sweden1675One of booklet pane of 6 (1677a (1672-1677)), also booklet inside and booklet outside1988Also "Charles Lindbergh" (in booklet text)
Togo957-958+C312-C315 (Mi1227-1232)Set of 6 stamps1977"50th anniv. Lindbergh's solo transatlantic flight" (in French text), and Spirit of St. Louis
Togo957-958+C312-C315 fdcSix stamps and (text) cancel and (ArtCraft) cachet on FDC
Togo957_and_C312_and_C314 fdcThree stamps and (text) cancel and (photo/sticker) cachet on FDC
Togo958+C313+C315 fdcThree stamps and (text) cancel and (photo/sticker) cachet on FDC
TogoC315a (BL116)MS2 (C314-C315)
TogoC315a fdcMS2 and (text) cancel and (EDILA) cachet on FDC
TogoMi5605-5608_ms4MS4 (Mi5605-5608)201440th anniv. death "Charles Lindbergh"; also "Spirit of St. Louis"
TogoBL943SS1 (Mi5609)
TogoUnknown ms (Mi?)MS3 (a-c); stamp 'b' of the MS3 contains reproductions of USA 1710 and USA C102022"95th anniv. Lindbergh's solo transatlantic flight" (in French text), and Spirit of St. Louis
TogoUnknown ss (BL?)SS1
TogoUnknown ss (BL?)SS1 (different)
TogoUnknown ms (Mi?)MS4 (a-d)2023"50th anniv. death Charles Lindbergh" (in French text)
TogoUnknown ss (BL?)SS1
Turks and Caicos Islands1382 (Mi?)MS6 (1382 (a-f))200275th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic; (100th anniv. birth)
United StatesC10 (Mi?)1927"Lindbergh" and Spirit of St. Louis and flight track from New York to Paris
United StatesC10 fdcStamp and (blue printed) cachet on FDC
United StatesC10aBooklet pane of 3 (C10a); also booklet of 6 (BKC1 front and back (2x C10a))
United StatesC10 cover (Mi? cover)Stamp and (blue-and-magenta rubber-stamp) cachet on cover1927"Lindbergh" and Spirit of St. Louis and flight track from New York to Paris
United StatesNoneCommemorative medallion1927Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic
United States637 cover (Mi? cover)(Red printed and black typed and purple rubber-stamp) cachet on cover1928Lindbergh "Air Mail: First flight from Detroit to Toledo"
United StatesC7 cover (Mi? cover)(Magenta and blue ribber-stamp) cachet on cover1928"Lindbergh again flies the airmail"
United States496 cover (Mi? cover)(Cyan rubber-stamp) cachet on cover1929"Lindbergh day"
United StatesNone(Black rubber-stamp) cachet on cover1929"Lindbergh day"
United StatesNone(Magenta rubber-stamp) cachet on cover19325th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic
United StatesNone(Carl M. Becken) cachet on (airmail) cover1933Charles and Anne Lindbergh return from 1933 European survey
United StatesNone(Mound City Annual Philatelic Exhibition and Open House) cachet on cover195225th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic
United States1596 cover (Mi? cover)(Pictorial) cancel and (Colorano silk) cachet on cover197750th anniv. Lindbergh's solo transatlantic flight, and Spirit of St. Louis
United States1710 (Mi1298)1977"50th anniversary [Lindbergh's] solo transatlantic flight" and Spirit of St. Louis
United States1710 essayPhoto essay
United States1710 fdc1Stamp and (brown printed) cachet on FDC
United States1710 fdc2Stamp and (brown and black printed) cachet on FDC
United States1710 fdc3Stamp and (ArtCraft) cachet on FDC
United States1710 fdc4Stamp and (blue and black printed) cachet on FDC
United States1710 fdc5Stamp and (Lindbergh Station) cancel and (brown printed) cachet (different) on FDC
United States1710 fdc6Stamp and (Lindbergh 50 years) cancel and (two) cachets on FDC
United States1710 fdc7Stamp and (Lindbergh 40 years) cancel and (brown and blue and green printed) cachet on FDC
United States1710 fdc8Stamp and (Capitol Cachets) cachet on FDC
United States1710 fdc9Stamp and (black printed) cachet on FDC
United States1710 fdc10Stamp and (Elite) cachet on FDC
United States1710 fdc11Stamp and (blue printed sticker) cachet on FDC
United States1710 fdc12Stamp and (HF) cachet on FDC
United States1710 fdc13Stamp and (QC and red rubber-stamp, same) cachets on FDC
United States1710 fdc14Stamp and (QC and red rubber-stamp) cachet on FDC
United States1710 fdc15Stamp and (Artmaster) cachet on FDC (large-font cancel)
United States1710 fdc16Stamp and (Artmaster) cachet on FDC (small-font cancel)
United States1710 fdc17Stamp and (black printed) cachet on (airmail) FDC
United States1710 fdc18Stamp and (Reader's Digest) cachet on FDC
United States1710 fdc19Stamp and (MoF no.51) cachet on FDC
United States1710 fdc20Stamp and (Spectrum) cachet on FDC
United States1710 fdc21Stamp and (Zaso silk and black rubber-stamp) cachets on FDC, also back
United States1710 fdc22Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and (Zaso silk) cachet (different) on FDC
United States1710 fdc23Stamp and (Zaso silk) cachet on FDC
United States1710 fdc24Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and (Zaso silk) cachet (different, with reproduction of USA 1710) on FDC (also second/text cancel)
United States1710 fdc25Stamp and (Zaso silk) cachet (with reproduction of USA 1710) on FDC
United States1710 fdc26Stamp and (Zaso silk) cachet (different, with reproduction of USA 1710) on FDC
United States1710 fdc27Stamp and (Zaso silk) cachet (different) on FDC
United States1710 fdc28Stamp and (Zaso silk) cachet (different) on FDC
United States1710 fdc29Stamp and (Zaso silk) cachet (different, with reproduction of USA 1710) on FDC (also second Lindbergh Station pictorial cancel)
United States1710 fdc30Stamp and (Colorano silk) cachet on FDC
United States1710 fdc31Stamp and (Fleetwood) cachet on FDC, also back
United States1710 fdc32Stamp and (blue and brown printed) cachet on FDC
United States1710 fdc33Stamp and (TRW/SEA Stamp Club) cachet on FDC
United StatesSP426(USPS) souvenir page (1710)
United StatesCP76(USPS no.76) commemorative panel (1710)
United States1710 fdc
1557 fdc
Stamp and (black printed) cachet on dual-cancel FDC1977
1975
50th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic
United States
France
1710 fdc
1496 cover
(Mi1298 fdc
Mi? cover)
Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and (ArtCraft) cachet on dual-country FDC/cover1977
1977
50th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic
United States
France
1710 fdc
C49 fdc
(Mi1298 fdc
Mi? fdc)
Two stamps, one of two cancels, and (ArtCraft/PCS) cachet on dual-country FDC1977
1977
50th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic
United StatesNone(Calumet Stamp Club Station) cancel and cachet on cover197750th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic
United StatesNone(Florex/American Air Mail Society) cancel on cover1977"50 years of airmail"; Spirit of St. Louis; (50th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic)
United StatesNone(Motopex'77 Station) cancel on cover1977"Birthplace of Lindbergh" (Detroit); (50th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic)
United StatesNone(Lindbergh Station, Tampa FL) cancel on cover1977"Lindbergh EAA Commemorative Tour"; (50th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic)
United StatesNone(San Antonio TX) cancel on cover1977Spirit of St. Louis; (50th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic)
United StatesNone(Spirit of St. Louis Station, Oklahoma City) cancel on cover1977"Spirit of St. Louis Station"; (50th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic)
United StatesNone(Redpex Station) cancel on cover197750th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic
United StatesNone(Twinpex Station) cancel and (Twinpex) cachet on cover197750th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic
United StatesNone(Fleetwood) cachet on cover197750th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic
United StatesNone(Aripex'77) cancel and (Aripex'77) cachet on cover197750th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic
United StatesNone(Stamporee Station pictorial) cancel and Zaso silk) cachet (with reproduction of USA 1710) on cover197750th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic
United StatesNone(Lindbergh Station pictorial) cancel and (Zaso silk) cachet (with reproduction of USA 1710) on cover197750th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic
United StatesNone(Airpex II) cancel on cover1977(50th anniv.) "Charles A. Lindbergh, first solo Atlantic flight", and Spirit of St. Louis
United StatesNone(Fleetwood) cachet on cover197750th anniv. Charles A. Lindbergh, first solo Atlantic flight, and Spirit of St. Louis
United States1710 cover1 (Mi1298 cover1)Stamp and (Linncopex) cachet on FDC197750th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic
United States1710 cover2 (Mi1298 cover2)Stamp and (red and blue printed) cachet on cover197750th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic
United States1710 cover3 (Mi1298 cover3)Stamp and (Midwest Postage Stamp and Coin Show Station) cancel and (Midwest Postage Stamp and Coin Show/ATA) cachet (with stamp similar to C10) on cover197750th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic
United States1710 cover4 (Mi1298 cover4)Stamp and (Airpex II) cancel and (Airpex II) cachet on cover1977"50th Anniversary .... Charles A. Lindbergh, first solo Atlantic flight" and Spirit of St. Louis
United States1710 cover5 (Mi1298 cover5)Stamp and (Spirit of St. Louis Station) cancel and (Colorano silk) cachet on cover1977"50th Anniversary .... Charles A. Lindbergh, first solo Atlantic flight" and Spirit of St. Louis
United States1710 cover (Mi1298 cover)Stamp and (Zaso silk) cachet on cover1978"Charles Lindbergh" Medal of Honor
United States1710 o/p (Mi1298 o/p)1710 private overprint1978"Charles A. Lindbergh, 50th anniversary solo transatlantic flight; "Spirit of St. Louis"
United States1710 o/p cover (Mi1298 o/p cover)1710 private overprint and (Ardee Covers) cachet on cover1978"Charles A. Lindbergh, 50th anniversary solo transatlantic flight; Spirit of St. Louis; "Fifty-first anniversary solo transatlantic flight" (in cachet)
United StatesNone(Zaso silk) cachet on cover197850th anniv. Lindbergh's gift of the Spirit of St. Louis to the Smithsonian
United States1710 cover1 (Mi1298 cover1)(Minnesota Historical Society) cancel on cover1979"Lindbergh 'Eagle' Station"
United States1710 cover2 (Mi1298 cover2)(Fleetwood) cachet on cover1979"Lindbergh's Solo Flight"
United StatesNone(Minnesota Historical Society) cancel on cover (different)1979"Lindbergh 'Eagle' Station"
United StatesNoneCancel on cover1985"Charles A. Lindbergh Terminal; Lindbergh Heritage Week"
United StatesNoneCancel on cover198760th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic
United States2781 (Mi?)One of block of 4 (2782a (2779-2782))1993(20th anniv. death, in 1994); (90th anniv. birth, in 1992)
United States3184m (Mi2963)
3184m back
One of MS15 (3184 (a-o)) (BL42, Mi2951-2965), also back1998(25th anniv. death, in 1999)
United States3184m fdc1Stamp and (BGC) cachet on FDC
United States3184m fdc2Stamp and (PCS) cachet on FDC
United States3184m fdc3Stamp and (Paul Calle/Chris Calle/Fleetwood) cachet on FDC, also back
United States3184m fdc4Stamp and (PCS golden-replica) cachet on FDC, also back
United States3184m fdc5Stamp and (Collins) cachet on FDC
United States3184m fdc6Stamp and (David Peterman hand-painted) cachet on FDC
United States3184m fdc7Stamp and (Mystic Stamp Company) cachet on FDC, also back
United States3184m fdc8Stamp and (Fleetwood) cachet on FDC
United States3184m fdc9Stamp and extra (1710) stamp and (Ranto/SP426) cachet on FDC, also back
United States3184m maxiMaxicard
United States3184 fdc1MS15 on FDC (Artmaster cachet)
United States3184 fdc2MS15 and (ArtCraft) cachet on FDC
United States3184 fdc3MS15 on FDC (Cachet Craft Cachets cachet)
United States3184 fdc4MS15 on FDC (HF cachet)
United StatesSP1259C(USPS) souvenir page (3184), also back
United StatesCP537C page1(USPS no.538A) commemorative panel (3184), also page2
Upper Volta467 (BL?)SS11977(50th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic)
Uruguay982 (Mi?)One of MS4 (982a (979-982)) (BL34)197750th anniv. Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic

CountryCancel DateCancel LocationType of ItemNotes on Content
Lindbergh (on satellite and rocket launch covers)
United States1968-12-21Patrick AFB, FL(SpaceCraft/Swanson) insert2 back from Apollo-8 launch cover, also insert2 front and insert1"Brig. Gen. Charles A. Lindbergh, ret."


Kaplan

Kaplan, Joseph
(1902–1991)

Born in Hungary, Joseph Kaplan moved to the US at age 8. He became an American citizen and earned a doctorate in physics in 1927. He becam an assistant professor at UCLA in 1928, and immediately began work on reproducing the spectrum of the aurora in his laboratory. In 1932 he succeeded in producing an afterglow, which he felt did reproduce auroral conditions. He concluded that "the auroral display is really an electrical discharge in a nitrogen-oxygen mixture in which metastable molecules abound". In fact some of the emissions he discovered in his lab were only later observed to be part of the upper atmospheric night sky spectrum.

During WWII, Kaplan and Karl Gustav Rossby of the University of Chicago organized for the US Air Force a major program to train military personnel in meteorology at several universities across the country. Verner Suomi was one famous alumnus of this program.

Kaplan became a full professor of physics at UCLA in 1940. From1943 to 1945 he was the chief operations analyst for the Air Force and the Air Weather Service. In 1944 he established the Institute of Geophysics at UCLA, of which he was the director in 1946 and 1947. He continued to be interested in the upper atmosphere, and particularly in how the ionosphere and solar activity would affect radio transmissions. To this end, he considered the exploration of the upper atmosphere with instrumented rockets (Robert Goddard had made the first attempt to launch such a rocket in 1929). Kaplan studied the chemical reactions in the upper atmosphere, and especially those that led to the production of the afterglow. He suggested that the region of the atmosphere where those chemical reactions take place be called the chemosphere (as an analogue to the name "ionosphere", where reactions among ions occur).

Starting in 1953, Kaplan served as chairman of the US Committee for the IGY (International Geophysical Year), where he advocated the launching of artificial satellites to explore the Earth's upper atmosphere as part of the scientific program (and in fact the first artificial satellites (Sputnik-1, Vanguard-1 and Explorer-1) were indeed launched by the USA and the USSR as part of the IGY). Kaplan described his plans for the IGY at a lecture at the University of Wisconsin in Madison in 1956. Verner Suomi was present, and enthusiastically shared with Kaplan his ideas about satellite measurements of the Earth's heat balance. This led to the development of the Suomi-Parent radiometer that was aboard the satellite Explorer-7. It was launched in 1959, after the IGY had ended. Nevertheless, it was an important step forward, and provided the first measurements of the Earth's heat budget and its changes in space and time.

Kaplan was active in the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics in the 1950s, and with Sidney Chapman and Lloyd Berkner introduced the term "aeronomy" to describe the scientific study of the upper atmosphere. In the 1960s he was a member of the Executive Committee of the International Committee of Scientific Unions. During those years he played an important role in international programs such as the IQSY (International Quiet Sun Year), IHD (International Hydrological Decade) and the GARP (Global Atmospheric Research Program). In 1969, Kaplan received the Commemorative Medal for the 50th Anniversary of the American Meteorological Society.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
United States1107 fdc1 (Mi727 fdc1)(Multi-color printed) cachet on FDC1958
United States1107 fdc2 (Mi727 fdc2)(Kolor Kovor) cachet on FDC
United States1107 fdc3 (Mi727 fdc3)(ArtCraft and ?) cachet on FDC
United States1107 fdc4 (Mi727 fdc4)(Artmaster and ?) cachet on FDC


Scholz

Scholz, Joachim
(1903–1937)

Joachim Scholz was a German polar scientist and staff member at the Potsdam Meteorological and Magnetic Observatory (MMOP). He worked at Tikhaya on Hooker Island in Franz Josef Land as a participant in the Soviet Arctic expedition of 1932-33, led by Ivan Papanin (this expedition was part of the Soviet contribution to the Second IPY). Scholz studied the aurora and atmospheric electricity.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Germany (East)NoneCachet on cover1983"Dr. Joachim Scholz" (in cachet text)


von Neumann

von Neumann, John
(1903–1957)

John von Neumann was born in Hungary, but immigrated with his family to the United States in 1930. He was a mathematician, computer scientist and meteorologist who pioneered the use of computers in applied scientific problems, including meteorology.

In 1946 he announced his "intention of developing a very high speed electronic computing machine". In collaboration with the US Weather Bureau, the Navy and the Air Force, he formed the Meteorology Group at Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study (IAS). His computer work proceeded apace at the IAS during the late 1940s, culminating in the revolutionary computing machine ENIAC. The world's first computerized weather forecast was produced in 1950 by ENIAC. This pioneering work in numerical weather prediction (NWP) was described in a scientific paper written by von Neumann and his colleagues Jule Charney and Ragnar Fjørtoft in 1950. Entitled "Numerical Integration of the Barotropic Vorticity Equation" (published in the meteorological journal Tellus, 2, 237-254), it is the earliest scientific paper in the area of NWP.

Von Neumann also pursued his other meteorological interest: "calculating the effects of human intervention in the natural processes of the atmosphere". He proposed to apply computer techniques to study the idea of adding dye to the polar ice caps to decrease the amount of solar energy they would reflect. He claimed that the procedure could warm the Earth enough to make the climate of Iceland approximate that of Hawaii. He also predicted the warming of the climate due to carbon dioxide release.

In 1953, the US Advisory Committee on Weather Control was created to oversee American weather modification and cloud seeding activities, such as those originated by Irving Langmuir and Vincent Schaefer after WWII. Von Neumann became involved with the Committee in 1955 (at the time he was also a commissioner of the Atomic Energy Commission, and so was involved with the development and stockpiling of nuclear weapons). He believed that in weather control as well as in the nuclear arms race, the US had to stay ahead of the Soviets at all costs. Like the US military, he considered weather control as a potential tool for achieving global dominance, and as part of the Advisory Committee he participated in a panel on the "possible effects of atomic and thermonuclear explosions in modifying weather". Another area of discussion was how Soviet harvests might be ruined by a US-induced drought. Yet another was that atomic bombs detonated off the west coast of Africa at the onset of the monsoon might improve the climate of the drought-prone Sahel region. As von Neumann naively told Congress in 1956, "our knowledge of the dynamics in the atmosphere is rapidly approaching a level that will make possible, in a few decades, intervention in the atmospheric and climatic matters. It will probably unfold on a scale difficult to imagine at present. There is little doubt one could intervene on any desired scale, and ultimately achieve rather fantastic effects". But already in 1957, Roger Revelle and Hans Seuss were raising warning flags with their ominous findings on increasing CO2 levels in the Earth's atmosphere which hinted at anthropogenic global warming. It seems that von Neumann never considered, at least in public, that major weather modification projects carried out in the atmosphere might spiral out of control and lead to unexpected effects.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Central African Republic1366 (Mi?)In (upper-right) margin of MS3 (1366 (a-c))2000"Premier ordinateur l'ENIAC1"
Guyana2681i (Mi?)One of MS9 (2681 (a-i))1993
HungaryNone (Mi_P284)Postal card1982
Hungary3354 (Mi4209)1992
Hungary3824 (Mi4764)2003
Portugal2345j (Mi?)One of MS12 (2345 (a-l))2000von Neumann and Turing
TatarstanUnknown (Mi?)2006
United States3908 (Mi3925)
3908 back
One of block of 4 (3909a (3906-3909)), or five of MS20 (3909c (5x (3906-3909)))2005
United States3908 fdc1Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and cachet on FDC
United States3908 fdc2Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and cachet (different) on FDC
United States3908 fdc3Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and (Colorano silk) cachet on FDC
United States3908 fdc4Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and (Collins) cachet on FDC
United States3908 fdc5Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and cachet (different) on FDC
United States3908 fdc6Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and (Steve Wilson Design) cachet on FDC
United States3908 fdc7Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and cachet (different) on FDC
United States3908 fdc8Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and cachet (different) on FDC
United States3908 fdc9Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and cachet (different) on FDC
United States3908 fdc10Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and cachet (different) on FDC
United States3906-3909 program(USPS) FDOI program, and insert
United StatesSP1563(USPS) souvenir page (3906-3909)
United StatesCP733(USPS no.736) commemorative panel (3909a)

1 ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer) was the first electronic general-purpose computer. It was completed in 1945 and was put to work on a variety of scientific problems. John von Neumann was keen to explore new applications for ENIAC and, because of his work on atmospheric simulations for modeling nuclear weapons explosions, felt that numerical weather prediction was an obvious candidate for the computer. The military, sensing that weather modification might be a useful tool, funded the research. In 1950, von Neumann and a team of meteorologists used ENIAC to create the first computer-produced numerical weather forecast. The computer was primitive and the equation used was simplified to the bare bones, but this was nevertheless a seminal event in the history of modern meteorology - the precursor of a key tool in modern weather and climate forecasting and research. The feat was described in a paper by von Neumann and meteorologists Jule Charney and Ragnar Fjørtoft: "Numerical Integration of the Barotropic Vorticity Equation," Tellus, 2, (1950), 237-254.


Krenkel

Krenkel, Ernst
(1903–1971)

Ernst Krenkel was a Russian polar researcher and geographer. He began his career as radio specialist (he was also an amateur radio operator) on Soviet polar expeditions, including the North Pole-1 (NP-1) drifting ice station, where he served with the meteorologist Fedorov and transmitted the first ever weather report from near the North Pole. He also took part in the Sibiryakov and Chelyuskin expeditions (both of which were commanded by Otto Schmidt). Starting in 1938, Krenkel worked for the Chief Directorate of the Northern Sea Route, which had responsibility for marine navigation, weather observing and radio communications throughout the Northeast passage. In 1951 he joined the research division of the Hydrometeorological Instruments Institute, of which he became the director in 1969. Krenkel was co-leader, with D. Maksutov, of the 14th Soviet Antarctic Expedition, from 1967 to 1969. During that expedition a wide variety of scientific programs was carried out, including programs in meteorology, aerology and the aurora.

The Hydrometeorological Observatory on Heiss Island in Franz Josef Land was named for Krenkel in 1972. At the Observatory, the USSR and France cooperated in meteorology, aeronomy and space studies. It was closed in 2001 after a fire, but reopened in 2004 as the E. Krenkel Polar Station. It is still part of the hydrometeorological observing network, with synoptic station number 20046. Krenkel's name was also given to a research vessel of the Hydrometeorological Service Gidrometsluzhba.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Russia (USSR)643 (Mi614)1938NP-11 team, including Krenkel and Fedorov
Russia (USSR)644 (Mi615)
Russia (USSR)645 (Mi616)NP-11 team; Krenkel (probably at left); Fedorov (at right)
Russia (USSR)646 (Mi617)
Russia (USSR)3164 cover (Mi3182 cover)Signature on cover1966Krenkel signature
Russia (USSR)NoneSignature on cover1969Krenkel signature
Russia (USSR)4084 (Mi4123)1973Krenkel, RAEM; 70th anniv. birth
Russia (USSR)4084 maxiStamp and (pictorial) cancel and cachet on maxicard
Russia (USSR)4084 sheetExhibition sheet (containing 4084)
Russia (USSR)NoneCancel and cachet on stamped envelope197370th anniv. birth
Russia (USSR)NoneQSL card (same design as Russia 4084)1973Krenkel, RAEM
Russia (USSR)4084 card (Mi4123 card)Stamp and (purple rubber-stamp) cachet on card1974Krenkel Hydrometeor. Observatory on Heiss Island in Franz Josef Land (with French-Soviet cooperation in meteorology, aeronomy and space studies)
Russia (USSR)NoneQSL card (same design as Russia 4084)1975Krenkel, RAEM
Russia (USSR)4801 (Mi4908)1979Krenkel and ship Ernst Krenkel
Russia (USSR)4801 fdcStamp and (pictorial) cancel and (multi-color printed) cachet on FDC
Russia (USSR)NoneCachet on stamped envelope198380th anniv. birth
Russia (USSR)NoneCancel and cachet on stamped envelope (same)198380th anniv. birth
Russia (USSR)None(Multi-color printed) cachet on cover198750th anniv. NP-11; NP-11 team, including Krenkel and Fedorov
Russia (USSR)None(Multi-color printed) cachet on cover1987"E.T. Krenkel" (in Cyrillic text)
Russia (USSR)None(Purple rubber-stamp) cachet on stamped envelope1989Krenkel Hydrometeor. Observatory on Heiss Island in Franz Josef Land
Russia (USSR)None(Purple rubber-stamp) cachet on stamped envelope1992Krenkel Hydrometeor. Observatory on Heiss Island in Franz Josef Land
Russia (USSR)None(Round black rubber-stamp) cachet on cover1992"E.T. Krenkel"
RussiaNone(Blue rubber-stamp) cachet on cover1993Krenkel, RAEM
Russia6799 (Mi1127)2003Krenkel, RAEM; (100th anniv. birth)
Russia6799 fdcStamp and (pictorial) cancel and cachet on FDC
Russia6799 cover (Mi1127 cover)Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and cachet on cover2003Krenkel, RAEM; (100th anniv. birth)
RussiaNoneCachet on stamped envelope2003(100th anniv. birth); cachet also reproduces stamps 643, 4084, and 4801
Russia6788 cover (Mi1106 cover)(Four) cachets on cover2005Krenkel Hydrometeor. Observatory on Heiss Island in Franz Josef Land
Russia6799 card (Mi1127 card)Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and (multi-color printed) cachet on postcard2007Krenkel, RAEM; 70th anniv. NP-11; NP-11 team, including Krenkel and Fedorov
Russia7021 cover (BL98, Mi1400-1402 cover)(Text) cancel and (multi-color printed) cachet on cover200770th anniv. NP-11; NP-11 team, including Krenkel and Fedorov
UkraineNone(Red rubber-stamp) cachet on cover1999ship Ernst Krenkel

1NP-1 (North Pole 1) was the first Soviet Arctic drifting ice station. It had a crew of four (leader Papanin, and Krenkel, Fedorov and Shirshov) and operated from May 1937 through February 1938.


Kolmogorov

Kolmogorov, Andrei Nikolaevich
(1903–1987)

Andrei Kolmogorov was a Russian mathematician. He was a student and then post-doctoral researcher at the Lomonosov Moscow State University from 1920 to 1931, and was a professor there from 1931 until his death.

During the WWII years, he worked on various applied and theoretical scientific problems in addition to his pure mathematical research. One such problem was turbulence. He made important contributions to the understanding of the small-scale structure of turbulence and the energy transfer process from large to small scales (through a process known as the "energy cascade", first proposed by the meteorologist L. F. Richardson) through his development of what came to be known as the similarity theory of turbulence. This was the first mathematical analysis of turbulence. The theory has found application in many areas of science, including atmospheric studies. For example, the dispersion of atmospheric pollutants depends on turbulence. Also, it is well known that turbulence in the clear atmosphere can affect even the largest aircraft.

Kolmogorov's student A.M. Obukhov became head of the Turbulence Laboratory in 1949, and later was the founder and director of the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Guinea RepublicMi6624-6628_ms5In (lower) margin of MS5 (Mi6624-6628)2009"Andrei Kolmogorov"
Guinea RepublicMi6624-6628 fdcMS5 on FDC
Portugal2345b (Mi2396)One of MS12 (2345 (a-l)) (Mi2395-2406)2000Kolmogorov (at right)


Frolow

Frolow, Serge
(1903–1959)

Serge Frolow was a Russian-born French meteorologist who joined the French Overseas Meteorological Service in 1932. He served for several years in French West Africa and then became the assistant director of the Morne-des-Cadets meteorological observatory in Martinique in 1940. In 1943 he was appointed director of the Meteorological Service of the Antilles-Guiana group, and in the late 1940s he became deputy director of the Meteorological Service of Madagascar. Under his direction a meteorological station was built in 1950 on the small island of Europa, in the middle of the Madagascar Channel.

The Meteorological Service of Madagascar proposed to the French authorities in 1947 that a weather observing station be built on Tromelin Island, a tiny and isolated coral island in the Indian Ocean 450 km east of Madagascar. It was believed that such a station would be useful, particularly for monitoring tropical cyclones. Following a formal request from WMO Regional Association #1 (Africa), the French Meteorological Service decided to set up such a weather station, and in November 1953 a reconnaissance mission was carried out under Frolow's direction. He returned in early 1954 with a group of men to build the station. The first weather observations were sent from the new Tromelin Island station on 8 May 1954. Frolow was the station chief, and it was eventually named the Serge Frolow station.

The meteorologists and support staff were the only inhabitants of the island. Tropical cyclones are so common in the region that the island became known informally as "cyclone island". Some of the strongest that struck or came close to the island and caused damage to the station were the cyclone of 25 January 1956, Cyclone Lydie (8 March 1973), Cyclone Erenista (4 February 1986) and Cyclone Honorina (14 March 1986).

Serge Frolow station was partially automated in 2014, after 60 years of continuous operation.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
France5760 (Mi7502)2019Serge Frolow Meteor. Station on Tromelin Island (see brief information here, and related images here and here)
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesNone(Black rubber-stamp) cachet on cover2008"Météo France - Station Serge Frolow - Tromelin"
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesNone(Black rubber-stamp) cachet on cover (different)2008"Météo France - Station Serge Frolow - Tromelin"
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesNone(Black rubber-stamp) cachet on cover2011"Météo France - Station Serge Frolow - Tromelin"
French Southern and Antarctic Territories495 (Mi852)201460th anniv. Serge Frolow Meteor. Station (1954) on Tromelin Island (see brief information here, and related images here and here)
French Southern and Antarctic Territories495 fdcStamp and (pictorial) cancel on FDC
French Southern and Antarctic Territories537 (Mi915)2016"Serge Frolow - directeur du service météorologique - Tromelin 1954"
MadagascarNoneText on part of back and (oval rubber-stamp) cachet on front1954letter sent by Serge Frolow, the "Chef de la première mission française - Île Tromelin" (i.e. Chef de la "mission météorologique permanente - Île Tromelin")


Kibel

Kibel, I. A.
(1904–1970)

I. A. Kibel was a Soviet mathematician, meteorologist and fluid hydrodynamicist. After graduating from the University of Saratov in 1925, he worked at the Main Geophysical Observatory in St. Petersburg until 1943. From 1943 to 1958 he was at the USSR Central Forecasting Institute, from 1958 to 1961 at the Institute of Applied Geophysics, and after 1961 at the USSR Meteorological Computing Centre (which became the USSR Hydrometeorological Centre in 1965). Through much of his career, Kibel was mainly interested the application of numerical techniques to short term weather forecasting. He also considered the mesoscale and its effects on weather forecasts.

In 1940 Kibel developed a simple equation for surface pressure tendency and proposed a graphical method for solving it to obtain 24 hour forecasts of surface pressure. The scheme was tested in the 1940s but the results were less than satisfactory. This was, however, the earliest Soviet attempt to make weather forecasts based on meteorological dynamical equations of motion, and Soviet NWP (numerical weather prediction) can be traced back to this point. Obukhov in 1949 published a paper that treated the mutual adjustment of wind and pressure in a barotropic atmosphere. Kibel extended Obukhov's work to a more complete set of dynamical equations in the 1950s. The work of Kibel, Obukhov and other researchers led to the first operational NWP system in the USSR in 1959. Kibel also founded a School of hydrodynamical short-range weather forecasting at the Forecasting Institute.

Kibel's meteorological publications (in Russian) include:

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Russia (USSR)NoneCachet on stamped envelope1984(80th anniv. birth)


Rymill

Rymill, John
(1905–1968)

John Rymill was an Australian polar explorer. In 1930-1931 he participated in his first Greenland expedition, designed to explore an almost unknown part of Greenland and record meteorological conditions at the coast and over the ice cap for a period of about one year. In 1932-33 he was part of another Greenland expedition. Its goal was to complete the meteorological and survey work of the first expedition.

Rymill also went to Graham Land in Antarctica as part of the last British expedition to that continent before WWII. There he participated from 1934 to 1937 in a comprehensive scientific program that studied geology, meteorology, glaciology and biology. In addition, the survey work carried out by the expedition showed that the Antarctic Peninsula is part of the Antarctic mainland.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Australian Antarctic TerritoryL26 (Mi?)1973"Rymill's D. H. Fox Moth"
Australian Antarctic TerritoryL24+L26+L30-L33 fdc1One of six stamps and cachet on FDC (Macquarie Island cancel)
Australian Antarctic TerritoryL24+L26+L30-L33 fdc2One of six stamps and cachet (same) on FDC (Mawson cancel)
British Antarctic Territory59a (Mi?)Watermarked 3141973"John Rymill"; (5th anniv. death)
British Antarctic Territory59 (Mi57)Watermarked 3731979"John Rymill"
British Antarctic Territory59b (Mi?)Perforated 121980"John Rymill"


Sartre

Sartre, Jean-Paul
(1905–1980)

Jean-Paul Sartre was a French writer and philosopher. After graduating from the École Normale Supérieure, he did his compulsory military service as an Army meteorologist at Fort St-Cyr and at St-Symphorien, near Tours, from 1929 to 1931. In 1939 he was drafted into the French army and served as a meteorologist in the war until his capture by German troops in 1940.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
FranceB568 (Mi?)One of booklet pane of 6 (B572a (567-572))1985(80th anniv. birth); (5th anniv. death)
FranceB568 fdc1Stamp and cancel and cachet on FDC
FranceB568 fdc2Stamp and cancel and cachet on FDC
FranceB568 fdc3Stamp and cancel and cachet on FDC
FranceB568 fdc4Stamp and cancel and cachet on FDC
FranceB568 maxi1Maxicard
FranceB568 maxi2Maxicard (different)
FranceB568 maxi3Maxicard (different)
FranceB568 maxi4Maxicard (different)
FranceB568 sc1Souvenir card
FranceB568 sc2Souvenir card (different)
FranceB568 sc3Souvenir card (different)
FranceB572a fdcOn one stamp in booklet pane and cachet on FDC
Guinea RepublicUnknown ms (Mi?)Stamps 'a', 'b', 'd', and 'e' in MS6 (a-f)2009(105th anniv. birth, in 2010; 30th anniv. death, in 2010)
Guinea RepublicUnknown ss (BL?)On stamp and in (right) margin of SS1
Guinea-BissauUnknown b (Mi?)One of MS4 (a-d)2013Sartre (in background); also Camus
Monaco2359 (Mi?)From MS10 (2359a (10x 2359))2004100th anniv. birth (in 2005); 25th anniv. death (in 2005)
Monaco2359 fdcStamp on FDC
MozambiqueUnknown c (Mi?)One of MS4 (a-d)2015"Jean-Paul Sartre"; (110th anniv. birth); (35th anniv. death)
Nicaragua2135f (Mi?)One of MS12 (2135 (a-l))1995(90th anniv. birth; 15th anniv. death)
Paraguay1775 (BL306, Mi2970)In (right) margin of SS11974
St. Vincent2220h (Mi3288)One of MS12 (2220 (a-l))1995(90th anniv. birth; 15th anniv. death)
SpainNonePersonalized postage from block of 42011
SpainNonePersonalized postage and cachet on stamped envelope block of 4
SpainNoneCachet (same) on personalized postage stamped envelope (different stamp)
SpainNoneCachet (same) on personalized postage stamped envelope FDOI
SpainNone(Multi-color printed) cachet on personalized postage maxicard
SpainNone(Multi-color printed) cachet on (un-canceled) (Spanish Post) stamped envelope (from 2011)2013
SpainNonePersonalized postage and cachet on stamped envelope FDOI2015(110th anniv. birth); (35th anniv. death)


Simmers

Simmers, Ritchie Gibson
(1905–1984)

Ritchie Gibson Simmers was the expedition meteorologist on BANZARE 1929-1930 and BANZARE 1930-1931 (British, Australian, and New Zealand Antarctic Research Expeditions).

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Australian Antarctic TerritoryL117i (Mi133)One of MS20 (L117 (a-t)) (Mi125-144)2001Simmers (in back row, farthest right); the design of AAT L117i is based on this photo, taken on the deck of the ship Discovery in 1931


Iosifyan

Iosifyan, Andranik Gevondovich
(1905–1993)

Andranik Iosifyan was a an Armenian-Soviet scientist in the fields of electrical and aerospace engineering. He was the founder and first director of the All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Electromechanics (VNIIEM) - the USSR's largest scientific research institute for electromechanics. The VNIIEM designed and built satellites for ecological, geological and meteorological observation and scientific research, including Meteor and Resurs-O, and also developed the computers and the control and navigation systems used in those programs. Iosifyan himself was the chief designer of the Meteor series of weather satellites and the Meteor-Priroda series of environmental-observing satellites. He also directed the design and production of the Omega and Interkosmos-Bulgariya 1300 scientific satellites.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Armenia623c (Mi394)One stamp and in (lower-right) margin of MS9 (623 (a-i)) (Mi392-400)2000"Andranik Iossifian"
Armenia873 (Mi745)2011"Andranik Iosifian"


Tu

Tu, Chang Wang
(1906–1962)

Chang Wang Tu was a Chinese meteorologist. After graduating from Hujiang University in 1929, he went to the University of London to study economics and geography, but transferred to the meteorology program at the Imperial College of London in 1931, where he obtained his MSc in meteorology. He became a member of the Royal Meteorological Society of the UK. In 1934 he accepted an invitation from Zhu Kezhen to return to China as a researcher at the Institute of Meteorology at the Central Academy. He was later a professor of meteorology at Tsinghua University, Zhejiang University and Central University.

In 1949 Tu became the first director of the Weather Bureau of the Central Military Commission (which eventually became the Central Meteorological Bureau, which was in turn the precursor of the Chinese Meteorological Administration). Tu occupied this position until 1962, and under his leadership Chinese meteorology made vast strides forward. Indeed, Tu was one of the pillars of modern Chinese meteorology.

In 1955, Tu expressed something of his philosophy in the first issue of the Chinese journal Weather Monthly. He said that in the weather offices there should be diligent study and friendly competition to improve the quality of work. He advocated that forecasters must use all their talents, emphasize research, build from their strengths and constantly improve their operational skills.

References:

This short article outlines Tu's MScstudies, in which his goals were (1) to discover the relationship between the rainfall of China for the rainy season and world weather; and (2) to find regression formulas that could be used to predict Chinese rainfall of the rainy season. In particular, he was searching for a way to predict big departures from the normal. Such departures in China can be related to either disastrous floods or droughts, depending on the direction of the departure. To do this, Tu calculated correlation coeffiecients of Chinese rainfall with the pressure, temperature and rainfall at various major observing stations around the world.

This is a study of typical Chinese airmasses and their properties, origins and processes of modification, based on various airplane, kite and pilot balloon soundings sounding from several Chinese locations. Tu defines a total of six airmass types: those of Polar, Tropical or Equatorial origins, each with maritime or continental characteristics.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
China (People's Republic)3429+labels (Mi3621+labels)On each of 4 different labels with stamp2005(100th anniv. birth, in 2006)


Jiuzhang

Jiuzhang, Zhao
(1907–1968)

Zhao Jiuzhang was a Chinese meteorologist, geophysicist and space physicist. In meteorology, his areas of study included airmass analysis, the thermodynamics of the trade winds, the baroclinic instability of long waves in the atmosphere, and slow-moving areas of active weather. He also did work in atmospheric soundings by balloon, (including ozone observation), measurement of sea waves, observations of clouds and fog/mist, and atmospheric soundings by rockets. He was a pioneer of Chinese space science and technology and studied the physics of charged particles and Earth's magnetic fields. He has been called the "father" of Chinese artificial satellites.

Jiuzhang was also a scientific administrator. He served as president of the Chinese Meteorological Society. In 1955 he became a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and later served as the director of its Institutes of Geophysics and Meteorology.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
China (People's Republic)4240 (Mi?)2014


Victor

Victor, Paul-Émile
(1907–1995)

Paul-Émile Victor was a French polar explorer, scientist and administrator. In 1947 he created the organization Expéditions polaires françaises, Missions Paul-Émile Victor (EPF Missions PEV). In 1948 he began a long series of expeditions to Greenland to investigate the ice cap. His work there included meteorological, geophysical and glaciological observations. Those trips culminated in the International Greenland Glaciological Expedition that took place from 1957 to 1960.

In the 1960s Victor led expeditions to the south Polar region. For example, as leader of the Magga Dan voyage, he was, with meteorologist Alfred Faure, part of the team of 12 men that established a camp on Île de la Possession in the Îles Crozet on 20 December 1961. The group remained there until 3 February 1962. They made meteorological observations, conducted other scientific studies and selected the site for an eventual permanent station. That station, constructed in 1963, opened formally in 1964 and was later named the Alfred Faure station. In the austral summer of 1966-1967, Victor, as leader of the Thala Dan voyage, was part of a team (again with Faure) that launched four Dragon research rockets in late January 1967 (here are a stamp and a cover referring to those launches) from the Dumont d'Urville base in Adélie Land. Designed for ionospheric research, these successful flights reached about 300 km altitude.

Victor directed the Expéditions polaires françaises until 1976. The goal of the EPF was the study of the polar regions through new disciplines such as glaciology, polar meteorology and extreme conditions medicine. The EPF built a strong scientific record in those areas and its successor, the Institut polaire français Paul-Émile Victor (IPEV), continues that tradition of excellence in polar research, including climatological and atmospheric studies.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
France1224 (Mi?)196820th anniv. EPF1, with EPF1 logo; (60th anniv. birth, in 1967)
France1224 maxiStamp and cancel on maxicard20th anniv. EPF1; EPF1 logo (on stamp and cancel); (60th anniv. birth, in 1967)
FranceNoneCinderella MS6 (6x single)197720th anniv. EPF1
FranceNone(Two) cancels and cachet on aerogramme1996"Hommage à Paul-Émile Victor, 1907–1995"; "P É Victor, 1958" (with weather balloon); 1st anniv. death; also includes French Polynesia 677 and the FDOI cancel for that stamp
FranceB701 (Mi3487)From booklet pane of 6 (B703a (B699-B703 + label)) with booklet front (B703b)2000
FranceB701-B703 proofMonochrome proof (orange)
France
Greenland
2x(3368-3369) folder1
2x(505-506) folder1
Dual-country folder2007(100th anniv. birth); also Charcot
France
Greenland
2x(3368-3369) folder2
2x(505-506) folder2
Dual-country folder (different)
FranceKM14731.5 euro (silver coin)2007Victor (on reverse); also IPY
FranceKM147410 euro (gold coin)
French Polynesia632 (Mi?)1993"P.E. Victor"
French Polynesia677 (Mi704)19961st anniv. death
French Polynesia677 fdcStamp and cancel and cachet on FDC
French Southern and Antarctic Territories29 fdc (Mi38 fdc)(Purple rubber-stamp) back of (airmail) FDC, also front1967"Expéditions polaires françaises, Missions Paul-Émile Victor"
French Southern and Antarctic Territories33 (Mi?)196920th anniv. EPF1; EPF1 logo
French Southern and Antarctic Territories33 fdcStamp on FDC (Éditions P.J. cachet)
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesC17 cover (Mi? cover)Cachet on cover1970EPF1; Dumont d'Urville Station (Terre Adélie)
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesNoneCachet (slightly different) plus second cachet, with EPF1 logo (both on cover back)1970EPF1 "Missions Paul-Émile Victor"
French Southern and Antarctic Territories76 (Mi?)197730th anniv. EPF1; "Paul-Émile Victor"; "PEV 77", EPF1 logo
French Southern and Antarctic Territories76 fdc1Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and (yellow-brown and black printed) cachet on FDC
French Southern and Antarctic Territories76 fdc2Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and (yellow-brown and green printed) cachet on FDC
French Southern and Antarctic Territories76 fdc3Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and (multi-color printed) cachet on FDC
French Southern and Antarctic Territories76 fdc4Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and (Éditions P.J.) cachet on FDC
French Southern and Antarctic Territories68 card (Mi114 card)(Black printed) cachet on card1977"Paul-Émile Victor"
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesC46 cover (Mi112 cover)(Black rubber-stamp) cachet on cover1977EPF1 "Missions Paul-Émile Victor"
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesC70 fdc1 (Mi167 fdc1)(? black) cachet on FDC1982Paul-Émile Victor
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesC70 fdc2 (Mi167 fdc2)(? red) cachet on FDC
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesC70 fdc3 (Mi167 fdc3)(? blue) cachet on FDC
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesC70 fdc4 (Mi167 fdc4)(? yellow) cachet on FDC
French Southern and Antarctic Territories106 cover (Mi183 cover)(Black rubber-stamp) cachet on cover1985EPF1 "Missions Paul-Émile Victor"
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesC68 cover (Mi? cover)(Black rubber-stamp) cachet on cover1985EPF1 "Missions Paul-Émile Victor"
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesC92 fdc1 (Mi218 fdc1)(Round blue) cachet on FDC1986EPF1 "Missions Paul-Émile Victor"
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesC92 fdc2 (Mi218 fdc2)(Round blue) cachet on FDC
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesC99 (Mi?)198740th anniv. EPF1; EPF1 logo
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesC99 fdc1Stamp and (pictorial) cancel on FDC
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesC99 fdc2Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and (Éditions J.F.) cachet on FDC
French Southern and Antarctic Territories154 fdc (Mi263 fdc)(Brown rubber-stamp) cachet on FDC1990"Expéditions polaires françaises; Missions Paul-Émile Victor"
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesC120a (Mi?)Strip of 2 (C119-C120 + label)1991"Expéditions Paul-Émile Victor" (in label)
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesNone(Black rubber-stamp) cachet (and signatures) on cover1991"Expéditions polaires françaises; Missions Paul-Émile Victor"
French Southern and Antarctic Territories217a (Mi?)Strip of 2 (216-217 + label)19961st anniv. death; EPF1 logo (in label)
French Southern and Antarctic Territories217a maxiStrip of 2 and photo on maxicard
French Southern and Antarctic Territories217a fdcStrip of 2 and (Éditions J.F.) cachet on FDC
French Southern and Antarctic Territories218 cover (Mi? cover)Cachet on cover1997EPF1; Base Dumont d'Urville; IFRTP3
French Southern and Antarctic Territories232a (Mi368-370)Strip of 3 (232a (230-232)), or MS15 (232b (5x (230-232))1997"50ème anniversaire des Expéditions Polaires Françaises [EPF1]", (Missions Paul-Émile Victor); also the EPF1 logo
French Southern and Antarctic Territories232a fdc1Strip of 3 and (pictorial) cancel and (Éditions J.F.) cachet on FDC
French Southern and Antarctic Territories232a fdc2Strip of 3 and (pictorial) cancel and (?) cachet on FDC
French Southern and Antarctic Territories232a fdc3Strip of 3 and (pictorial) cancel on FDC (? cachet)
French Southern and Antarctic Territories232a fdc4Strip of 3 on FDC (? cachet)
French Southern and Antarctic Territories273 (Mi?)From booklet pane of 5 (273a (269-273 + 2 labels)), contained in booklet (273b)2000(5th anniv. death)
French Southern and Antarctic Territories294k_stamp (Mi469)On stamp in booklet pane of 7 (294h-n), and on stamp and in (right) margin of one SS1 (294k); booklet contains 28 stamps (14 in two different booklet panes of 7 and in 14 SS1 with margin design the same as each stamp); also booklet front and back)2001Bust of Victor
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesNone(Blue rubber-stamp) cachet on cover2003IPEV2
French Southern and Antarctic Territories357 (Mi?)200510th anniv. death
French Southern and Antarctic Territories359 bk front (Mi? cover)Booklet front, also back2005Includes reproduction of 273
French Southern and Antarctic Territories384 (Mi?)Strip of 2 (384 (a-b + label))200760th anniv. EPF1; "Missions Paul-Émile Victor"; EPF1 logo
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesNone(Blue rubber-stamp) cachet4 and black rubber-stamp cachet (in upper-left) on cover2009IPEV2
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesNone(Black rubber-stamp) cachet on cover2010IPEV2
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesNone(Blue rubber-stamp) cachet on cover2010IPEV2
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesNone(Black and blue printed) cachet on cover2011"programme IPEV2"
French Southern and Antarctic Territories469 (Mi789)201220th anniv. IPEV2
French Southern and Antarctic Territories526 (Mi?)2015"Paul-Émile Victor"; (20th anniv. death)
French Southern and Antarctic Territories524 label (Mi? label)Label from strip of 2 (524 (a-b + label))2015"Missions Paul-Émile Victor"; EPF1 logo; (20th anniv. death)
French Southern and Antarctic Territories551+label (Mi935+label)Label with stamp, from MS10 (551a (10x 551 + 14 labels))2016EPF1-like logo
French Southern and Antarctic Territories563 (Mi945-946)Strip of 2 (563 (a-b + label)) from MS10 (563a (5x 563))2017"P.É. Victor" (in stamp 'a'); also in label "Missions Paul-Émile Victor"; EPF1 logo; "70th anniv. EPF1" (in French text)
French Southern and Antarctic Territories600 (BL67, Mi1029)In (upper-right) margin of SS12018"IPEV"2
French Southern and Antarctic Territories642 (BL81, Mi1087)SS12020"Paul-Émile Victor"; (25th anniv. death)
Greenland39 cover (Mi? cover)(Blue rubber-stamp) cachet (and signature) on cover1958EPF1 and EPF1 logo; Victor's signature
Greenland506 (Mi?)One stamp and in (lower) margin of MS2 (506a (505-506 + label)), dual-country issue with France2007(100th anniv. birth); (also Charcot)
Greenland506a packStamp pack2007(100th anniv. birth); Victor and Charcot (in text)
Greenland
France
2x(505-506) folder1
2x(3368-3369) folder1
Dual-country folder2007(100th anniv. birth); also Charcot
Greenland
France
2x(505-506) folder2
2x(3368-3369) folder2
Dual-country folder (different)
Greenland
France
506a fdc
3368-3369 fdc
On stamp from MS2 (506a) and (Éditions J.F.) cachet on FDC2007
2007
(As in individual stamps); also "Paul-Émile Victor" (in cachet)
Guinea RepublicMi4718One of MS3 (Mi4716-4718)2007(100th anniv. birth)
Guinea RepublicMi4778Stamp from SS1 (BL1232)
Guinea-BissauUnknown d (Mi?)One of MS6 (a-f)2023"Paul-Émile Victor"
MadagascarC54 cover (Mi? cover)Cachet on cover1949EPF1, "Missions Paul-Émile Victor"; "Expédition arctique (Groenland)"; "Expédition antarctique (Terre Adélie)"
Madagascar1312 (Mi?)From SS1 (1312a)1996(1st anniv. death)
Monaco2249 (Mi?)From MS6 (2249a (6x 2249))2006100th anniv. birth; (year on stamp is 2007)
Mozambique1640_stamp (Mi?)2003Victor (in foreground); Charcot (in grey in right background)
Mozambique1640 (BL164)On stamp and in (right) margin of SS1Victor (in foreground in stamp and in grey in centre margin); Charcot (in right margin and also in grey in right background of stamp)
Mozambique1640 fdcSS1 and cachet on FDC
Reunion366 (Mi?)France 1224 surcharged with 40fr value, "CFA" and two bars196820th anniv. EPF1; EPF1 logo (on stamp and FDC cancel); (60th anniv. birth, in 1967)
Reunion366 dsDeluxe sheet (366)
Reunion366 fdcStamp and cancel and cachet on FDC
RomaniaNone(Pictorial) cancel and (Cercul Filatelic Turda - Polar Section) cachet on postal card2007100th anniv. birth

1EPF refers to the organization Expéditions polaires françaises (Missions Paul-Émile Victor) created by Victor in 1947. An EPF logo cachet is found, with slight detail differences, on various postal items from the French Southern and Antarctic Territories in black, blue or red.
2IPEV refers to the Institut polaire français Paul-Émile Victor, which is the successor to the EPF Missions PEV. An IPEV logo cachet is found on various postal items from the French Southern and Antarctic Territories in black or blue.
3IFRTP refers to the Institut français pour la Recherche et la Technologie polaires
4In the cachet are the following acronyms (in addition to IPEV):


de Viviès

de Viviès, Paul de Martin
(1908–1971)

Paul De Viviès was a French meteorologist. After graduating from the University of Paris, he worked as a meteorologist during 17 years in Madagascar and Reunion.

In 1949, to meet the need for meteorological data, the French parliament adopted a resolution to set up a permanent base on Nouvelle-Amsterdam Island. From 1949 to 1951, de Viviès headed the mission that established the new base. Alfred Faure was part of the mission. Work started in the austral summer of 1949-1950. The weather observation program began 11 March 1950, and pilot balloon soundings were taken beginning in July of that year. Daily rawinsonde launches began on 16 March 1951. The base, at first called La Roche Godon, was renamed for de Viviès in 1981.

De Viviès returned to France where he served as the chief meteorologist of La Météorologie Nationale (the French National Meteorological Service), and also as the head of the Service's International Relations Bureau. Then in 1960 he joined the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), where he occupied senior managerial positions.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
French Southern and Antarctic Territories100 (Mi174)1983
French Southern and Antarctic Territories100 fdc1Stamp and (text) cancel and (Éditions J.F.) cachet on FDC
French Southern and Antarctic Territories100 fdc2Stamp and (text) cancel and (Éditions P.J.) cachet on FDC
French Southern and Antarctic Territories100 sheetInformation sheet
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesNoneCancel and (two) cachets on cover1983De Viviès base
French Southern and Antarctic Territories100+111 cover (Mi174+188 cover)One of two stamps on cover1985
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesNoneCachet on cover1985"la Station météorologique Martin de Viviès 61996"
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesNone(Text) cancel and (two black and one red rubber-stamp) cachets on cover1986Martin de Viviès station (also known as the "Île Amsterdam Station météorologique")
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesNone(Text) cancel and (green and black rubber-stamp) cachets on cover1986Station météorologique Martin de Viviès Île Amsterdam ("Météo T.A.A.F. St. Paul - Amsterdam" refers to the de Viviès station)
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesNone(Text) cancel and (purple and red and black rubber-stamp) cachets on cover1988Martin de Viviès station (also known as the "Île Amsterdam Station météorologique")
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesNoneCachet (different) on cover back1998"la Station météorologique Martin de Viviès 61996"
French Southern and Antarctic Territories257k (Mi410)On stamp and in (upper) margin of SS1 from souvenir booklet of 12 (257 (a-l)) with booklet front and back1999de Viviès base (stamp and margin have the same design, which is also found in the color cachet in the cover below)
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesNone(Two) cachets (different) on cover2000De Viviès base (cachet has the same design as in 257k (stamp and margin))
French Southern and Antarctic Territories342 (BL11, Mi548-551)In (upper) margin of MS4 (342 (a-d))2004De Viviès [base] with latitude/longitude (on one cachet); part of the base (in 342a)
French Southern and Antarctic Territories437 (Mi733)2011Base de Viviès; (40th anniv. death) "Martin de Viviès"
French Southern and Antarctic Territories717 (Mi1228-1232)In (upper-right) margin of MS5 (717 (a-e))2024"Martin de Viviès"


Somov

Somov, M.M.
(1908–1973)

M.M. Somov was a Soviet oceanographer, polar explorer, geographer and meteorologist. He graduated from the Moscow Hydrometeorological Institute in 1937, and in the late 1940s became senior researcher at the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute. As part of his work there, he was the leader of the North Pole 2 (NP-2) Expedition of 1950-1951. He also led the first (November 1955 to 1957), eighth (1962 to 1964) and ninth (1963 to 1965) Soviet Antarctic Expeditions. The first one took place within the framework of the IGY (International Geophysical Year). During those expeditions a wide variety of scientific programs was carried out, including programs in meteorology, aerology and the aurora. Somov later became the first Soviet delegate to the SCAR (Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research).

Somov was the author or co-author of various scientific works, including studies of the polar sea ice and ice forecasting (e.g. Zubov, N. N. and M. Somov (1940): Ice Drift in the Northern Arctic Basin, Problemy Arktiki 2, 51-68).

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Germany (East)1998 cover (Mi? cover)(Round violet rubber-stamp) cachet on cover1988ship Mikhail Somov; (80th anniv. birth)
NigerBL913SS12018Icebreaker "Mikhail Somov"
Romania4736 cover (Mi? cover)Cachet on cover2005Somov, leader of the 1st Soviet Antarctic Expedition; 50th anniv. 1st year of that expedition
RomaniaNoneCachet on cover2006Somov; 50th anniv. Mirny Meteor. Observatory
Russia (USSR)NoneCancel and cachet on cover1976?
Russia (USSR)None(Black printed) cachet on stamped envelope1978(70th anniv. birth); (5th anniv. death)
Russia (USSR)None(Black printed and red rubber-stamp) cachet on stamped envelope197870th anniv. birth
Russia (USSR)4883 (Mi5014)1980Somov and ship Mikhail Somov
Russia (USSR)4883 fdcStamp and cachet on FDC
Russia (USSR)None(Blue and red and black printed) cachet on postal card1981ship Mikhail Somov
Russia (USSR)None(Red rubber-stamp) cachet on cover1982ship Mikhail Somov
Russia (USSR)5496 (Mi5646)One of strip of 2 (5497a (5496-5497); or four stamps and in (upper-right and lower-right) margins of MS8 (5497b (4x (5496-5497)) (Mi5646-5647)1986ship Mikhail Somov
Russia (USSR)5497 (Mi5647)
Russia (USSR)5497a fdcStrip of 2 and cancel and cachet on FDC
Russia (USSR)5498 (BL189)SS1
Russia (USSR)5498 fdcSS1 and cancel and cachet on FDC
Russia (USSR)5499 (Mi5645)4883 overprintedSomov and ship Mikhail Somov
Russia (USSR)5499 fdcStamp and cancel and cachet on FDC
Russia (USSR)NonePrinted stamp and cachet on stamped envelope1986ship Mikhail Somov
Russia (USSR)5499 cover (Mi? cover)Stamp and two (purple rubber-stamp) cachets on cover1990Somov and ship Mikhail Somov
Russia (USSR)None(Two blue and red rectangular rubber-stamp) cachets on cover1991ship Mikhail Somov
RussiaNoneThree (red and blue rubber-stamp) cachets (different) on cover1994ship Mikhail Somov
RussiaNoneThree cachets (same, except oval one is blue) on cover (different)1994ship Mikhail Somov
RussiaNone(Two red and dark violet rubber-stamp) cachets (different) on (1978) stamped envelope with (black printed) cachet1994Somov and ship Mikhail Somov
RussiaNone(Two red rectangular and blue oval) cachets on cover1995ship Mikhail Somov
Russia6573 (Mi790)One of MS5 (6575a (6571-6575 + label)) (BL30)2000Somov and ship Mikhail Somov
Russia6799 cover (Mi1127 cover)(Rectangular red rubber-stamp) cachet on cover2007ship Mikhail Somov
RussiaNoneCachet on stamped envelope2008Somov and ship Mikhail Somov; (100th anniv. birth)
RussiaNoneThree (printed, red rectangular and black nearly-oval) cachets on cover2008ship Mikhail Somov; (100th anniv. birth)
RussiaNone(Pictorial) cancel and (two rubber-stamp) cachets on stamped envelope2011ship Mikhail Somov


Libby

Libby, Willard F.
(1908–1990)

Willard Libby was an American chemist who won the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1960 for his development in 1949 of a technique using radiocarbon (carbon-14 or 14C) for age determination in archeology and the Earth sciences. He did not work directly on meteorological problems, but the 14C dating technique was applied by other scientists conducting studies of how carbon circulates in the atmosphere-ocean system, and also palaeoclimatological and palaeoenvironmental studies. For example, it was known that 14C is created by cosmic rays in the upper atmosphere. It was also known that 14C decays over millennia. However, coal and oil are so old that they contain no more 14C, so that burning them can add only ordinary carbon into the atmosphere. With these facts in mind, in 1955 chemist Hans Suess analyzed wood from trees that had grown during the previous century and found that the newer the wood, the higher its ratio of plain carbon to 14C. This demonstrated that fossil carbon in the atmosphere had increased during that time. Indeed, it was the first time that fossil carbon in the atmosphere had been detected. In another type of study, a sample containing pollen and microfossils or macrofossils is dated by the 14C technique, and the pollen and fossils are analyzed to deduce climatic characteristics at that time. Dendrochronological samples can be dated and analyzed in an analogous manner. In this way, information about historical climates can be obtained, with the 14C dating technique providing the timeline.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Guyana3698b (Mi?)One of MS6 (3698 (a-f))2002
Monaco2364 (Mi?)From MS10 (2364a (10x 2364))2004
RomaniaNoneCancel on cover198880th anniv. birth
RomaniaNone(Pictorial) cancel and cachet on cover201050th anniv. Libby`s Nobel Prize; (20th anniv. death)
RomaniaNone(Pictorial) cancel and cachet (different) on cover201050th anniv. Libby`s Nobel Prize; (20th anniv. death)
RomaniaNone(Pictorial) cancel and cachet (different) on cover201050th anniv. Libby`s Nobel Prize; (20th anniv. death)
St. Vincent1563g (Mi1889)One of MS8 (1563 (a-h)) (Mi1883-1890)1991
St. Vincent1563g specimenOne of MS8 (1563 specimen (a-h))
St. Vincent1563 proofMS8 imperforate proof
SpainNone(Multi-color printed) cachet on personalized postage stamped envelope2011
SpainNone(Multi-color printed) cachet on (un-canceled) (Spanish Post) stamped envelope (from 2011)2013
Sweden1709 (Mi?)One of booklet pane of 4 (1712b (1709-1712); also booklet (1712a)1988(80th anniv. birth)


Alfven

Alfven, Hannes
(1908–1995)

Hannes Alfvén was a Swedish electrical engineer and plasma physicist who studied the polar auroras, the Van Allen radiation belts, the Earth's magnetic field, magnetic storms and the magnetosphere. As a youth, he had read with passion a popular book on astronomy by Camille Flammarion. That book kindled his lifelong interest in astrophysics.

In his study of auroras, Alfvén argued that plasma, even in the vacuum of space, must have an associated magnetic field which in turn creates an electric field which, in combination with the resultant field-aligned electric currents, cause the acceleration of the charged particles whose movements cause the polar auroras. Furthermore, he showed that those currents originate in an atmospheric region now called the Alfvén layer. In 1939 he wrote a major paper in which he presented his theories for magnetic storms and auroras. It laid out his ideas on how plasma flows around a dipole magnetic field to create the Birkeland currents that flow in and out of the auroral zone. These ideas on the auroras are still accepted today.

Alfvén was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics in 1970 for his "fundamental discoveries in magnetohydrodynamics".

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Congo (Democratic Republic)Unknown (Mi?)From SS1; or one of MS2 (a-b)2002
Guinea RepublicMi4539A
Mi4539B
One of MS2 (BL1116A (Mi4539-4540))
One of imperforate MS2 (BL1116B)
2006(10th anniv. death, in 2005)
Guinea RepublicBL1115-BL1116 fdc
BL1115B-BL1116B fdc
On one stamp in one of two MS2 and cachet on FDC
On one stamp in one of two imperforate MS2 on FDC
(10th anniv. death, in 2005); "Hannes Olof" (on cachet); ("Alfvén" missing from name)
Sierra Leone1843e (Mi?)One of MS9 (1843 (a-i))1995Year of death


Revelle

Revelle, Roger
(1909–1991)

Roger Revelle was an American oceanographer and climate scientist.

In the 1800s, the pioneering work of Fourier (1824), Tyndall (1861) and Arrhenius (1896) formed the early foundation of the scientific understanding of how the presence of an atmosphere keeps Earth warmer than it would be with no atmosphere, and in particular how atmospheric CO2 and CH4 contribute to that warming.

In the 1920s, anecdotal observations of warming temperatures appeared in some publications (1, 2). This led G. S. Callendar to conclude, in 1938, that atmospheric CO2 had increased by 10% in the previous 100 years, which he then hypothesized could be the reason for the observed warming (3). These claims rescued the idea of CO2-related global warming from obscurity, but the scientific consensus remained unchanged and Callendar was ignored. The vast majority of researchers agreed that the atmosphere was a stable, self-regulating system and that any increase in atmospheric CO2 due to fossil fuel burning would be compensated for by increased oceanic absorption of CO2. However, the rate of absorption, and how long the CO2 would stay in the water once absorbed, were unknown.

A way to investigate the movements of carbon finally became available with the carbon-14 (14C) radioactive isotope technique pioneered by Wilfred Libby in 1949. Measurements of the 14C in fallout from nuclear weapons tests in the early 1950s showed that any CO2 added to the atmosphere became well-mixed throughout the atmosphere within a few years. It was also known that 14C is continually created by cosmic rays in the upper atmosphere. Furthermore, it was known that 14C decays over millennia. However, fossil coal and oil are so old that they contain no more 14C (it has all decayed away), so that burning coal and oil can add only ordinary carbon into the atmosphere. With these facts in mind, in 1955 chemist Hans Suess analyzed wood from trees that had grown during the previous century and found that the newer the wood, the higher its ratio of plain carbon to 14C. This demonstrated that fossil carbon in the atmosphere had increased during that time. Indeed, it was the first time that fossil carbon in the atmosphere had been detected. Scientific attention then turned to the question of how that carbon was circulated in the atmosphere-ocean system.

Suess took up that problem with Roger Revelle (at the time both were at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, CA). Revelle recalled a key fact of sea water chemistry: the mix of salt and other chemicals in seawater results in a buffering mechanism that acts to stabilize the acidity of the sea water. He realized that this buffering would prevent the sea water from retaining all the atmospheric CO2 that it absorbed, and he calculated that the surface layer could in fact retain only around 10% of the amount indicated by earlier, incomplete calculations. In other words, he showed that ocean uptake of atmospheric CO2 was much slower than had been previously thought. With this new information, Revelle then calculated that if industry were continue to emit CO2 at a constant rate equal to the then-current rate, its atmospheric concentration would increase but then level off after a few centuries, with an increase of no more than 40%. This result was published in 1957 (4) by Revelle and Suess. Their assumption about the rate of fossil fuel CO2 emission was incorrect (it was too low) but the underlying principles were correct, and in fact in the paper they stated that warming due to the CO2 greenhouse effect "may become significant during future decades if industrial fuel combustion continues to rise exponentially." They also wrote that "Human beings are now carrying out a large scale geophysical experiment of a kind that could not have happened in the past nor be reproduced in the future."

The results of this seminal paper were slow to be accepted by the scientific community. However, in 1959 two Swedish meteorologists, Bert Bolin and Erik Eriksson, published a paper (5) in which the concepts of Revelle and Suess were updated and extended, and from that point forward their work gained wider acceptance. For example, in 1963, a Conservation Foundation report (6), which included David Keeling and Gilbert N. Plass as authors, stated that a doubling of CO2 would lead to a 4°C temperature rise, with serious impacts.

In 1965 Revelle chaired the Atmospheric CO2 sub-panel of the Environmental Pollution Panel, which was itself part of the President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC). The Committee's report was delivered to President Lyndon Johnson on 5 November 1965. The introduction to the report stated that "Pollutants have altered on a global scale the carbon dioxide content of the air." The Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide section presented the state of knowledge at the time about atmospheric CO2, along with some "possible effects of increased atmospheric carbon dioxide on climate." It concluded that "Through his worldwide industrial civilization, Man is unwittingly conducting a vast geophysical experiment" and that an expected 25% increase in CO2 by the year 2000 "may be sufficient to produce measurable and perhaps marked changes in climate". It further concluded that "At present it is impossible to predict these effects quantitatively, but recent advances in mathematical modelling of the atmosphere, using large computers, may allow useful predictions within the next 2 or 3 years".

Wallace S. Broecker, a member of the CO2 sub-panel, did develop one of the first such computer-based forecasts. His results were published in 1975 (7). His temperature forecast was surprisingly accurate.

In the 1980s, Revelle continued to consider potential effects of CO2-induced climatic change, such as sea level changes (8) and changes in fresh water supplies (9).

References:

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
United StatesNone(One of two black rubber-stamp) cachets on cover1998Research ship Roger Revelle


Fedorov

Fedorov, Yevgeney K.
(1910–1981)

Yevgeney Fedorov was a Russian meteorologist and geophysicist. He was a member the North Pole-1 (NP-1) drifting ice station expedition from May 1937 through February 1938. It was the first of a long series of Soviet drifting ice stations. Fedorov was the expedition meteorologist, and on the morning of 22 May 1937, his observations became the first ever meteorological report from the vicinity of the North Pole: "The North Pole: 22 May, 06 hours Moscow time. Pressure 761 [i.e. 976.1 hPa]. Temperature minus 12 [°C]. Wind 8 m (by Greenwich meridian) gusty [possibly 8 m/s ?]. The Sun can be seen. Visibility 1 km. Weak snow". Thereafter the meteorological reports were regularly transmitted to mainland USSR by radio, in messages known as radiograms. E. Krenkel was the expedition's radio operator.

Fedorov was later the head of the Soviet Hydrometeorological Service of the Red Army, until removed by Stalin in around 1950. From 1962 to 1974 he was the director of the Soviet Hydrometeorological Service, where his research interests included Arctic geophysical fields, cloud processes, upper atmospheric studies using satellite information, and pollution.

At the time of his death, Fedorov was the director of the Institute for Applied Geophysics, where he was known for his research into climatic conditions in the Earth's polar regions.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Germany (East)
Russia (USSR)
None(Blue and red printed) cachet on cover (with Russian stamp)1989ship Akademik Fedorov
Russia (USSR)643 (Mi614)1938NP-11 team, including Fedorov and Krenkel
Russia (USSR)644 (Mi615)
Russia (USSR)645 (Mi616)NP-11 team; Fedorov (at right); Krenkel (probably second from left)
Russia (USSR)646 (Mi617)
Russia (USSR)NoneCachet on stamped envelope1985(75th anniv. birth)
Russia (USSR)NoneCancel and cachet (same) on stamped envelope198575th anniv. birth
Russia (USSR)NoneCancel (different) and cachet (same) on stamped envelope198575th anniv. birth
Russia (USSR)None(Multi-color printed) cachet on cover198750th anniv. NP-11; NP-11 team, including Fedorov and Krenkel
Russia (USSR)None(Purple rubber-stamp) cachet on stamped envelope1991Fedorov and ship Akademik Fedorov; (80th anniv. birth, in 1990); (10th anniv. death)
RussiaNone(Purple rubber-stamp) cachet on cover1991ship Akademik Fedorov
RussiaNone(Red rubber-stamp) cachet on cover1992ship Akademik Fedorov
RussiaNone(Blue printed) cachet on cover1993ship Akademik Fedorov
RussiaNone(Two red and blue rubber-stamp) cachets (upper-left and lower-right) on stamped envelope1993ship Akademik Fedorov
RussiaNone(One printed and three rubber-stamp) cachets2004"Fedorov" name and ship Akademik Fedorov
RussiaNone(One printed and blue rubber-stamp) cachet2005ship Akademik Fedorov
Russia6940 (Mi1305)2006ship Akademik Fedorov
Russia6939-6941 fdcOne of three stamps and (blue and red and black printed) cachet on FDC
RussiaNone(Green rubber-stamp) cachet on cover2006ship Akademik Fedorov
Russia6573 cover (Mi? cover)(Round black rubber-stamp) cachet on cover2007ship Akademik Fedorov
Russia6799 card (Mi1127 card)Cancel and cachet (different) on commemorative card200770th anniv. NP-11; NP-11 team, including Fedorov and Krenkel
Russia7021 cover (BL98, Mi1400-1402 cover)Cancel and cachet on cover200770th anniv. NP-11; NP-11 team, including Fedorov and Krenkel
Russia7021a maxi(Multi-color printed) cachet on maxicardship Akademik Fedorov
RussiaNone(Multi-color printed) cachet on cover2007ship Akademik Fedorov
RussiaNone(Round blue rubber-stamp) cachet on cover2007E.K. Fedorov Hydrometeor. Station
RussiaNone(Two black and blue rubber-stamp) cachets on cover2008ship Akademik Fedorov; 53rd Russian Antarctic Expedition, 2007-2008
RussiaNoneLabel and (one printed and two rubber-stamp) cachets on cover2008ship Akademik Fedorov
RussiaNone(One printed and two rubber-stamp) cachets on cover2009ship Akademik Fedorov; 54th Russian Antarctic Expedition, 2008-2009
Russia7206 (Mi1630)From MS6 (7206a (6x 7206))2010100th anniv. birth
Russia7206 fdcStamp and cancel on FDC
Russia7206 cover (Mi? cover)Stamp on cover2011(30th anniv. death)
RussiaNone(Circular blue and black) cachets on cover2011ship Akademik Fedorov

1NP-1 (North Pole 1) was the first Soviet Arctic drifting ice station. It had a crew of four (leader Papanin, and Fedorov, Krenkel and Shirshov) and operated from May 1937 through February 1938.


Rey

Rey, Charles
(1910–1981)

Originally from Senegal, Father Charles Rey studied theology and philosophy at the Jesuit college, Maison St.-Louis, in Jersey. After serving in Madagascar, he returned to Jersey, where he was named director of the Jesuit Meteorological and Seismological Observatory in 1933. Not only was he responsible for meteorological and seismological records, he acted as both scientist and engineer, designing and constructing specialized instruments, some of which are still in use. He served for a total of 47 years in the Observatory.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Jersey (Great Britain)294 (Mi287)Two of booklet pane of 4 (294a (2x (293-294))) with English selvedge, or two of booklet pane of 4 (294a (2x (293-294))) with French selvedge, also booklet front1982(1st anniv. death)
Jersey (Great Britain)294 fdcStamp and photograph on FDOI postcard, also back
Jersey (Great Britain)289-294 fdcOne of six stamps on FDC (JPO cachet)
Jersey (Great Britain)294a fdcBooklet pane of 4 with French selvedge on FDC (Cotswold Covers cachet)
Jersey (Great Britain)290b+294b fdcTwo of four pairs (2x (290b+294b)) on FDC (PhilSwiss cachet)


Genty

Genty, Robert
(1910–2001)

Robert Genty was a French military meteorologist. In the early 1950s he was summoned to Vietnam to head a weather modification project designed to promote rain at Dien Bien Phu in order to impede Viet Minh operations. Genty suggested that abundant rainfall might be provoked by seeding the clouds with silver iodide. Some tests were done, but the project never became operational. This work is described in Genty's book Ultime Secours pour Dien Bien Phu, 1953-1954 (Paris, l'Harmattan, 1994, 159 pp).

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
French Southern and Antarctic Territories332 (Mi?)20043rd anniv. death


Alvarez

Alvarez, Luis
(1911–1988)

Luis Alvarez was an American physicist. While at MIT, he invented a radar-based system known as GCA (Ground-Controlled Approach) that would allow aircraft to land blind in fog or bad weather (Watson-Watt had built the first workable radar system in the 1930s). This work was a response to the many weather-related landing accidents that had occurred in England during WWII.

Starting in 1967 Alvarez studied cosmic rays through the use of high altitude balloons and superconducting magnets.

In 1989, Alvarez and his geologist son Walter theorized that an asteroid impact 65 million years ago created the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) iridium layer, and that the ejecta from that massive impact spread into the atmosphere, blocking the Sun's light, changing the climate and leading to the extinction of the dinosaurs. Ten years later, a large impact crater was discovered below the surface in the Yucatan peninsula. It was named Chicxulub, and its existence is considered to be clear evidence of the K-T extinction event. The meteorite that caused it is estimated to have had a diameter of about 10 km.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Guinea Republic2131b (Mi?)One of MS6 (2131 (a-f))2002"Louis W. Alvarez"; (90th anniv. birth, in 2001)
NigerUnknown d (Mi?)One of MS4 (a-d)2019"Luis and Walter Alvarez"; 30th anniv. death (in 2018)
NigerUnknown ss (BL?)SS1
SpainNone(Multi-color printed) cachet on (un-canceled) (Spanish Post) stamped envelope (from 2011)2013"L. Walter Alvarez"


Law

Law, Philip
(1912–2010)

Philip Law was an Australian physicist, explorer and scientific administrator. He directed the Australian Antarctic Division of the Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions (ANARE) between 1948 and 1966. In his earliest years with ANARE, he ran the Australian research stations at Heard and Macquarie Islands, where, as he has said, "being a physicist I was interested in their geophysics - the meteorology, geomagnetism, seismology, cosmic rays, aurora, all these studies, as well as the biological work". Law stated that "our [i.e. Australian] weather comes up from Antarctica, so meteorology is the most obvious scientific work to be attacked there. Antarctic meteorology is fundamental to studying the weather patterns in the southern part of Australia" (this idea had also been expressed by Edgeworth David in the late 1920s). Law therefore concluded that collaboration with the Australian Bureau of Meteorology was of fundamental importance to the success of ANARE's work. Law and meteorologist Peter Shaw of the Bureau of Meteorology were part of a team that that briefly landed in the Vestfold Hills area in 1954 on a scouting mission to determine possible locations for a future Antarctic research station. Law returned to the same area in January 1957 as part of an expedition that established the new station. It was called Davis Station. Law was also involved in setting up the Mawson and Casey scientific stations, and led several expeditions that explored some 5000 km of the Antarctic coast.

Under Law, ANARE also worked with the Ionospheric Prediction Service, a small unit which set up ionospheric measuring devices that provided data used to predict the frequencies needed for the best radio transmission (reflections from the ionosphere influence those frequencies).

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Australia2424+2500+labels cover (Mi?+labels cover)One of four different labels (with 2 different stamps) on cover2007
Australian Antarctic TerritoryL4 (Mi1)1957Law (in centre) with meteorologist Peter Shaw (at left) in Vestfold Hills, Antarctica
Australian Antarctic TerritoryL4 fdcStamp on FDC (WCS cachet)
Australian Antarctic TerritoryL111-L114 pack insideInside of stamp pack, also outside (front and back), and inside21999"Dr. Philip Law"
Australian Antarctic TerritoryNoneCachet on cover2000"Law Base 2000 - Larsemann Hills"
Australian Antarctic TerritoryNone(Blue-grey and black printed and red rubber-stamp) cachet (and signature) on cover2000"Dr. Phillip Law"
Australian Antarctic TerritoryL124 maxi (Mi? maxi)Photo on maxicard2004
Australian Antarctic TerritoryL162a (Mi?)MS3 (L160-L162)2012100th anniv. birth; (2nd anniv. death)
Australian Antarctic TerritoryL160-L162 fdcThree stamps and cancel and cachet on FDC
RomaniaNone(Pictorial) cancel and (multi-color printed and black rubber-stamp) cachet on cover2006Law-Racovita Station
RomaniaNone(Pictorial) cancel and (multi-color printed and red rubber-stamp) cachet on cover (different)2006Law-Racovita Station
RomaniaNone(Multi-color printed) cachet and two (blue and red rubber-stamp) cachets on cover (different)2006Law-Racovita Station
RomaniaNone(Pictorial) cancel and (multi-color printed and blue and red rubber-stamp) cachets on cover (slightly different)2006Law-Racovita Station
RomaniaNone(Pictorial) cancel and cachet on postal card2007Law-Racovita Station
RomaniaNone(Posta Romana) cachet on stamped envelope2007Law-Racovita Station
RomaniaNonePrinted stamp and (Posta Romana) cachet on stamped envelope2009Law-Racovita Station
RomaniaNone(Posta Romana) cachet on stamped envelope (different)2009Law-Racovita Station


Camus

Camus, Albert
(1913–1960)

Albert Camus was a French writer who was born in Algeria. He became a major international literary figure and was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1957. Camus struggled as a young writer in Algiers, and was chronically short of money. In 1937 the French mathematician and geophysicist Jean Coulomb (1904–1999) was appointed director of the Institute of Meteorology and Physics of the Algiers Geophysical Institute. One of Coulomb's goals was to develop a climatology of Algeria. The Institute had a large amount of raw data, but no budget to hire a professional meteorologist. Coulomb heard of Camus' dire financial straits, met him, and offered him a job as a temporary assistant in meteorology, with a salary of 1000 francs per month.

Camus started this work in November 1937. Data from at least 350 Algerian weather observing stations were available, in some cases for periods as long three decades. Camus summarized the observations on index cards, in effect creating a climatological database for Algeria. He was able to make intercomparisons of observations at stations close to each other and thereby detect and correct errors. He seemed ideally suited for the meticulous nature of the work, and Coulomb was delighted with his progress. Camus then undertook a more general study of Algerian barometric pressure. From the observations at 121 stations he drew curves of barometric pressures for 27 years of data. From them he calculated mean pressure values, which in turn allowed the deviations from the mean to be easily calculated. In meteorology, deviations from the mean can provide important information about weather variables. Camus finished his work at the Institute in September 1938 and soon after moved to France in pursuit of his literary career.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Canada2270a (Mi2471 ms)In (left) margin of MS16 (16x 2270)2008Portrait of Camus (taken by Yousuf Karsh)
Canada2271 (BL102)In (upper-left) margin of MS3 (2270+2271 (a-b)) (Mi2469-2471)
Comoro IslandsBL501In (lower) margin of SS1 (Mi2295)2009(50th anniv. death, in 2010)
Congo (People's Republic)C287 (Mi749A)
iC287 (Mi749B)

Imperforate
1980(20th anniv. death)
Congo (People's Republic)C287 dsDeluxe sheet (C287)
Congo (People's Republic)C287 proofSigned proof
Congo (People's Republic)C287 proofsTrial color proofs
Congo (Democratic Republic)Unlisted a (Mi unlisted)One of MS6 (a-f)2001(40th anniv. death, in 2000)
FranceB407 (Mi1589)196710th anniv. Camus' Nobel Prize for literature; (7th anniv. death)
FranceB407 dsDeluxe sheet
FranceB407 proofTrial color proof
FranceB407 fdc1Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and cachet on FDC
FranceB407 fdc2Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and cachet (different) on FDC
FranceB407 fdc3Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and cachet (different) on FDC
FranceB407 fdc4Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and cachet (different) on FDC
FranceB407 fdc5Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and cachet (different) on FDC
FranceB407 fdc6Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and cachet (different) on FDC
FranceB407 fdc7Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and cachet (different) on FDC
FranceB407 fdc8Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and cachet (different) on FDC
FranceB407 maxi1Maxicard
FranceB407 maxi2Maxicard (different)
FranceB407 maxi3Maxicard (different)
FranceB407 maxi4Maxicard (different)
FranceB407 maxi5Maxicard (different)
FranceB407 maxi6Maxicard (different)
FranceB407-408 sc (Mi158-1589 sc)Souvenir card
FranceNoneMeter1995
FranceNoneCachet on stamped envelope2005"Médiathèque Albert Camus"
FranceNoneCachet on stamped envelope2006"Médiathèque Albert Camus"
FranceNoneCachet on stamped envelope2007"Médiathèque Albert Camus"
Guinea RepublicMi5953A
Mi5953B
One of MS6 (Mi5949A-5954A)
One of imperforate MS6 (Mi5949B-5954B)
2008
Guinea-BissauUnknown ms (Mi?)MS4 (a-d)2013100th anniv. birth
Guinea-BissauUnknown ms fdcMS4 and cachet on FDC
Guinea-BissauUnknown ss (BL?)SS1
Guinea-BissauUnknown ss fdcSS1 and cachet on FDC
MoldovaNonePrinted stamp and cancel and cachet on stamped envelope2013100th anniv. birth
Monaco2442 (Mi2832)200750th anniv. Camus' Nobel Prize for literature
Monaco2442 proofSigned proof
Mongolia2067 silver (BL?)In (upper) margin of SS1, silver inscription and border around stamp1992"Camus"; (80th anniv. birth, in 1993)
Mongolia2067 gold (BL?)In (upper) margin of SS1, gold inscription and border around stamp
Mozambique1593f (Mi2407)One of MS6 (1593 (a-f)) (Mi2402-7)2002(90th anniv. birth, in 2003)
MozambiqueUnknown b (Mi?)One of MS6 (a-f)2011(50th anniv. death, in 2010)
MozambiqueUnknown ss (BL?)Stamp and (lower-left) margin of SS1
Nicaragua2135h (Mi3651)One of MS12 (2135 (a-l) (Mi3644-3655)1995
Niger409 (Mi589)
i409

Imperforate
197720th anniv. Camus' Nobel Prize for literature
Niger409 dsDeluxe sheet (409)
Paraguay1775 (BL306, Mi2970)In (right) margin of SS11974
St. Thomas and Prince IslandsMi4436-4440_ms5MS5 (Mi4436-4440)2010"50th anniv. death Albert Camus" (in Spanish text)
St. Thomas and Prince IslandsBL764SS1 (Mi4441)
Somaliland RepublicUnknown (Mi?)2001(40th anniv. death, in 2010)
SpainNoneLotto ticket1996
SpainNonePersonalized postage from block of 42011
SpainNonePersonalized postage and cachet on stamped envelope block of 4
SpainNonePersonalized postage and cachet (same) on stamped envelope FDOI
SpainNoneCachet (same) on personalized postage stamped envelope (different stamp)
SpainNoneCachet (same) on personalized postage stamped envelope FDOI
SpainNone(Multi-color printed) cachet on personalized postage maxicard
SpainNone(Multi-color printed) cachet on (un-canceled) (Spanish Post) stamped envelope (from 2011)2013100th anniv. birth
SpainNone(Multi-color printed) cachet (different) on (un-canceled) (Spanish Post) stamped envelope (from 2011)
SpainNone(Multi-color printed) cachet (different) on (un-canceled) (Spanish Post) stamped envelope (from 2011)
SpainNone(Multi-color printed) cachet (different) on (un-canceled) (Spanish Post) stamped envelope (from 2011)
SpainNone(Multi-color printed) cachet (different) on (un-canceled) (Spanish Post) stamped envelope (from 2011)
SpainNonePersonalized postage and cachet on stamped envelope FDOI2015(55th anniv. death)
Sweden1853 (Mi1641)One stamp in booklet pane of 8 (1854a (2x (1851-1854)); also booklet of 8 (1854b) (Mi1639-1642)1990(30th anniv. death)
TongoLocal_ssLocal post SS12010(50th anniv. death)
United StatesNone(Coverscape) cachet on cover2013100th anniv. birth "Albert Camus"


Treshnikov

Treshnikov, Alexei Fyodorovich
(1914–1991)

Alexei Treshnikov was a Russian oceanographer, geographer and polar explorer. After his university studies, he began his career at the Arctic Institute of the Soviet North Sea Route, where he provided hydrometeorological information for the ships of the Soviet Northern Fleet. He participated in the 1948 Soviet expedition to the North Pole and was the leader of the North Pole-3 (NP-3) ice station in the Arctic Ocean in the winter of 1954-1955. He led the 2nd (Nov 1956 to 1958) and 13th (1967 - 1969) Soviet Antarctic Expeditions. The earlier one took place within the framework of the IGY (International Geophysical Year). During those expeditions a wide variety of scientific programs was carried out, including programs in meteorology, aerology and the aurora.

Treshnikov was the director of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI) from 1961 to 1981, and was also the president of the Soviet Geographical Society starting in 1977. From 1981 to 1991 he headed the Oceanography Department at Leningrad University. He became a member of the USSR Academy of Sciences in 1982.

Treshnikov's polar research generally had a meteorological component. For example, he was one of the men at the origin of the POLEX (Polar Experiment) in the years 1968 to 1971. It took place for many years in the Kara Sea. Its scientific goals were to study, in a polar sea area, the heat budget of the atmosphere and the ocean and the energy transfer processes between them, and to use the data to parameterize those phenomena in numerical climate models and general circulation models. POLEX provided polar region data during the First GARP Global Experiment (FGGE, later known as the Global Weather Experiment, GWE) in 1978.

Treshnikov published many scientific articles during his career. For example, in 1972 he published "Soviet research in the Arctic" (Geoforum, 3(4), 1972, p.43-52). This article describes the AARI's research in the polar regions, as summarized in the paper's abstract: "The research work draws extensively on the observational data of polar meteorological stations, manned drifting stations, automatic drifting stations, as well as on numerous airborne and shipboard expeditions. Recent research consists mainly of hydrometeorological studies and observations with the objective of developing meteorological, hydrological, and ice forecasts for 3 days to 10 months into the future. These forecasts are of primary importance for navigation in the Arctic Seas. In addition, the institute carries out research in geomagnetism, ionosphere, polar auroras, physical properties of sea ice, and physical geography". The POLEX experiment was also briefly described in this article.

In 1977, Treshnikov and V. Voskresenskiy, published "Climate of the drift-ice zone" (Polar Geography, 1(1), January 1977, p.41-49). This seminal article discusses the "climatic characteristics in the drift-ice zone, including circulation conditions, radiation regime, temperature and pressure fields, cloud micro-structure and the climate of the free atmosphere. The significance of climatic studies in this region is emphasized in connection with plans for resource development and navigation along the north coasts of the Soviet Union (USSR). A greater need is seen for quantitative evaluation of heat and water exchange within the region and along its outer boundary".

Treshnikov was the editor of a series of papers that were collectively published under the title "Problems of the Arctic and Antarctic". For example, Volumes 33 - 35 contain 59 papers which examine such subjects as weather, ice thickness, ice motion, ocean salinity and the effects of the cold. Volumes 36 - 37 contain 19 papers that investigate subjects including ice forecasting, long range meteorological forecasts, Siberian rivers and Arctic seas, and the history of polar countries. Volume 49 contains 18 papers that discuss weather forecasting, atmospheric processes including atmosphere-ocean heat exchange, long period tides and algae in the land fast ice.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Russia6575 (Mi792)One of MS5 (6575a (6571-6575 + label)) (BL30)2000(10th anniv. death, in 2001)
Russia6575 cover (Mi792 cover)Stamp and cachet on cover2005


Van Allen

Van Allen, James
(1914–2006)

James Van Allen was an American physicist and space scientist. In late 1945 he was assigned by Johns Hopkins University to survey sounding rocket requirements for upper atmospheric research. He found that the German V2, which at the time was being tested by Werner von Braun and his team of rocket engineers at Fort Bliss, Texas, was too heavy and complex. In 1946 Van Allen decided that a small rocket derived from the Aerojet WAC Corporal and the Bumblebee missile developed under a US Navy program could meet his requirements. This small and inexpensive combination of an Aerojet booster and a Bumblebee second stage was dubbed the "Aerobee". It could take a 68 kg payload to 130 km altitude, and became the mainstay of American upper atmospheric research. Van Allen also developed various instrument packages used in upper atmospheric (and eventually near-space) scientific measurements. He became the chairman of the Upper Atmosphere Rocket Research Panel (which later became the Rocket and Satellite Research Panel) in 1948.

In 1952 Van Allen developed "rockoons" - balloons carrying sounding rockets. A small rocket launched from a balloon at around 20 km altitude could fly up to nearly 100 km, allowing scientific measurements to be made in the highest and thinnest reaches of the atmosphere. Cosmic ray intensity was measured, along with the interaction of cosmic rays with the atmosphere near the North Pole. As the rockets fell back into the atmosphere, they continued to measure cosmic rays, pressure, temperature, heat, and other conditions. These early experiments suggested the existence of trapped radiation in near-Earth space. This was later confirmed by satellite measurements and the radiation areas became known as the Van Allen radiation belts. In 1954 a rocket launched into the aurora by Van Allen's team observed for the first time auroral electrons.

Van Allen was one of the precursors of the International Geophysical Year (IGY). In 1950 he invited a group of colleagues to his home to discuss the technologies developed during WWII, such as rockets and radar, and concluded that they could be used in a new round of international geophysical research. With the first and second International Polar Years (IPYs) in mind as models, the group through Lloyd Berkner proposed to the International Council of Scientific Unions that a Third IPY be held in 1957 (25 years after the Second IPY). The proposal came to fruition and the Third IPY, renamed the IGY since it was planned for the whole world rather than only the polar regions, took place from 1 July 1957 through 31 December 1958 (actually a period of 18 months). It was a coordinated, comprehensive, international geophysical study of the Earth. As part of the IGY, the first artificial Earth satellites were launched by the USSR and the USA. They provided scientific information on the near-space environment of the Earth. In particular, data from American satellites Explorer-1 and Explorer-3 were used by Van Allen to prove the existence of belts of radiation around the Earth (starting at an altitude of about 100 km) that came to be known as the Van Allen radiation belts.

In his book Origins of Magnetospheric Physics (Smithsonian Institution Press, 1983), Van Allen said that "the immense opportunity for finally being able to make scientific observations through and above the atmosphere of the Earth drove us to heroic measures and into a new style of research, very different from the laboratory type in which many of us had been trained".

Van Allen wrote or collaborated on a large number of papers relating to cosmic ray research in the upper atmosphere. Here are some of Van Allen's presentations and papers related to upper atmospheric research other than cosmic ray research:

A well-known photo shows von Braun, Van Allen, and Pickering (left-to-right) holding an Explorer-1 model. Several philatelic items reproduce this photo or its mirror image in their designs, or a different head-on photo of the three men and the Explorer-1 model that was taken at the same time. All those items are highlighted in yellow in the table below.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Van Allen (on non-launch-cover postal items)
Antigua and Barbuda3014c (Mi4592)One of MS6 (3014 (2x (a-c))) (BL1)2008"Van Allen radiation belt"
Antigua and Barbuda3018 (BL3)In (right) margin of SS1
Central African RepublicMi8698One of MS4 (Mi8697-8700)2019"Luna-1 and the Van Allen belts" (in French text)
Central African RepublicBL1932In (upper-left) margin of SS1Depiction of the Van Allen belts
Central African RepublicMi13921One of MS6 (Mi13916-13921)2023(mirror image of a) Photograph of Pickering, Van Allen, and von Braun (left-to-right) holding the Explorer-1 model
Congo RepublicUnknown ss (BL none)On stamp of SS1 [known illegal issue]2014Van Allen and "Van Allen radiation belt" (in French text); 100th anniv. birth
Congo RepublicUnknown fdcSS1 on FDC
Czechoslovakia1454 (Mi1688)1967depiction of the Van Allen radiation belts (in inset at lower left)
DjiboutiUnknown ms (Mi none)
Unknown ims
MS3 (a-c) [known illegal issue]
Imperforate MS3 (a-c)
2014"100th anniv. birth James Alfred Van Allen" (in French text)
DjiboutiUnknown proofImperforate MS3 proof? (or imperforate MS3 with perforated MS3 colors?)
DjiboutiUnknown ms fdc
Unknown ims fdc
MS3 and cachet on FDC
Imperforate MS3 and cachet on FDC
100th anniv. birth: (mirror image of a) Photograph of Pickering, Van Allen, and von Braun (left-to-right) holding Explorer-1 model (in cachet)
DjiboutiUnknown ss (BL none)
Unknown iss
SS1 [known illegal issue]
Imperforate SS1
"100th anniv. birth James Alfred Van Allen" (in French text)
DjiboutiUnknown ss fdc
Unknown iss fdc
SS1 on FDC
Imperforate SS1 on FDC
DjiboutiUnknown fdc (Mi none fdc)(Multi-color printed) cachet on FDC [known illegal issue]2014(mirror image of a) Photograph of Pickering, Van Allen, and von Braun (left-to-right) holding Explorer-1 model
DjiboutiMi6413From MS6 (6x Mi6413)2023"James Van Allen"
France1148 card (Mi1539 card)(Éditions P.A.C.) cachet on FDOI card1966"Van Allen"
Franklin Mint (USA)None(Silver) medallion reverse, also obverse1970sExplorer-1 "revealed the presence of the Van Allen radiation belt around Earth"
Great Britain1375a+1377a fdc (Mi1337-1340 fdc)Insert from FDC, also front (Benham cachet, and second cancel for 30th anniv. Gagarin's flight)1991"Explorer-1 enabled Dr. Van Allen of the USA to discover" the Van Allen radiation belts
Great Britain1998 fdc (Mi1951 fdc)(Royal Mail) cachet (and signature) on FDC2001Earth's magnetosphere and Van Allen radiation belt
Guinea-BissauUnknownStamp from SS12023"James Alfred Van Allen" and radiation belts
Guinea-BissauUnknown ss (BL?)In (lower) margin of SS1
Hungary1661 (Mi2103A)
i1661 (Mi2103B)

Imperforate
1965Van Allen radiation belts (and research rocket)
Hungary1659+1661+1666-1667 fdc
i1659+i1661+i1666-i1667 fdc
One of four stamps on FDC
One of four imperforate stamps on FDC
Ivory CoastUnknown d (Mi none)
Unknown id
One of MS4 (a-d) [known illegal issue]
One of imperforate MS4 (a-d)
2011"ceintures de Van Allen" (Van Allen belts) (in text and depicted)
Ivory CoastUnknown ms fdc
Unknown ims fdc
MS4 on FDC
Imperforate MS4 on FDC
MalawiUnknown a (Mi none)
Unknown ia
One of MS2 (a-b) [known illegal issue]
One of imperforate MS2 (a-b)
2007
MalawiUnknown2 ms fdc
Unknown2 ims fdc
MS2 on FDC
On one stamp of imperforate MS2 on FDC
MalawiUnknown1 imperf fdcOn cachet of FDC
MaliUnknown a (Mi none)One of MS3 (a-c) [known illegal issue]2019"Ceinture de Van Allen"
MaliUnknown ms fdcMS3 on FDC
Maldive Islands2959d (Mi4690)One of MS4 (2959 (a-d)) (Mi4687-4690)2008"Dr. Van Allen and the Van Allen radiation belt"
Maldive Islands2959 fdcMS4 on FDC
Maldive Islands2959a-d fdcOne of four stamps on FDC
Montserrat1200b (Mi1409)From MS4 (1200 (a-d)) (Mi148-1411)2008"Dr. James Van Allen and Explorer-1"
Montserrat1200d (Mi1411)(mirror image of a) Photograph of Pickering, Van Allen, and von Braun (left-to-right) holding Explorer-1 model
Nevis1545a (Mi2308)From MS4 (1545 (a-d)) (Mi2308-2311)2008"Van Allen radiation belt" (but solar wind and magnetosphere depicted)
Nevis1545c (Mi2310)"James Van Allen"
Nevis1545 fdcMS4 on FDC(As above for stamps)
RwandaUnknown k (Mi none)One of MS12 (a-l) [known illegal issue]2009
St. Vincent2080f (Mi2966)One of MS9 (2080 (a-i)) (Mi2961-2969)1994"James A. Van Allen"; "Explorer-1 and Van Allen belts"
St. Vincent2080 fdcMS9 on FDC
St. Vincent2080f specimenOne of MS9 (2080 overprinted "specimen" (a-i))
Tanzania2540b (Mi4621)One of MS4 (2540 (a-d)) (Mi4620-4623)2009"Dr. James Van Allen and Explorer-1"
TogoUnknown ms (Mi?)In (right and lower-right) margin of MS3 (a-c)2023"James Alfred Van Allen"
TogoUnknownStamp from SS1
United Nations188-189 fdc (Mi204-205 fdc)Signature on FDC, also back1968"James G. Van Allen"
United States1315 fdc (Mi? fdc)Signature only on FDC1966"James Van Allen"
United StatesNone(ESSA-SDL blue rubber-stamp) cachet on cover1969"Van Allen belts"
United StatesNone(Astro Covers) cachet on cover1983"Van Allen Belt"
United States2569 fdc (Mi2184 fdc)(PCS golden-replica) insert from FDC, also front1991"Van Allen"
United States2569+2574 sc/fdc (Mi2184+2189 sc/fdc)(PCS) cachet on SC/FDCAs it flew by Venus, Mariner-2 "failed to detect any radiation belt similar to Earth's Van Allen belts or any trace of a magnetic field"
United States1918-1919 cover (Mi1487-1488 cover)(Huntspex'98/Huntsville Philatelic Society) cachet on cover199840th anniv. Explorer-1; photograph of Pickering, Van Allen, and von Braun (left-to-right) holding the Explorer-1 model
United States3187d fdc1 (Mi3126 fdc1)(BGC) cachet on FDC1999"Dr. Van Allen", "Van Allen Belts"
United States3187d fdc2 (Mi3126 fdc2)(Mystic Stamp Company) cachet on FDC, also backPhotograph of von Braun, Van Allen, and Pickering (left-to-right) holding Explorer-1 model
United States3187d fdc3 (Mi3126 fdc3)(Cover Craft Cachets) cachet on FDCVan Allen with Explorer-1
United States3187d fdc4 (Mi3126 fdc4)(Collins) cachet on FDC"the Van Allen radiation belt[s] discovered by the Explorer satellites" (refers to Explorer-1 and Explorer-3)
United States3187d fdc5 (Mi3126 fdc5)(PCS golden-replica) back of FDC, also front"Van Allen"
United States3187d fdc6 (Mi3126 fdc6)(Artmaster) cachet on FDC, also back"James A. Van Allen designed [the] first successful U.S. satellite" (Explorer-1)
United States3187 book page 17 (Mi3126 book page 17)Page 17 from (USPS) "1950s" book(head-on) Photograph of Pickering, Van Allen, and von Braun (left-to-right) holding the Explorer-1 model
United StatesNone(Mission 57) cachet on IGY cover back, also front2007"James Van Allen" and "Van Allen radiation belt"
United StatesNone(Coverscape) cachet on cover2019105th anniv. birth; "James A. Van Allen" was the "discoverer of the magnetosphere", which was named the "'Van Allen Radiation Belts' in his honor, following his discovery of them during the International Geophysical Year in 1958"

CountryCancel DateCancel LocationType of ItemNotes on Content
Van Allen (on satellite and rocket launch and event covers)
United States1958-01-31Port Canaveral FL(Sarzin) cachet on Explorer-1 launch cover"Van Allen belts in space"
United States1959-10-13Port Canaveral FL(Sarzin) cachet (and signature) on Explorer-7 launch cover"James Van Allen" (signature)
United States1961-03-25 (inverted hour "2")Patrick AFB, FL(SpaceCraft no.1, no logo) cachet on Explorer-10 launch cover"Van Allen radiation belts and magnetic fields"
United States1961-03-25Patrick AFB, FL(SpaceCraft no.1, no logo) cachet on Explorer-10 launch cover
United States1961-03-25Patrick AFB, FL(SpaceCraft no.1, no logo) cachet (and signature) on Explorer-10 launch cover
United States1961-08-16Patrick AFB, FL(SpaceCraft) insert from Explorer-12 launch cover, also front"Inner Van Allen belt" and "Outer Van Allen belt"
United States1961-08-16Patrick AFB, FL(SpaceCraft) insert from Explorer-12 launch cover, also front (with signature)
United States1962-01-24Patrick AFB, FL(SpaceCraft/Swanson) cachet on Injun-2 and SolRad-4A and SECOR-(1) and LOFTI-2 launch [failed] cover"Van Allen radiation belt"
United States1962-07-10Port Canaveral FL(Sokalsky blue) cachet (and signature) on Telstar-1 launch cover"James Van Allen" (signature)
United States1962-10-03Cape Canaveral FL(Sarzin?) cachet on Explorer-14 launch cover"Van Allen radiation belt"
United States1962-10-03Cape Canaveral FL(SpaceCraft) insert or insert variation (minor differences) from Explorer-14 launch cover, also front"Van Allen belt"
United States1962-10-03Patrick AFB, FL(SpaceCraft) insert or insert variation (minor differences) from Explorer-14 launch cover, also front
United States1962-10-03Patrick AFB, FL(SpaceCraft) insert or insert variation (minor differences) from Explorer-14 launch cover, also front (with signature)
United States1963-05-07Andover ME(Black printed) cachet (and signature) on Telstar-2 launch cover"James Van Allen" (signature)
Iceland1964-08-01Vik(Black printed) cachet on (sub-orbital) rocket launch cover"Van Allen belt"
United States1964-12-21Cape Canaveral FL(SpaceCraft/Swanson) insert from Explorer-26 launch cover, also front"Van Allen radiation zone" (in text on insert)
United States1964-12-21Patrick AFB, FL(SpaceCraft/Swanson) insert from Explorer-26 launch cover, also front
United States1965-02-03Patrick AFB, FL(SpaceCraft/Swanson) insert or insert variation (slightly different line lengths) from OSO-2 launch cover, also front"Van Allen region"
United States1965-02-03Patrick AFB, FL(SpaceCraft/Swanson) insert or insert variation (slightly different line lengths) from OSO-2 launch cover (with siganture), also front
United States1965-02-03Cape Canaveral FL(SpaceCraft/Swanson) insert or insert variation (slightly different line lengths) from OSO-2 launch cover, also front
United States1965-10-15Cape Canaveral FL(SpaceCraft/Swanson) cachet on OV2-1 and LCS-2 [failed] launch cover, also insert or insert variation (slightly different line lengths)"Van Allen radiation belt"
United States1965-10-15Cape Canaveral FL(SpaceCraft/Swanson) cachet (and signature) on OV2-1 and LCS-2 [failed] launch cover, also insert or insert variation (slightly different line lengths)
United States1965-10-15Patrick AFB, FL(SpaceCraft/Swanson) cachet on OV2-1 and LCS-2 [failed] launch cover, also insert or insert variation (slightly different line lengths)
United States1965-10-15Cape Canaveral FL(Astro Covers) cachet on OV2-1 and LCS-2 [failed] launch cover"Van Allen radiation belt"
Austria1966-02-23Kreieglach(Freidrich Schmiedl black and red typed) cachet (and red cinderella) on Kosmos-110 launch cover"Van Allen radiation belts" (in German text) ("Van Allen Strahlungsgürtel")
United States1966-09-12Cape Canaveral FL(Astro Covers, no logo) cachet on GATV-11 (and Gemini-11) separate launch cover"850 mile high record flight [1370 km high] in [the] Van Allen [radiation] belt"
United States1966-09-12Eglin AFB, FL(Manned Space Flight Network) cachet on GATV-11 (and Gemini-11) separate launch coverGemini-11 "Astronauts Ch. Conrad and R.F. Gordon set an altitude record of 850 miles [1370 km] in the lower Van Allen radiation belts with the docked Agena [i.e. GATV-11]"
United States1967-04-28Patrick AFB, FL(SpaceCraft/Swanson) insert2 from OV5-1+3 and ERS-18 and Vela-7/8 launch cover, also insert2 back and insert1 or insert1 variation (slightly different text) and cover front"trapped radiation in the Van Allen belt"
United States1967-04-28Patrick AFB, FL(SpaceCraft/Swanson) insert2 from OV5-1+3 and ERS-18 and Vela-7/8 launch cover, also insert2 back and insert1 or insert1 variation (slightly different text) and cover front
Austria1967-10-04Gmünd(Cyan printed) cachet on Sputnik-1 anniversary cover"Explorer I (USA) [was] launched 1.2.1958 [and] discovered the van Allen radiation belt" (in German text)
United States1969-11-14Boulder CO(ESSA-SDL blue rubber-stamp) cachet on Apollo-12 launch cover"Van Allen belts"
United States1970-03-31Cape Canaveral FL(SpaceCraft/Swanson) cachet on Explorer-1 re-entry cover"Van Allen radiation belt"
United States1970-03-31Houston TX(MSCS) cachet on Explorer-1 re-entry cover"Van Allen radiation belt"
United States1970-04-11Boulder CO(ESSA-SDL blue rubber-stamp) cachet on Apollo-13 launch cover"Van Allen belts"
United States1971-07-26Boulder CO(NOAA-SEL blue rubber-stamp) cachet (and signature) on Apollo-15 launch cover"Van Allen belts"
Kenya1971-11-15Malindi(Space Voyage) insert from Explorer-45 launch cover, also front"Van Allen radiation belts"
Kenya1971-11-15MalindiInsert from (Cura della printed and red rubber-stamp) Explorer-45 launch cover, also insert back and cover front"fasce di Van Allen" ("Van Allen belts", in text in insert front)
Kenya1971-11-15MalindiInsert from (Cura della printed and red rubber-stamp, and signature) Explorer-45 launch cover, also insert back and cover front
Kenya1971-11-15MalindiInsert from (Cura della printed and blue rubber-stamp) Explorer-45 launch cover, also insert back and cover front
United States1972-03-03Kennedy Space Center FL(Space Voyage) insert1 from Pioneer-10 launch cover, also insert2 and cover front"Van Allen radiation belts" (in insert1 text)
United States1972-03-03Cape Canaveral FL(Space Voyage) insert1 from Pioneer-10 launch cover, also insert2 and cover front
United States1973-01-31Redstone Arsenal AL(MoF no.3) insert from Explorer-1 anniversary-of-launch cover, also insert back and cover front"Dr. James Van Allen"
United States1973-01-31Patrick AFB, FL(Whitney purple) cachet on Explorer-1 anniversary-of-launch cover"Van Allen radiation belt"
United States1973-01-31Cape Canaveral FL(Whitney purple) cachet on Explorer-1 anniversary-of-launch cover
United States1973-01-31Cape Canaveral FL(Whitney purple) cachet on Explorer-1 anniversary-of-launch (airmail) cover
United States1974-08-14Cape Canaveral FL(MoF no.18) insert back from Explorer-6 anniversary-of-launch cover, also insert front and cover front"Van Allen radiation belts"
United States1978-01-31Pasadena CA(Gold printed) cachet on Explorer-1 anniversary-of-launch cover"discovery of the Van Allen radiation belts around the Earth"
United States1978-01-31Cape Canaveral FL(Blue printed) cachet on Explorer-1 anniversary-of-launch cover
United States1978-01-31Cape Canaveral FL (hand cancel)(Whitney blue) cachet on Explorer-1 anniversary-of-launch cover"Van Allan (sic) radiation belt"
United States1978-01-31Cape Canaveral FL (machine cancel)(Whitney blue) cachet on (airmail) Explorer-1 anniversary-of-launch cover
United States1978-01-31Cape Canaveral FL (machine cancel)(Whitney blue) cachet (and signature) on (airmail) Explorer-1 anniversary-of-launch cover
United States1981-04-12Boulder CO(NOAA-SEL black rubber-stamp) cachet on STS-1 launch (airmail) cover"Van Allen belts"
United States1982-03-22Boulder CO(NOAA-SEL black rubber-stamp) cachet (and signature) on STS-3 launch cover"Van Allen belts"
United States1982-11-11Boulder CO(NOAA-SEL black rubber-stamp) cachet on STS-5 launch and SBS-3 deployment (airmail) cover"Van Allen belts"
United States1983-01-31Pasadena CA(JPL Stamp Club) insert from Explorer-1 anniversary-of-launch cover, also front"Dr. James A. Van Allen" and "Van Allen radiation belt"
United States1983-01-31Pasadena CA(Space Voyage) cachet on Explorer-1 anniversary-of-launch cover"Van Allen radiation belt"
United States1983-01-31Cape Canaveral FL(Space Voyage) cachet on Explorer-1 anniversary-of-launch cover
United States1983-01-31Cape Canaveral FL (machine cancel)(Whitney magenta) cachet on Explorer-1 anniversary-of-launch (airmail) cover"satellite discovered the Van Allen radiation belt"
United States1983-01-31Cape Canaveral FL (hand cancel)(Whitney magenta) cachet on Explorer-1 anniversary-of-launch (airmail) cover
United States1983-01-31Cape Canaveral FL(Black printed) cachet on Explorer-1 anniversary card"Van Allen radiation belts"
United States1983-11-28Boulder CO(NOAA-SEL black rubber-stamp) cachet on STS-9 launch cover"Van Allen belts"
United States1984-02-03Boulder CO(NOAA-SEL black rubber-stamp) cachet on STS-41B and Westar-6 deployment (airmail) cover"Van Allen belts"
United States2007-12-06Cape Canaveral FL(Mission 57) back of Vanguard-TV3 [failed] anniversary-of-launch cover, also front"Van Allen"
United States2008-01-31Washington DC(Mission 57) cachet on Explorer-1 anniversary-of-launch cover, also backVan Allen (in cachets on front and back)
United States2008-01-31Cape Canaveral FL(Mission 57) cachet on Explorer-1 anniversary-of-launch cover, also backVan Allen (in cachets on front and back)
United States2008-01-31Marshall Space Flight Center AL(Mission 57) cachet (different) on Explorer-1 anniversary-of-launch cover, also backVan Allen and others
United States2008-01-31Cape Canaveral FL(Mission 57) cachet on Explorer-1 anniversary-of-launch cover, also backVan Allen and others
United States2008-01-31Cape Canaveral FL(Mission 57) back (different) of Explorer-1 anniversary-of-launch cover, also front"James Van Allen"
United States2008-01-31Cape Canaveral FL(Mission 57) back (different) of Explorer-1 anniversary-of-launch cover, also front"James Van Allen" and "Van Allen radiation belts"
United States2008-01-31Pasadena CA(Personalized) stamp and (Therome Cachets) cachet on Explorer-1 anniversary-of-launch coverVan Allen (on stamp and in cachet text)
United States2008-01-31Pasadena CA(Pictorial) cancel and (JPL Stamp Club) cachet on Explorer-1 anniversary-of-launch coverVan Allen in the centre, between the two others
United States2008-03-17Cape Canaveral FL(Mission 57) back of Vanguard-1 anniversary-of-launch cover, also front"Van Allen radiation belts"
United States2009-09-18Cape Canaveral FL(Mission 57) back of Vanguard-3 anniversary-of-launch cover, also front"Van Allen radiation"
United States2009-10-13Cape Canaveral FL(Mission 57) back of Explorer-7 anniversary-of-launch cover, also front"Dr. Van Allen" and "Van Allen radiation"
United States2011-03-04Vandenberg AFB, CA(Mission 57) back of Glory launch cover, also front"Dr. Van Allen"
United States2012-07-10Cape Canaveral FL(Mission 57) back of 50th anniv. Telstar-1 launch cover, also front"Earth's Van Allen belts" (in text)
United States2012-08-30Cape Canaveral FL(Mission 57) back of RBSP launch cover, also front"Van Allen radiation belts" (depicted and in text)
United States2013-01-31Bourne Station MA(Coverscape) cachet on Explorer-1 anniversary-of-launch cover"Van Allen" (in picture and cachet text)


Garcia

Garcia, René
(1915–1995)

René Garcia was a French meteorologist. He was part of the third French International Geophysical Year (IGY) campaign that lasted from 1957 to 1959. Garcia was the station chief and meteorologist at the Charcot station on the Antarctic plateau starting in early February 1958, when he and two others relieved the previous team led by Jacques Dubois. They continued the scientific programs in meteorology, magnetism and glaciology established by Dubois. In addition, they introduced basic aerological upper air measurements with pilot balloons during the winter of 1958. In December of that year they even succeeded in making some upper air measurements with radiosonde balloons. Garcia and his team remained at Charcot station until it was closed on 9 January 1959 at the end of the French IGY program.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
French Southern and Antarctic Territories116 sc (Mi203 sc)Text on souvenir card (116)1985"René Garcia" (twice)
French Southern and Antarctic Territories224 (Mi359)19972nd anniv. death "René Garcia"
French Southern and Antarctic Territories224 maxiMaxicard
French Southern and Antarctic Territories224 fdcStamp and (J.F. Courbevoie) cachet on FDC
French Southern and Antarctic Territories224 cover1 (Mi359 cover1)Stamp on cover1997
French Southern and Antarctic Territories224 cover2 (Mi359 cover2)Stamp and (black printed) cachet on postal card, also back1997"René Garcia hiking toward Greenland's east coast in August 1950, after spending the winter at Central Station" (in French text)
French Southern and Antarctic Territories224 cover (Mi359 cover)Stamp on cover1998


Suomi

Suomi, Verner E.
(1915–1995)

Verner Suomi was an American professor of atmospheric science and pioneer in imaging techniques used in weather satellites. He has been called the "father" of satellite meteorology.

After earning a Bachelor of Education degree, Suomi was recruited to study meteorology at the University of Chicago in the early years of WWII by the noted meteorologist C.G. Rossby. There Suomi learned the basics of meteorology and became a meteorological instructor. He had always been good with his hands, and became interested in the construction and repair of radiosonde equipment. This led to his development, under contract to the US military, of a light mobile radiosonde receiving unit that replaced the existing one that was so cumbersome that it had to be transported on a truck.

In 1946, Suomi's interest turned to the measurement of atmospheric turbulence near the ground. To this end, he and Michael Ference considered acoustic techniques and designed a method of measuring wind speed with sound pulses. From this work, Suomi and Earl Barrett developed in 1946 what would be the first sonic anemometer. It is described in a paper he wrote in 1957: "Sonic anemometer - University of Wisconsin". Instrumentation and Data Evaluation, H. Lettau and B. Davidson, Eds., 1, Exploring the Atmosphere's First Mile, Pergamon Press, p.256-266.

Suomi became an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin in Madison (UWM) in 1948, where he began micrometeorological and agricultural research through studies of the heat budget over a cornfield. This led to his PhD in meteorology in 1953 from the University of Chicago. Basically, his work examined the solar energy absorbed by a cornfield compared to the amount of energy radiated out to space by that field. This was his first foray into what would become his ongoing studies of the energy balance of the Earth and the atmosphere, which would in turn lead to his interest in climate. Suomi would spend most of his career at UWM, where he held the Harry Wexler professorship in meteorology. He was the director of the Meteorological Department from 1950 to 1952 and again from 1954 to 1957.

In the early 1950s, Suomi began to think about how one might measure the Earth's heat budget remotely, from space, rather than relying on measurements at a few ground-based locations. Then in 1956, Joseph Kaplan of UCLA gave a lecture at UWM in which he presented plans for the International Geophysical Year (IGY). Suomi enthusiastically informed Kaplan of his ideas, and his instrument design (initially called the ping-pong experiment because it used two spheres (one black, one white) about the size of ping-pong balls) was accepted for launch into space.

Suomi collaborated for many years with the electrical engineer Robert Parent, who was also at UWM. In the late 1950s the two men modified Suomi's original ping-pong design to use mirror-backed hemispheres ("bolometers") as sensors. This groundbreaking instrument was the first radiometer to measure the Earth's radiation balance from space. It provided the difference between the solar radiation absorbed and the long wave radiation emitted by the Earth-atmosphere system. This difference, the net radiation, is important because it drives the circulation of the atmosphere. The incoming solar radiation had already been measured from the ground and from balloons, but only a satellite-based instrument could measure the net radiation and its variations over the globe in space and time. The Suomi-Parent flat-plate radiometer was aboard the science satellite Explorer-7 which was launched 13 October 1959. It provided the first measurement of the Earth's heat budget and its changes in space and time. Data from the radiometer combined with the other available radiative measurements proved that clouds and other atmospheric constituents could have a major effect on the net radiation. In particular, it was found that that clouds absorbed more solar energy and reflected less than had previously been estimated (i.e. the Earth was "darker" than originally believed).

This successful demonstration of the use of an artificial Earth satellite to study physical characteristics of the Earth-atmosphere system gave confidence to the scientific community that such satellites could be very useful in studies of Earth's weather. Explorer-7, with its Suomi-Parent flat-plate radiometer, can therefore be considered the precursor of all weather satellites. TIROS-1, the first dedicated weather satellite, was launched on 1 April 1960. An updated version of the radiometer was flown on many of the TIROS, ITOS and DMSP weather satellites.

Suomi served for one year, in 1964, as chief scientist of the US Weather Bureau. Later, as a contractor to the Bureau, he studied the possible climatic effects of jet aircraft contrails. He also made significant contributions to the international meteorological community. For example, later in the 1960s, with Drs. Jules Charney, Joe Smagorinsky and Tom Malone he founded the Global Atmospheric Research Program (GARP). Beginning in 1968, Suomi served as president of the American Meteorological Society (AMS). He was awarded the Charles Franklin Brooks Award by the AMS in 1980. He was also awarded the International Meteorological Organization prize by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

Suomi and Parent continued to collaborate and built more sophisticated instruments in the 1960s and 1970s. They designed a special camera, the spin-scan cloud camera, that could be used to photograph the Earth from rotating spin-stabilized satellites in geostationary orbit. The camera was first flown on the ATS-1 satellite (launched 7 December 1966). The camera was designed to take "high resolution photos of the Earth" (ATS-1_cover) and to "give weathermen their first large-scale observation of weather masses" (ATS-1_cover4). The camera was next flown on the ATS-3 satellite (launched 6 November 1967), from which it provided the first color image of the Earth from space ("it will take color photos of the western hemisphere's weather" (ATS-3_cover)) and the first photos of the full disk of the Earth ("First full-disk photos of Earth; sunrise and sunset cloud color changes" (ATS-3_cover3)). Here and here are examples of a color full-disk photographs of Earth taken from ATS-3. The spin-scan camera came to be known as the VISSR (Visible and Infrared Spin Scan Radiometer) and was used in many later weather satellites. A modified version known as the VAS (VISSR Atmospheric Sounder) was the first instrument to allow the measurement of the vertical distribution of temperature and water vapour in the atmosphere. It was first carried by GOES-4 (launched 9 September 1980) and immediately proved its usefulness. Through the VAS, GOES-4 was "the first US satellite capable of near continuous monitoring of atmospheric water vapor and temperatures" (GOES-4_cover).

Suomi and Parent's spin-scan camera was also modified for use in spacecraft that took early photos of Venus (Pioneer-12 and 13) and Jupiter and Saturn (Pioneer-10 and 11).

In the late 1970s Suomi was the chairman of the Climate Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. At that time a scientific consensus about global warming and its possible effects was beginning to emerge. There were of course uncertainties, such as how long the oceans would delay the warming, given that they act as a carbon sink. Suomi spoke of this crucial point in his introduction to a National Academy of Sciences report1 written for the White House by a panel of eight scientists headed by MIT's Jule Charney. Suomi wrote that "the ocean, the great and ponderous flywheel of the global climate system, may be expected to slow the course of observable climatic change. A wait-and-see policy may mean waiting until it is too late." His understanding of climate change is summarized in his prescient 1980 textbook Understanding Climatic Change: Program for Action (published by the National Academy of Sciences).

Suomi also led the team that developed McIDAS (Man-Computer Interactive Data Access System), one of the first integrated software packages designed to display and manipulate meteorological data. It was used for many years in the US and some other countries as a primary tool for both weather research and operational forecasting.

Suomi also developed a radio altimeter designed to be carried aboard weather balloons to measure their height. He did basic work on the design of microwave antennas for use with atmospheric sounders such as the VAS. Later in his life he was involved in developing a sea surface sonde: an instrument that would measure the flow of heat from the ocean to the atmosphere. Such information is important in climate studies and as "ground truth" for meteorological satellites.

Hank Revercomb, director of UWM's Space Science and Engineering Centre (which Suomi helped to establish in 1965) said of Suomi that "he was the pioneer for so many things" and that "he foresaw concepts for pivotal instrument designs, but also how to process this valuable weather information you're collecting and how to make it available."

On 28 October 2011 the S-NPP (Suomi-National Polar-orbiting Partnership) satellite was launched from Vandenberg AFB in California. Not only will it provide data for short-term weather forecasting, but also its measurements will be useful in research into longer-term climate change, the ozone layer, global ice cover, levels of atmospheric pollution and vegetation mapping. The instrument suite includes an updated version of an atmospheric sounder originally designed by Suomi. It will provide measurements of atmospheric temperature, wind, moisture and cloud cover. Originally known as the NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) satellite, it was renamed Suomi NPP in honour of Suomi's vast contribution to satellite meteorology.

1 Charney, Jule et al., Carbon Dioxide and Climate: A Scientific Assessment, Report of an Ad-Hoc Study Group on Carbon Dioxide and Climate, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, 23-27 July 1979, to the Climate Research Board, National Research Council (Washington DC, National Academies Press, 1979)

CountryCancel DateCancel LocationType of ItemNotes on Content
Suomi (on non-launch-cover postal items)
Aland (Finland)442 (Mi501)From MS30 (442a (30x 442 + 10 labels))2021"Verner E. Suomi" (and "Suomi NPP")
Aland (Finland)442 fdcStamp and (pictorial) cancel and (green printed) cachet on FDC
Aland (Finland)442 maxiMaxicard (442)
Aland (Finland)442 saSelf-adhesive
Aland (Finland)442 sa fdcSelf-adhesive stamp and (pictorial) cancel and (green printed) cachet on FDC
Central African RepublicUnknown b (Mi?)One of MS2 (a-b)2024"Verner E. Soumi" (and Explorer-7)
Central African RepublicUnknown ss (BL?)In (left) margin of SS1
TogoMi10228One of MS4 (Mi10226-10229)2019"Verner E. Soumi" (and Explorer-7)
TogoMi10230stamp from SS1 (BL1844)

CountryCancel DateCancel LocationType of ItemNotes on Content
Suomi (on satellite launch covers)
United States2009-10-13Cape Canaveral FL(Mission 57) back of Explorer-7 anniversary-of-launch cover, also front"Verner Suomi"


Brewer

Brewer, Alan W.
(1915–2007)

Alan Brewer was a meteorologist and instrument designer who was born in Canada but grew up and spent much of his life in England. He made fundamental contributions to our understanding of the physics, chemistry and dynamics of the stratosphere.

After obtaining his MSc in physics from University College in London, he joined the Meteorological Office in 1937. He began work as a weather forecaster at an RAF station near Oxford in 1941. In WWII it became urgent to understand the processes of formation of contrails (condensation trails), since they were making Allied aircraft vulnerable to enemy aircraft. The Met Office needed to be able to forecast when and where contrails would form. In 1942 Brewer was assigned as officer-in-charge of the Meteorological Unit of the High Altitude Flight group at Boscombe Down. He immediately plunged into the measurement by aircraft of temperature and humidity. His supervisor, G. M. Dobson, had already done some work on hygrometry (humidity measurement) so Brewer started by developing an improved aircraft-mounted instrument for measuring temperatures. Then turning his attention to hygrometry, he quickly realized that contrails occur in the situation in which the air is saturated with respect to ice but not saturated with respect to supercooled water. This meant in turn that a hygrometer that would provide useful measurements for the study of contrails had to measure the frost point rather than the dew point, so Brewer and his team modified Dobson's hygrometer to provide the frost point. The instruments were mounted in a Flying Fortress, and as it climbed into the stratosphere, Brewer observed that the temperature rose and the humidity plummeted. He was surprised by the exceedingly nature of the stratospheric air: conventional wisdom was that the stratosphere was moist. He made repeated flights to confirm this dryness, and measured frost points as low as 190 K (-83°C). This made him think of studies that had shown that the equatorial tropopause (the lower boundary of the stratosphere) had a temperature of about 190 K (and therefore the frost point could be no higher than that value), which in turn led him to hypothesize that the extremely dry air had come from the area of the equatorial tropopause. He inferred that there must exist a circulation in which air enters the stratosphere in the equatorial area, moves poleward and exits the stratosphere at higher latitudes. Dobson and Brewer published in initial paper on these ideas in 1946, and Brewer continued to develop the theory in the mid- and late 1940s during his PhD studies at Oxford. He was awarded the degree in 1948 and was appointed as a Lecturer in Meteorology at Oxford in that same year. He published the details of what came to be known as the "Brewer-Dobson circulation" in a seminal paper in the Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society in 1949. The Brewer-Dobson circulation is generally accepted as the breakthrough in understanding why the stratosphere is so remarkably dry. Its details are still a subject of study to this day, world-wide.

Dobson had done work related to ozone since the 1920s, and he and Brewer began to study how ozone would fit into the Brewer-Dobson circulation. A version of Dobson's ozone-measuring spectrograph was mounted in an airplane, and in July 1955 Brewer used it during four stratospheric flights at Tromsö, Norway. The measurements showed that there was a sharp transition to higher values of ozone concentration at the tropopause. This work convinced Brewer that an ozonesonde would have to be developed, and one of his graduate students took on that project. Their ozonesonde was used in the late 1950s to make ozone profile measurements in various parts of the world. The observations showed that ozone concentrations have a strong latitudinal variation in the stratosphere that is consistent with the Brewer-Dobson circulation.

Brewer became a professor at the University of Toronto in 1962. There he continued to measure ozone concentrations, and also studied the UV radiation that was producing the ozone, and showed that the ozone production area was at a level of about 10 hPa. Around 1970 he began to design a new ozone-measuring instrument that would eventually replace the ageing Dobson spectrophotometer. At about the same time, supersonic transport aircraft that would fly in the stratosphere were being designed and built (only the Concorde made it into production) and there were worries that the nitric oxides (NOx) they would introduce into the stratosphere could destroy the ozone there. Brewer modified his new spectrometer to measure atmospheric NO2 and used it to make ground-based and airborne measurements. He concluded that NO2 is present in the stratosphere as well as the troposphere and hypothesized that NOx and ozone coexist naturally in the stratosphere in some photochemical balance whose details are unknown.

In the early 1970s, Brewer developed (with David Wardle of Environment Canada) the Brewer ozone spectrophotometer. It is currently the most accurate available instrument for measuring total column ozone. An automated version of this instrument is used at 12 monitoring sites in Canada which provide data used in the preparation of forecasts of ozone and of an ultraviolet index as well as in ongoing scientific research. The Brewer ozone spectrophotometer is also used in over 40 countries worldwide. It can also be adapted to measure other atmospheric components such as NO2 and aerosols.

Here is a list of Brewer's major scientific papers:

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Great BritainNoneSignature on cover1997"Alan W. Brewer"


Day

Day, John
(~1915?–2008)

John Day was an American meteorologist, teacher and photographer. After graduating with a BA in Airline Meteorology in 1937, he became a forecaster for Pan Am Airlines and was posted to several locations around the world. After WWII he pursued advanced studies and obtained his PhD in meteorology in 1956. He taught meteorology at Oregon State University from 1958 to 1978. In the early 1960s he worked on cloud physics at the Imperial College of Science and Technology in London. Day later studied the history of cloud classification, also in England, with emphasis on the work of Luke Howard. He was able to combine his love of photography with meteorology in work that led to an early cloud chart, and later worked on the Skywatcher's Cloud Chart in a collaborative project with the Weather Channel. One of his photographs appears on the US stamp 3278m, which shows fair weather cumulus clouds. His cloud images have been exhibited in galleries in the US and in Hong Kong.

Day is the author or co-author of several weather-related books, including:

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
United States3278m (Mi3877)
3278m back
From MS15 (3878 (a-o)) (Mi3865-3879), also back2004Photo of cumulus clouds taken by Day
United States3878m fdc1Stamp on FDC (Colorano silk cachet)
United States3878m fdc2Stamp on FDC (AALL cachet)
United States3878m fdc3Stamp on FDC (BAC? cachet)
United States3878m fdc4Stamp on FDC (? cachet)
United StatesSP1549(USPS) souvenir page (3878), also back(As above for stamps)
United StatesCP719 page1(USPS no.722) commemorative panel (3878), also page2
United StatesUX433
UX433 back
Postal card, from booklet of 20, 15 different (UX421-UX435) with booklet front, also backPhoto of cumulus clouds taken by Day; "John Day"
United States3278m cover (Mi3877 cover)Cancel (and signature) on cover2004"John Day Station"


Nelson-G

Nelson, Gaylord
(1916–2005)

Nelson was an American politician who served as senator and governor for the state of Wisconsin. He championed a variety of causes but is primarily remembered for his environmental work. He was the founder of Earth Day, which was planned as a teach-in about environmental issues on 22 April 1970. However, on that date 20 million Americans demonstrated for a sustainable environment in massive coast-to-coast rallies. Denis Hayes, in his mid-20s, was the national coordinator of that first Earth Day. During Congressional debate on air pollution and emissions from automobiles in 1970, Nelson sponsored an amendment to the Clean Air Act which would have phased out gasoline-powered automobiles in favor of electric or steam-powered vehicles, but the bill was defeated due to lobbying from automotive manufacturers. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in September 1995 in recognition of his environmental work.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
United States3189a fdc (Mi3225 fdc)(Multi-color printed) cachet on FDC1999The first "Earth Day was the idea of Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson. It was largely organized by a college student, Denis Hayes.
United States5459 fdc1 (Mi5697 fdc1)(Panda Cachets) cachet on FDC1999"Senator Gaylord Nelson"
United States5459 fdc2 (Mi5697 fdc2)(Panda Cachets and USPS sticker) cachet on FDC


Parent (at left)
Suomi (at right)
Parent (at left)

Parent, Robert
(1917–1978)

Robert Parent was an American professor of electrical engineering at the University of Wisconsin (Madison). He collaborated for many years on satellite-based meteorological instrumentation with professor Verner Suomi, an eminent atmospheric scientist at the same institution.

In the late 1950s the two men built a radiometer that could measure the Earth's radiation balance from space. This groundbreaking instrument would provide the first measurements of the difference between the solar radiation absorbed and the long wave radiation emitted by the Earth-atmosphere system. This difference, the net radiation, is important because it drives the circulation of the atmosphere. The incoming solar radiation had already been measured from the ground and from balloons, but only a satellite-based instrument could measure the net radiation and its variations over the globe in space and time. The Suomi-Parent flat-plate radiometer was aboard the science satellite Explorer-7 which was launched 13 October 1959. It provided the first measurement of the Earth's heat budget and its changes in space and time. Data from the radiometer combined with the other available radiative measurements proved that clouds and other atmospheric constituents could have a major effect on the net radiation. In particular, it was found that that clouds absorbed more solar energy and reflected less than had previously been estimated (the Earth was "darker" than originally believed).

This successful demonstration of the use of an artificial Earth satellite to study physical characteristics of the Earth-atmosphere system gave confidence to the scientific community that such satellites could be very useful in studies of Earth's weather. Explorer-7, with its Suomi-Parent flat-plate radiometer, can therefore be considered the precursor of all weather satellites. TIROS-1, the first dedicated weather satellite, was launched on 1 April 1960. An updated version of the radiometer was flown on many of the TIROS, ITOS and DMSP weather satellites.

Suomi and Parent continued to collaborate and built more sophisticated instruments in the 1960s and 1970s. They designed a special camera, the spin-scan cloud camera, that could be used to photograph the Earth from rotating spin-stabilized satellites in geostationary orbit. The camera was first flown on the ATS-1 satellite (launched 7 December 1966). The camera was designed to take "high resolution photos of the Earth" (ATS-1_cover) and to "give weathermen their first large-scale observation of weather masses" (ATS-1_cover4). The camera was next flown on the ATS-3 satellite (launched 6 November 1967), from which it provided the first color image of the Earth from space ("it will take color photos of the western hemisphere's weather" (ATS-3_cover)) and the first photos of the full disk of the Earth ("First full-disk photos of Earth; sunrise and sunset cloud color changes" (ATS-3_cover3)). Here and here are examplex of a color full-disk photographs of Earth taken from ATS-3. The spin-scan camera came to be known as the VISSR (Visible and Infrared Spin Scan Radiometer) and was used in many later weather satellites. A modified version known as the VAS (VISSR Atmospheric Sounder) was the first instrument to allow the measurement of the vertical distribution of temperature and water vapour in the atmosphere. It was first carried by GOES-4 (launched 9 September 1980) and immediately proved its usefulness. Through the VAS, GOES-4 was "the first US satellite capable of near continuous monitoring of atmospheric water vapor and temperatures" (GOES-4_cover).

Suomi and Parent's spin-scan camera was also modified for use in spacecraft that took early photos of Venus (Pioneer-12 and 13) and Jupiter and Saturn (Pioneer-10 and 11).

CountryCancel DateCancel LocationType of ItemNotes on Content
Parent (on satellite launch covers)
United States2009-10-13Cape Canaveral FL(Mission 57) back of Explorer-7 anniversary-of-launch cover, also front"Robert Parent"


Lorenz

Lorenz, Edward
(1917–2008)

Edward Lorenz was an American meteorologist and pioneer of chaos theory. He worked with some of the earliest numerical weather prediction (NWP) models, and realized in 1961 that minute differences in the initial conditions of those models could lead to grossly different forecast weather patterns. This effect came to be known as the "butterfly effect" (the idea that the way a butterfly flaps its wings in one part of the world could have a subsequent effect on the weather in another part of the world, through creating tiny changes that can amplify and propagate with time). Lorenz popularized the term. It may have originated from his demonstration that chaotic motions nevertheless can follow certain patterns known as "strange attractors" or "Lorenz attractors". Some of these patterns have the shape of a butterfly with its wings spread out. However, the butterfly effect idea appears to first have appeared in 1952 in a short story about time travel written by Ray Bradbury. Lorenz's first public use of the term was probably in a paper presented at the 139th Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), on 29 December 1972: "Predictability; Does the Flap of a Butterfly's wings in Brazil Set Off a Tornado in Texas?". This paper was delivered in the AAAS Section on Environmental Sciences - New Approaches to Global Weather: GARP (Global Atmospheric Research Program).

Chaos theory attempts to find underlying order in apparently chaotic behaviour. Lorenz's pioneering work in chaos theory as applied to the atmosphere led him to conclude that there are limits to weather predictability since the atmosphere is a chaotic system, and future weather is highly sensitive to initial conditions. For example, in a paper published in 1965 (A Study of the Predictability of a 28 Variable Model, Tellus, 17, 321-333), Lorenz presented a complete (for the time) treatment of the error growth in the NWP model he used (error growth is of course related to predictability). He considered the variability of error growth and the role of the atmospheric flow structure, and identified the states in which perturbations would have the fastest growth. These were almost revolutionary ideas for the time. Lorenz continued to develop these ideas in his later work.

Lorenz in effect rediscoved the idea of nonlinear chaotic systems after a hiatus of some 60 years. Henri Poincaré has in fact been called the 'father' of chaos theory as a result of his work on the three-body problem, which led him to the conclusion in 1890 that two identical systems set in motion with slightly different initial conditions can quickly exhibit motions that are completely different. He later proposed that a similar effect could also be present in the atmosphere. Jacques Hademard noted in 1898 the divergence of trajectories in spaces of negative curvature. Pierre Duhem in 1908 considered the possible general significance of Hademard's results.

During his long career, Lorenz received many meteorological prizes and awards. He was truly one of the giants of the modern era of meteorology.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Guinea RepublicMi5880A-5885A_ms6
Mi5880B-5885B_ms6
MS6 (Mi5880A-5885A)
Imperforate MS6 (Mi5880B-5885B)
2008The death of "Edward Lorenz"; Lorenz and butterfly1; "butterfly effect" (in French text)
Guinea RepublicMi5880A-5885A fdcMS6 and cachet on FDC
Guinea RepublicBL1586SS1
Guinea RepublicBL1586 fdcSS1 on FDC

1The butterfly effect is symbolized by the butterflies in the lower margin of the MS6, and in the stamp of the SS1.


Kent

Kent, Don
(1917–2010)

Don Kent was an American radio and television weather forecaster in the Boston area.

As a boy in the 1920s, his lifelong fascination with weather was born when he heard the world's first "weather talker", E. B. Rideout, on radio station WEEI. Rideout had obtained his post in part because he convinced the engineers at the station that weather had something to do with radio transmission. Kent's mother noticed his his interest and took him to visit Rideout when he was 12 years old. His father would read to him forecasts from the Old Farmer's Almanac, but the budding weatherman didn't believe them, and preferred to make his own forecasts.

Kent began a broadcasting career in the late 1930s, but WWII intervened. Medically unfit for regular military duty, he jumped at the chance to become a weather observer with the Coast Guard. He recalls that his "first two weeks in the Coast Guard was instructing nine guys how to read the weather map and how to report the stuff to the Navy". He rose quickly to the rank of chief petty officer, and late in the war was sent as a directly-commissioned officer to Seattle and San Francisco, where the military still needed weather reports.

After the war Kent returned to Boston and tried to get a weather broadcasting job. He was unsuccessful at first but got his break when a local radio station that knew of his weather experience asked if he could come to the station to talk about a hurricane. Kent recalled: "I went down and told people about the hurricane which was down along the Atlantic coast and what the chances were of it coming up here. The telephone boards lit up. Everyone said that's what we want - we want our own weatherman". From this beginning, Kent built his career as the weather forecaster for WBZ (AM) radio and WBZ TV. He became well known in the Boston area as "Boston's first TV weatherman". He succeeded despite lacking the advantage of a university degree in meteorology.

After retiring from WBZ in 1983, Kent became the weather forecaster for the Cape Cod station WQRC.

Kent had a very practical approach to weather forecasting. He often used Mount Washington's temperature and wind direction to help him anticipate changes across the rest of New Hampshire. He said that "the Mount Washington temperature is everything. It's my Bible." and noted that 18°F (-7.8°C) at the summit "is the normal time when it turns to rain in Concord and Manchester, unless you have a great big inflow of warm air aloft".

Kent was a contributor to the book Great New England Storms of the Twentieth Century which was published by the Boston Globe in 2007.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
United StatesNone(Coverscape) cachet on cover2016"Boston's first TV weatherman Don Kent"


Prud'homme

Prud'homme, André
(1920–1959)

André Prud'homme was a French meteorologist. He fell in love with the Antarctic during his first winter at Port Martin in 1951. In 1957 he published an important treatise on polar meteorology, based on his experience in the Antarctic. He was soon thereafter nominated as chief meteorologist of the French meteorological expedition for the International Geophysical Year (IGY), and spent 1958 at the Dumont d'Urville station in Adélie Land. On 7 January 1959 he went out into a blizzard to make the usual meteorological observations. Something happened and he never returned. A coastal headland near the station was later named Cape André Prud'homme in his honour.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
French Southern and Antarctic Territories188 (Mi311)One of pair (189a (188-189 + label)) (Mi311-312)1993
French Southern and Antarctic Territories188 maxi1Stamp and photo on maxicard
French Southern and Antarctic Territories188 maxi2Stamp and photo on maxicard (different)
French Southern and Antarctic Territories189a fdcOne of pair on FDC (Éditions J.F. cachet)
French Southern and Antarctic Territories189a sheetInformation sheet
French Southern and Antarctic Territories189a dsDeluxe sheet
French Southern and Antarctic Territories221 (Mi348)
i221

Imperforate
1996"micrométéorites de Cap Prud'homme"
French Southern and Antarctic Territories221 fdcStamp on FDC (Éditions J.F. cachet)
French Southern and Antarctic Territories294l_stamp (Mi470)On stamp in booklet pane of 7 (294h-n), and on stamp and in (upper) margin of one SS1 (294l); booklet contains 28 stamps (14 in two different booklet panes of 7 and in 14 SS1 with margin design the same as each stamp); also booklet front and back)2001"Cap Prud'homme"
French Southern and Antarctic Territories340 (BL12, Mi554)In (lower-left) margin of SS12004"Cap André Prud'homme"
French Southern and Antarctic Territories482i-l ms (Mi821-824)From booklet (482 (a-p)) (Mi813-828)2013"Base antarctique de Cap Prudhomme"
French Southern and Antarctic Territories627b (Mi1065)One of strip of 2 (627 (a-b)) (Mi1064-1065)2020"Cap Prud'homme"


Dubois

Dubois, Jacques
(1920–2000)

Jacques Dubois was a French meteorologist. He was part of the second French International Geophysical Year (IGY) campaign that lasted from 1956 to 1958. He was the station chief and meteorologist at the Charcot station on the Antarctic plateau from the end of January 1957 to early February 1958. During that period Dubois and two others carried out successful scientific programs in meteorology, magnetism and glaciology. They were relieved in early February 1958 by a team led by René Garcia.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
French Southern and Antarctic Territories304 (Mi?)20022nd anniv. death


Antoine

Antoine, Tex
(Herbert Jon Antoine, Jr.)
(1923–1983)

Tex Antoine was an American broadcaster who began his career as a New York City weather presenter in 1949 on station WNBT (later WNBC). He worked with a cartoon sidekick known as Uncle Wethbee. His weather presentations were described by Bob Tilden in his reminiscence about Antoine: "His nightly weather report was a wonderful mix of weather, cartoon art, and storytelling. He would start his weather segment standing next to an easel covered by blank papers, and he would proceed to draw the weather systems that were pertinent to the nation and the area. As his hands drew in the lows, highs, and fronts, his voice would narrate their past and expected movements, and what their effects would be. As he filled page after page of the easel, building the map as he described each feature, he engaged his audience. He instructed the viewers about their weather, rather than just informing them of a forecast.". Here is an image of Antoine at work.

Tex moved to WABC TV in 1966 where he was the television (TV) weatherman until 1976. He ended his career at WNEW TV in 1977.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
United StatesNoneMeter1950Uncle Wethbee, the weatherman, WNBT (which later became WNBC), Channel 4, New York NY


Rivolier

Rivolier, Jean
(1923–2007)

Jean Rivolier was a French doctor and who specialized in the study of extreme environments. As a member of Paul-Émile Victor's Expéditions Polaires Françaises, he was responsible for the group's "Medical-Physiological Office". In 1969 he became the Chief Medical Officer of the French Southern and Antarctic Territories. There, among many other subjects, he studied questions related to bioclimatology. His broad scientific interest was how humans adapt to life in a polar environment. Rivolier later became the director of the Bioclimatology and Human Ecology Laboratory where he studied, in co-operation with Météo-France, the influence of climate on human health. In particular he looked at the influence on human health of cold weather and of variations in the Earth`s electric and magnetic fields and in the ionisation of the air.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
French Southern and Antarctic Territories423 (Mi?)2010
French Southern and Antarctic Territories423 sheetInformation sheet


Scott, J

Scott, Jack
(1923–2008)

Jack Scott was a British television meteorologist. He joined the Met Office in 1941 and served at various RAF military stations during the war. In the 1950s and 1960s he worked at RAF stations Watnall and Uxbridge, and also in Nairobi. In 1968 he was transferred to the London Weather Centre, where he started broadcasting on BBC TV and radio. He introduced to the public in 1975 a set of new BBC weather symbols, and also laid the foundations for the BBC's computerized forecast system. After retiring from the Met Office in 1983, he served as weatherman on Thames TV, until 1988.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Great Britain959 fdc (Mi894 fdc)Cachet (and signature) on FDC1981"Jack Scott"


White

White, Robert M.
(1923–2015)

Robert White was an American meteorological administrator. His introduction to meteorology took place in 1940 when he was a student at Harvard. In the summer of that year he worked as a weather observer at the Blue Hill Observatory in Massachusetts. He later obtained his MSc and PhD degrees in meteorology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

White was appointed director of the US Weather Bureau by John F. Kennedy in 1963. Kennedy, in a speech to the United Nations in 1961, had called for the nations of the world to cooperate in weather forecasting. More specifically, he challenged the nations of the world to use technology to significantly improve weather forecasts. Under White, the Bureau moved in this direction. Numerical weather prediction (NWP) techniques were pursued, and the new TIROS and ESSA weather satellites were used to improve the global weather observing system. As US representative to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), White was authorized to pledge money for the improvement of global weather prediction, for the development and use of meteorological satellites and for the purchase of APT (Automatic Picture Transmission) equipment for the reception of satellite data by nations around the world. In 1965, when the US Weather Bureau merged with other agencies to become the Environmental Science Services Administration (ESSA), White became the director of the new organization.

In 1970, White was appointed the first Administrator of NOAA by President Nixon. Under his leadership at NOAA, the US weather forecast and warning systems continued to be improved through the use of satellite and radar observations and computer technology.

In 1977, White was the head of a National Research Council committee that warned of the serious effects that unchecked climate change could have. He said that "We now understand that industrial wastes, such as carbon dioxide released during the burning of fossil fuels, can have consequences for climate that pose a considerable threat to future society ... the scientific problems are formidable, the technological problems, unprecedented, and the potential economic and social impacts, ominous." (from "Oceans and Climate - Introduction", Oceanus, 21 (1978): 2-3).

In 1979 White chaired the first World Climate Conference sponsored by the WMO. It led to the establishment of the WMO World Climate Programme. Recently he has served as a director with the Washington Advisory Group, where he has advised on issues related to the environment, energy and climate change.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
White (on non-launch-cover postal items)
United Nations188-189 folderInside of FDOI ceremony folder, also front and back1968"Dr. Robert M. White"

CountryCancel DateCancel LocationType of ItemNotes on Content
White (on satellite launch covers)
United States1972-10-15Greenbelt MDCachet (signature) on NOAA-2 launch cover


Faure

Faure, Alfred
(1925–1968)

Alfred Faure was a French meteorologist.

After his studies, he entered the Météorologie Nationale (the French National Meteorological Service). He graduated as a meteorological technician and was posted to Nantes. He moved to Paris in 1947, where he was part of teams that conducted meteorological studies aboard the North Atlantic weather ships A, J and K.

Beginning in 1949, Faure was part of the mission headed by Martin de Viviès that established a meteorological observing station on Amsterdam Island. Work started in the austral summer of 1949-1950. The weather observation program began 11 March 1950, and pilot balloon soundings were taken beginning in July of that year. Daily rawinsonde launches began on 16 March 1951. The base, at first known as La Roche Godon, was later renamed for de Viviès.

Back in Paris, Faure headed the radar section of the Technical Group of the Meteorological Service, and was accepted into the professional meteorologists training program, which he completed before going back to the Southern Territories as head of the French Mission at Amsterdam Island. He then served as head of the 10th French Antarctic expedition to Adélie Land from January 1960 to January 1961. After that, he led a reconnaissance mission to the Crozet Islands in the austral summer of 1961-1962, with the goals of setting up a temporary meteorological station and choosing the site for a permanent base. The mission was composed of 12 men, including Faure and one other meteorologist. Paul-Émile Victor was also a member of the group, which landed on 21 December 1961 and transmitted the first weather observations 8 days later. The group remained at the site until 3 February 1962. Under Faure's direction, a temporary base, including the meteorological observing station with the necessary telecommunications equipment, was constructed in 1963. The base was completed in 1964 during the first overwintering at the site. In addition to its meteorological and geophysical observatories, it included a terrestrial magnetism observatory that was funded by the International Quiet Sun Year (IQSY) governing committee and contributed to the IQSY research program in 1965. The base formally received the name Alfred Faure in 1969 (following his death in 1968). Sylvain Le Moal and Olivier Gourdonneau were the last meteorologists posted to the Faure base. On 8 December 1994 the manned station program ceased and an automatic weather station began to provide the weather observations. They are sent to a Meteosat weather satellite in geostationary orbit, which then rebroadcasts them to their various destinations.

After 1964, Faure continued to work mostly in the Southern Territories. For example, in early 1967, he and Victor were again together as part of a team that launched four Dragon rockets (here are a stamp and a cover referring to those launches) from the Dumont d'Urville station in Adélie Land to an altitude of 310 km for ionospheric research. The launches took place 26-29 January 1967 and were sponsored by the Ionospheric Research Group of the CNES (Centre national des Études spatiales). The goal of the flights was to study anomalies in upper atmospheric behaviour at magnetic midday.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesC35a (Mi89-91)Strip of 3 (C35a (C33 - C35))1974"Base Alfred Faure: 1963-1973"
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesC34 proofArtist proof (signed)
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesC35a fdcStrip of 3 and (pictorial) cancel and (Éditions P.J.) cachet on FDC10th anniv. Base Alfred Faure
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesNoneCancel (different) and three cachets on cover1982Alfred Faure Base, Crozet District
French Southern and Antarctic Territories111 (Mi188)1984(60th anniv. birth, in 1985)
French Southern and Antarctic Territories111 sheetInformation sheet
French Southern and Antarctic Territories111 fdc1Stamp and (text) cancel on FDC
French Southern and Antarctic Territories111 fdc2Stamp and (text) cancel and cachet on FDC
French Southern and Antarctic Territories111 fdc3Stamp and (text) cancel and cachet (different) on FDC
French Southern and Antarctic Territories100+111 cover (Mi174+188 cover)One of two stamps on cover1985
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesNoneCachet on cover1985"Le Chef de la Station Météorologique Alfred Faure"
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesNoneCachet on cover1986"Le Chef de la Station Météorologique Alfred Faure"
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesC106 fdc (Mi256 fdc)(Pictorial) cancel on FDC1989"Alfred Faure - Crozet"
French Southern and Antarctic Territories189a cover1 (Mi311-312 cover1)(Rectangular latitude-longitude) cachet and (oval world map) cachet on cover1993Station météorologique Alfred Faure (Îles Crozet)
French Southern and Antarctic Territories189a cover2 (Mi311-312 cover2)Three cachets (two same) on cover1994Last overwintering at the Faure meteorological station (in red cachet)
French Southern and Antarctic Territories211 fdc (BL2 fdc)(Pictorial) cancel and registered-letter tag on FDC1995"Alfred Faure - Crozet" (on cancel)
French Southern and Antarctic Territories333 (Mi539)200440th anniv. Alfred Faure base
French Southern and Antarctic Territories342 (BL11, Mi548-551)In (left) margin of MS4 (342 (a-d))2004Alfred Faure [base] cachet with latitude/longitude (on one cachet); part of the base (in 342b)


Shaw

Shaw, Peter
(1928–2015)

Peter Shaw was an Australian meteorologist whose career with the Bureau of Meteorology spanned 41 years, starting in 1951. He retired in 1992 from his position as head of the Networks and Measurement Section. He specialized in instrumentation, and noted that he was lucky to have been "on the spot while some of the recent developments in observations systems have been occurring". As he pointed out, "the new radiosonde system, automatic weather stations, radars and other technologies still coming are greatly improving the quantity and quality of data and making work better for everyone". With a colleague, Shaw wrote a pioneering paper in 1969 which laid the foundations of the acoustic sounding technique for probing the lower atmosphere.

Shaw was the meteorologist with the Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions (ANARE) trip of 1954 that briefly landed in the Vestfold Hills area on a scouting mission to determine possible locations for a future Antarctic research station. Phillip Law, the head of the Antarctic Division of ANARE at the time, was also present. Shaw returned to the Antarctic as part of another ANARE expedition in 1955-6. He studied the weather at Mawson base, and published his work in 1957 (Shaw, P.J., 1957: The Climate of Mawson During 1955, Australian Meteorological Magazine, no.18, September 1957, p.1-20). Many of his results are summarized in the abstract of that paper:

"This paper is principally a description of the climate at Mawson. The prevailing wind is shown to be katabatic. As yet no complete model has been deduced for the characteristic sudden wind changes. The summer westerly wind is shown to be a sea breeze, and the existence of sea ice is shown to reduce wind speed. There is a tendency for the tropopause to vanish in winter, due to radiative cooling aloft. The distribution of humidity near the ground is used to estimate ablation of plateau ice. Details of snow and sea ice are given which may be of use to analysts".

Concerning precipitation at Mawson, Shaw found that "it seems clear from weather conditions and from the complete absence of permanent snow along the coast that Mawson has a much lower annual precipitation than any other part of Antarctica for which records are so far available". He noted that "there is a 'snow line' which advances to within eight miles of the coast" and explained that beyond this line the "snow does accumulate because there is no thaw at high altitude and also probably the density of blizzards is greater".

Concerning humidity, he noted that "the air near the ground at Mawson has recently descended from the plateau, being warmed adiabatically during the descent, so the relative humidity at the surface should be very low, as it is in fact a few hundred feet above the surface. The additional moisture in the lower layer must be due to evaporation from the plateau ice during the descent...".

Shaw also presented a table with the mean and extreme temperatures observed at Mawson in 1955-6. From those data, he pointed out that "during the warmer months, November to February, the daily maximum and minimum temperatures, when plotted, form a fairly smooth curve, but in winter there is very large variation within any week or month." He then went on to discuss several possible reasons for the large wintertime variations. The warmest observed temperature during the year of observations (Feb 1955 - Jan 1956) was 7.4°C while the coldest was -30.1°C.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Australian Antarctic TerritoryL4 (Mi1)1957Shaw (at left) with Phillip Law (in centre) in Vestfold Hills, Antarctica
Australian Antarctic TerritoryL4 fdcStamp on FDC (WCS cachet)


Rowland

Rowland, F. Sherwood
(1927–2012)

Sherwood Rowland is an American physicist who has conducted research into ozone. In 1974 he and Mario J. Molina published a seminal article in Nature in which they discussed the threat posed to the ozone layer by chlorofluorocarbon gases (CFCs) and by the freons used in aerosol spray cans, refrigeration fluids and plastic foams. This followed the work of Paul J. Crutzen, who discovered in 1970 that nitrogen oxides can accelerate ozone destruction. The three received in 1995 the Nobel Prize in physics for their research on ozone. Rowland has continued to work on problems of atmospheric chemistry since his collaboration with Molina in the 1970s.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Ghana2283b (Mi3385)From MS6 (2283 (a-f)) (Mi3384-3389)2001"Frank Sherwood Rowland"
Spain3778 maxi (Mi? maxi)(Multi-color printed) cachet on maxicard2011
SpainNone(Multi-color printed) cachet on personalized postage stamped envelope2011
SpainNone(Multi-color printed) cachet on (un-canceled) (Spanish Post) stamped envelope (from 2011)2013(1st anniv. death)
SpainNone(Multi-color printed) cachet (different) on (un-canceled) (Spanish Post) stamped envelope (from 2011)"For their work in atmospheric chemistry, particularly concerning the formation and decomposition of ozone", Paul J. Crutzen, Mario Molina and F. Sherwood Rowland won the 1995 Nobel Prize in physics; (1st anniv. death)


Morlet

Morlet, Bernard
(1932–2010)

Bernard Morlet was a French geophysicist whose scientific work included studies of the upper atmosphere of the Antarctic. He participated in the French IGY program in the Antarctic in 1958, where he spent the winter and was responsible for ionospheric studies. In late 1961 he was involved in the formation of the French Groupe de Recherche Ionosphérique (GRI). In the Kerguelen Islands in 1962 he participated in research using stratospheric balloons to study the movements of upper atmospheric particles. Following the American atmospheric test of an atomic bomb on 9 July 1962, Morlet became the co-ordinator of international observations of the upper atmospheric effects of that explosion. Starting in 1963, Morlet co-ordinated the IQSY studies of the GRI. In 1966 he again spent the winter in Antarctica, at the Dumont d'Urville station, where he led the preparations for the launches of four Dragon research rockets that took place in January 1967. They measured upper atmospheric density, temperature, particle flux and particle energy. During the following decade, Morlet and the GRI continued to develop Antarctic systems of upper atmospheric observation and also began to study the magnetosphere as part of the then-new discipline of space weather. In the CITADEL program in 1973, he used stratospheric balloons to measure the electric field at the base of the ionosphere. In 1975, he directed the French-Soviet auroral study program known as ARAKS (Artificial Radiation and Aurora between Kerguelen and Sogra) in the Kerguelen Islands. In it, electrons were injected into the ionosphere and magnetosphere above Kerguelan by two Eridan research rockets that reached around 200 km altitude. The effects of those electrons were studied, including the creation of artificial auroras above the Arkhangelsk region of the USSR at the end of magnetic lines of force originating above Kerguelen.

Morlet spent much of the remainder of his career in the organization and management of various infrastructure projects and new geophysical research programs in the French Southern and Antarctic Territory in disciplines including marine geophysics, biology, oceanography, paleo-oceanography, climate and paleo-climate.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
French Southern and Antarctic Territories29 (Mi38)
i29

Imperforate
1967"First sounding rocket launch [of Dragon rockets] in Adélie Land: January 1967" (in French text); auroral studies; (see also FSAT C11 cover); (Morlet directed the preparations for the launches of these rockets)
French Southern and Antarctic Territories29 fdc1Stamp and (Éditions J.F.) cachet on FDC
French Southern and Antarctic Territories29 fdc2Stamp and (Éditions P.J.) cachet on FDC
French Southern and Antarctic Territories29 fdc3Stamp and (black rubber-stamp) cachet on (airmail) FDC, also back
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesC11 cover (Mi? cover)(Blue rubber-stamp) cachet on (airmail) cover1967"First scientific rocket launch [of Dragon rockets] in Antarctica, Adélie Land, January 1967" (in French text); (see also FSAT 29); (Morlet directed the preparations for the launches of these rockets)
French Southern and Antarctic Territories19 cover (Mi22 cover)(Purple rubber-stamp) cachet on cover1968"First scientific rocket launch [of Dragon rockets] in Antarctica, Adélie Land, January 1967" (in French text); (see also FSAT 29); (Morlet directed the preparations for the launches of these rockets)
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesC16a (Mi42-43)
iC16a
Strip of 2 (C16a (C15-C16 + label))
Imperforate strip of 2 (iC16a (iC15-iC16 + label))
1968"Dragon ionospheric research rockets, 1967 - 1968" (in French text); (Morlet directed the preparations for the launches of these rockets)
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesC16a fdcStrip of 2 and (Éditions P.J.) cachet on FDC
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesC40a (Mi96-97)Strip of 2 (C40a (C39-C40 + label)) (Mi96-97) from MS10 (C40b (5x (C39-C40 + label)))1975Two Eridan sounding rockets (launched 26 January and 15 February 1975) and "magnetospheric research - Franco-Soviet program ARAKS" (in French text). The ARAKS (Artificial Radiation and Aurora between Kerguelen and Sogra) experiment was dedicated to auroral studies; Morlet was its director
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesC40a fdc1Two stamps and label and (pictorial) cancel on FDC (FSAT PO official embossed cachet)
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesC40a fdc2Two stamps and label and (pictorial) cancel and (Lollini) cachet on FDC
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesC40a fdc3Two stamps and label and (pictorial) cancel and (Éditions P.J.) cachet on FDC
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesC40a fdc4Two stamps and label and (pictorial) cancel and (Éditions J.F.) cachet on FDC
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesC40a fdc5Two stamps and label and (Lollini) cachet on FDC
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesC40a dsDeluxe sheet (C40a)
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesC39 dsDeluxe sheet (C39)
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesC39 proofSigned proof (C39)
French Southern and Antarctic Territories622 (Mi1068)2020"Bernard Morlet" and Dragon research rocket
French Southern and Antarctic Territories622 proofDie proof (622)
French Southern and Antarctic Territories622 artfinal-design art (622)


Mababe

Manabe, Syukuro
(1931–present)

Syukuro Manabe is a Japanese-American meteorologist and climatologist. He was born in rural Japan and was fascinated as a boy by the typhoons that struck the country from time to time. He received his doctoral degree in meteorology from the University of Tokyo in 1958 and soon thereafter went to work at the General Circulation Research Section of the US Weather Bureau (now NOAA's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory). He speculated that CO2 has outsized impacts on the atmosphere despite its presence in only trace amounts. To test this hypothesis, he developed a numerical model of the atmosphere that ran on a large computer. An early relatively simple model revealed that increasing CO2 should cause a temperature increase in the troposphere and a decrease in the stratosphere. Subsequent research has verified this conclusion. For example, "radio occultation data show that in the first two decades of the 21st Century, the Earth's lowest atmospheric layer - the troposphere - warmed significantly, by up to 0.5 K per decade, while the layer above that - the stratosphere - cooled by about the same amount".

A more complete three-dimensional atmospheric model yielded more detailed results, including the effects of doubling the atmospheric concentration of CO2. A yet more complete model added atmosphere-ocean interactions. Manabe and his research group used it to study the time-dependent response of climate to changing atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases. This was groundbreaking, seminal research. Climatologist James Hansen independently did similar work, and the two are credited with being the first scientists to construct numerical models with the power to simulate climate behavior.

In 1997 Manabe became the Director of the Global Warming Research Division at the Frontier Research System for Global Change in Japan. In 2002 he returned to America, where he became the senior meteorologist at Princeton University.

Manabe's many awards, and some of his research papers, are listed here. In particular, in 2021 he shared with Klaus Hasselmann the Nobel Prize in Physics, "for the physical modeling of Earth's climate, quantifying variability and reliably predicting global warming".

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Guinea-BissauUnknown b (Mi?, Yv9649-9652)MS4 (a-d)2021Nobel Prize: "Syukuro Manabe"
Guinea-BissauUnknown ss (BL?, YvBL1942)In (lower-right) margin of SS1
St. Thomas and Prince IslandsMi11185One of MS4 (Mi11183-11186)2021Nobel Prize: "Syukuro Manabe"


Lebeau

Lebeau, André
(1932–2013)

Lebeau was a French geophysicist. From 1956 to 1958, as a member of the Second French Antarctic Expedition for the IGY, he was responsible for setting up the Magnetic Observatory of the Dumont d'Urville station in Adélie Land. He created the Ionospheric Research Group in 1961, and was its director from 1961 through 1964. Data from the Observatory served as the basis for his PhD, which he received in 1965.

Later in his career, in 1986, he became the director of the French National Meteorological Service (which became Météo-France in 1993). From 1987 to 1990 he was the president of the EPF (Expéditions Polaires Française, missions Paul-Émile Victor). He was president of EUMETSAT from 1990 to 1994 and vice-president of the World Meteorological Organization from 1991 to 1994. He was the president of the CNES (Centre national d'études spatiales) in 1995 and 1996, and served as president of the French Meteorological Society in 1997.

Here is a sample of his publications related to space weather, meteorology and climate:

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
French Southern and Antarctic Territories649 (Mi1127)2021"André Lebeau"


Crutzen

Crutzen, Paul J.
(1933–2021)

Paul Crutzen is a Dutch physicist who conducted upper atmospheric research in the 1960s. This led to a deep interest in the photochemistry of atmospheric ozone, and he became a world expert on the chemical interactions of trace gases and trace components in the atmosphere. In 1970 he discovered that nitrogen oxides can accelerate ozone destruction. Later, he helped develop a theory for the cause of rapid ozone loss in the Antarctic winter, and eventually was involved in international negotiations concerning the restriction of the use of CFCs. Crutzen was director of research at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado, from 1977 through 1980, and in 1980 was appointed director of research at the Max Planck Institute in Germany. In 1995, Crutzen, Mario J. Molina and F. Sherwood Rowland were awarded the Nobel Prize in physics for their research on ozone.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Ghana2281f (Mi3375)One of MS6 (2281 (a-f)) (Mi3370-3375)2001"Paul Crutzen"
Grenada Carriacou2418a (Mi3840)One of MS6 (2418 (a-f)) (Mi3840-3845)2002"Paul J. Crutzen"
Netherlands1429 personalizedPersonalized postage (1429 stamp base from 2013)2016"Paul J. Crutzen - Ozone"; (80th anniv. birth)
Ross Dependency (NZ)None(Blue and green printed) cachet (and signature) on cover1991Crutzen address and signature
Spain3778 maxi (Mi? maxi)(Multi-color printed) cachet on maxicard2011
SpainNone(Multi-color printed) cachet on personalized postage stamped envelope2011
SpainNone(Multi-color printed) cachet on (un-canceled) (Spanish Post) stamped envelope (from 2011)2013(80th anniv. birth)
SpainNone(Multi-color printed) cachet (different) on (un-canceled) (Spanish Post) stamped envelope (from 2011)Paul J. Crutzen (with Mario Molina and F. Sherwood Rowland) won the 1995 Nobel Prize in physics "for their work in atmospheric chemistry, particularly concerning the formation and decomposition of ozone"; (80th anniv. birth)
SpainNone(Multi-color printed) cachet (different) on (un-canceled) (Spanish Post) stamped envelope (from 2011)"For their work in atmospheric chemistry, particularly concerning the formation and decomposition of ozone", Paul J. Crutzen, Mario Molina and F. Sherwood Rowland won the 1995 Nobel Prize in physics; (80th anniv. birth)


Sagan

Sagan, Carl
(1934–1996)

Carl Sagan was an American astronomer who studied the planets of the solar system and their atmospheres. Through his study of the atmosphere of Venus, he developed the idea of a runaway 'greenhouse effect' to explain why the Venusian temperatures are so high (though he assumed that the effect was mostly due to water vapour, whereas later studies showed that Venus' atmosphere has little water, and its greenhouse effect is instead due to its dense CO2 atmosphere). Sagan also explained the seasonal changes observed on Mars (due to windblown dust) and the reddish haze of Titan (due to complex organic molecules).

Sagan played an important role in the American space program and was involved with the Mariner, Viking, Voyager and Galileo missions to various planets.

He also worked with other scientists to formulate the idea of a 'nuclear winter'. This was the idea that a nuclear war would create such huge dust clouds that sunlight would be blocked and plant photosynthesis halted. There would also be a drastic drop in temperature. Most of Earth's life would become extinct as a result. Large comets or asteroids striking the Earth could have the same result, and in fact work by Luis Alvarez and his son published in 1989 showed that this almost certainly happened around 65 million years ago and caused the extinction of the dinosaurs.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Sagan (on non-launch-cover postal items)
Central African Republic1369 (Mi2597-2599)In (upper-right) margin of MS3 (1369 (a-c))2000"Carl Sagan"; (5th anniv. death, in 2001)
Central African RepublicMi15287One of MS6 (Mi15283-15288)2023"Carl Sagan"
Comoro Islands207 (Mi306A)
i207 (Mi306B)

Imperforate
1976Sagan (in middle)
Congo RepublicUnknown ms (Mi none)MS2 (a-b) [known illegal issue]201985th anniv. birth "Carl Edward Sagan"
Congo RepublicUnknown ss (BL none)SS1 [known illegal issue]
GrenadaUn-issued proof ssIn (lower-left) margin of un-issued SS1 proof2000(5th anniv. death, in 2001); (design similar to St. Vincent un-issued proof ss 2000 and Ivory Coast Unknown ss 2017)
Guinea RepublicBL990In (upper-right) margin of SS12006(10th anniv. death)
Guinea RepublicMi5070On stamp of SS12007(10th anniv. death, in 2006)
Guinea RepublicBL1390 fdcSS1 and cachet on FDC
Guinea RepublicMi5067On one stamp of MS3 (Mi5067-5069_ms3)
Guinea RepublicMi5067-5069_ms3 fdcOn one stamp of MS3 and cachet on FDC
Guinea RepublicMi5289From MS6 (Mi5289-5294)2007
Guinea RepublicMi5294
Guinea RepublicMi5289-5294_ms6 fdcMS6 and cachet on FDC
Guinea RepublicBL1480SS1
Guinea RepublicBL1480 fdcSS1 and cachet on FDC
Guinea RepublicBL2060In (lower) margin of SS12012
Ivory CoastUnknown ms (Mi none)MS2 (a-b) [known illegal issue]2017"Carl Sagan" and the "Pale Blue Dot"1; (20th anniv. death, in 2016)
Ivory CoastUnknown ss (BL none)SS1 [known illegal issue]"Carl Sagan"; (20th anniv. death, in 2016)
Ivory CoastUnknown ss (BL none)SS1 [known illegal issue]"Carl Sagan"; (20th anniv. death, in 2016); (design similar to Grenada un-issued proof ss 2000 and St. Vincent un-issued proof ss 2000)
JapanNonePhonecard1989
MadagascarUnknown ss (BL none)
Unknown iss
In (lower-right) margin of SS1 [known illegal issue]
In (lower-right) margin of imperforate SS1
2017"Carl Sagan"
MadagascarUnknown ss fdc
Unknown iss fdc
SS1 and cachet on FDC
Imperforate SS1 and cachet on FDC
Mali1035b (Mi2261)
i1035b
One of MS4 (1035 (a-d)) (Mi259-2262)
One of imperforate MS4 (i1035 (a-d))
1999
NigerMi3567One of MS3 (Mi3566-3568)2015
Palau557p (Mi?)One of MS20 (557 (a-t))2000(5th anniv. death, in 2001)
St. VincentUn-issued proof ssIn (lower-left) margin of un-issued SS1 proof2000(5th anniv. death, in 2001); (design similar to Grenada un-issued proof ss 2000 and Ivory Coast Unknown ss 2017)
SpainNone(Multi-color printed) cachet on (un-canceled) (Spanish Post) stamped envelope (from 2011)2013
SpainNone(Multi-color printed) cachet (different) on (un-canceled) (Spanish Post) stamped envelope (from 2011)
SpainNone(Multi-color printed) cachet (different) on (un-canceled) (Spanish Post) stamped envelope (from 2011)
SpainNone(Multi-color printed) cachet (different) on (un-canceled) (Spanish Post) stamped envelope (from 2011)
SpainNone(Multi-color printed) cachet (different) on (un-canceled) (Spanish Post) stamped envelope (from 2011)
United States3189i fdc (Mi3233 fdc)Back of FDC with (multi-color printed) cachet, also front1999"Carl Sagan"

1On 14 February 1990 Voyager-1 took a "family portrait" of several planets of the solar system, including Earth, which in the portrait is barely a single pale bluish pixel of light in the blackness of space. In a lecture at Cornell University on 14 October 1994, Sagan presented the image and shared his ideas about its significance. He said that "the delusion that we have some privileged position in the universe [is] challenged by this point of pale light" and that the image "underscores our responsibility ... to preserve and cherish that Pale Blue Dot, the only home we've ever known."

CountryCancel DateCancel LocationType of ItemNotes on Content
Sagan (on satellite launch covers)
United States1973-04-05Kennedy Space Center FL(Space Voyage) insert from Pioneer-11 launch cover, also front"Dr. Carl Sagan"
United States1973-04-06Cape Canaveral FL(Space Voyage) insert from Pioneer-11 launch cover, also front
United States1973-04-06Cape Canaveral FL(InterSpace Cover) insert from Pioneer-11 launch cover, also front
United States1976-05-04Vandenberg AFB, CA(Space Voyage) cachet on LAGEOS-1 launch cover"Dr. Carl Sagan"
United States1995-12-07Pasadena CAInsert from cover, also cover"B. Gentry Lee" worked with "Carl Sagan" on Sagan's award-winning documentary television series "Cosmos"
United States2007-08-17Cleveland OH(Multi-color printed) cachet on Voyager-2 anniversary cover"Carl Edward Sagan"
United States2012-03-02Sagamore Beach MA(Coverscape) cachet on Pioneer-10 anniversary-of-launch cover"Carl Sagan"
United States2013-06-13Sagamore Beach MA(Coverscape) cachet on Pioneer-10 anniversary-of-launch cover"Carl Sagan"
United States2023-06-13Monument Beach MA(Coverscape) cachet on Pioneer-10 anniversary cover"Carl Sagan helped design the [Pioneer-10] gold-anodized aluminum greeting plaque"


Scott, W

Scott, Willard
(1934–2021)

Willard Scott was an American broadcast meteorologist. From 1956 to 1972 he did regular weather reports on AM radio station WRC. In 1980, he became the weatherman for NBC's Today show.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
United States3207-3208 fdc (Mi? fdc)(Multi-color printed) cachet on FDC1998"Willard Scott"
United StatesNone(Coverscape) cachet on cover2019"Willard Scott"


Theon

Theon, Dr. John S.
(~1935?–present?)

John Theon is an American satellite meteorologist. He was project scientist for the Nimbus-5 and Nimbus-6 meteorological satellites, and also for the TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) satellite. He was Chief of the Climate Processes Research Program at NASA from 1982 to 1992.

CountryCancel DateCancel LocationType of ItemNotes on Content
Theon (on satellite launch covers)
United States1975-06-12Vandenberg AFB, CA(Space Voyage) cachet on Nimbus-6 launch cover"John Theon, project scientist"


Shackleton-N

Shackleton, Sir Nicholas
(1937–2006)

Nicholas Shackleton was a British geologist and climatologist who specialized in the study of the climates of past ages. He is considered to be one of the founding fathers of this scientific specialty, known as paleoclimatology. He was the great-nephew of the south polar explorer Ernest Shackleton.

Nicholas Shackleton was particularly interested in the causes of changes in climate, and the rates at which those changes could occur. He showed how to calculate the global (mostly northern hemisphere) volume of ice sheets and how it changed through a series of ice ages. With the paleontologist John Imbre, he produced the first global map of sea surface temperatures during the last glacial maximum (around 21,000 years ago). Using deep sea sediment core records, Shackleton, Imbre and James Hayes were able to confirm Milutin Milanković's theory relating long term astronomical changes in the Earth's orbital characteristics to the occurrence of the ice ages. Their results were published in a paper in Science in 1976 (Variations in the Earth's Orbit: Pacemaker of the Ice Ages). Shackleton then used historical orbital cycles to relate sedimentary records to their associated climates. He went on to study the positive feedbacks that amplify orbital forcings into significant changes in climate. He also demonstrated the close relationship between CO2 levels and atmospheric temperature change during the last 400,000 years.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Great Britain2756 (Mi?)One of block of 10 (2756a (2727-2756)), or one of booklet pane of 4 (2756b (2747+2751-2752+2756)), from 2756a presentation pack2010
Great Britain2756 maxiMaxicard
Great Britain2756a fdcOne of block of 10 stamps on FDC


Dylan

Dylan, Bob
(1941–present)

Bob Dylan is an American songwriter and musician who is considered to be one of the giants of modern music. One unusual aspect of his work is how much he has used weather imagery in his songs. According to Alan Robock1, "out of approximately 465 Dylan songs, the word 'Sun' is found in 63 different ones, 'wind' in 55, 'rain' in 40, 'sky' in 36, 'cloud' in 23, 'storm' in 14, 'summer' in 12, and 'snow' in 11, with fewer numbers of 'weather', 'hail', 'winter', 'fall', 'spring', 'hurricane', 'lightning', 'thunder', 'wave', 'breeze' and 'flood'". Dylan's most famous song in this context is probably Blowin' in the Wind. In another song (Subterranean Homesick Blues), meteorologists can't fail to be struck by the line "You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows". Dylan's weather references can be lyrical or harsh. As an example of the latter, the chilling words of the song title A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall evoke darkness, injustice and warfare.

1 Robock, Alan, 2005: Tonight as I Stand Inside the Rain: Bob Dylan and Weather Imagery. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 86, (April), 483-487.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
This list is an incomplete sample of the numerous postal items that contain this person.
Congo (Democratic Republic)Unknown e (Mi?)One of MS6 (a-f)2001(60th anniv. birth)
Congo (Democratic Republic)Unknown d (Mi?)One of MS9 (a-i)
Gambia1825a (Mi?)On each (identical) stamp and in (right) margin of MS16 (16x 1825)1996(60th anniv. birth)?
Kabardino-Balkaria (Russian Republic)LocalNine different stamps in MS9?
MadagascarUnknown ms (Mi none)MS3 (a-c) [known illegal issue]2016"Bob Dylan"
MadagascarUnknown ss (BL none) [known illegal issue]SS1
Maldive IslandsUnknown ms (Mi?)MS4 (a-d)2017
Maldive IslandsUnknown1 ss (BL?)SS1
Maldive IslandsUnknown2 ss (BL?)In (upper and right) margins of SS1
NigerUnknown b (Mi?)One of MS4 (a-d)2016"Bob Dylan"
Sierra LeoneUnknown a (Mi?)One of MS4 (a-d)2016(75th anniv. birth)
Somali RepublicUnknown ms (Mi none)In (upper-left) margin of MS2 (a-b) [known illegal issue]2002(60th anniv. birth, in 2001)
Tanzania1414b (Mi?)One of MS9 (1414 (a-i))1995
TatarstanUnknown h (Mi?)One of MS9 (a-i)2001(60th anniv. birth)
TogoUnknown ss (BL?)SS1201170th anniv. birth
TogoUnknown ss (BL?)SS12016(75th anniv. birth)
TuvaUnknown j (Mi?)One of MS12 (a-l)2000(60th anniv. birth, in 2001)
TuvaUnknown j fdcStamp and cachet on FDC2001(60th anniv. birth, in 2001)
Tuva RepublicLocal pairTête-bêche pair1995?(at right and in text on each stamp)
UdmurtiaUnknown i (Mi?)One of MS12 (a-l)2001(60th anniv. birth)
United StatesNone(Pictorial) cancel and cachet on cover2003Dylan Days 2003
United StatesNone(Pictorial) cancel and cachet on cover2005Dylan Days 2005
United StatesNone(Pictorial) cancel and cachet on cover2007Dylan Days 2007
United StatesNoneText and (pictorial) cancel on letter sheet2007Dylan Days 2007
United StatesNoneCancel and cachet on cover2008Dylan Days 2008
United StatesNoneCancel and cachet on cover2009Dylan Days 2009
United StatesNoneCancel and cachet on cover2010Dylan Days 2010; (70th anniv. birth, in 2011)


Berger

Berger, André
(1942–present)

André Berger is a distinguished Belgian climatologist. Since 1989 he has been a professor of meteorology and climatology at the Université Catholique de Louvain in Belgium. He is the co-founder of the International Polar Foundation.

Berger's research interests are in the areas of paleoclimate, climate modelling, remote sensing, nuclear energy and the envioronment. He extended and updated the work of Milanković on the relationship between long term changes in astronomical parameters and climatic change and the ice ages. He recalculated the expected variations of these parameters over a period of more than a million years and showed how they affect the amount of solar energy received by the Earth and how they can be detected in proxy records of past climate, such as global sea level and ice volume. His research predicts that astronomical orbital effects will keep the Earth out of an Ice Age for another 30,000 years.

In his book Le Climat et La Terre, Berger presents his synthesis of the science of natural and man-made climatic variations.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Belgium2259h (Mi3756)One of MS9 (2259 (a-i)) (Mi3749-3757)2007
Belgium2259h maxiMaxicard


Ewins

Ewins, Peter David
(1943–2024)

Peter Ewins is a British aeronautical engineer and meteorological administrator. After various occupying various positions in the Royal Aircraft Establishment and the Ministry of Defence, he was appointed in 1997 as the Chief Executive Officer of the UK Meteorological Office. He oversaw the move of the Met Office from Bracknell to Exeter, and retired in 2003 to become chairman of WeatherXchange, a joint venture between the Met Office and the private sector that had been established in 2001 to serve the financial derivatives market. It went bankrupt in 2005.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Great BritainNoneSignature on cover1997"Peter Ewins"


Molina

Molina, Mario J.
(1943–2020)

Mario Molina is a Mexican-born physicist who shared with F. Sherwood Rowland and Paul J. Crutzen in 1995 the Nobel Prize in physics for their research on ozone. Molina and Rowland together published in 1974 a seminal article in Nature in which they discussed the threat posed to the ozone layer by chlorofluorocarbon gases (CFCs) and by the freons used in aerosol spray cans, refrigeration fluids and plastic foams. This followed the work of Crutzen, who discovered in 1970 that nitrogen oxides can accelerate ozone destruction. Molina continued to conduct research on ozone chemistry and the Antarctic ozone "hole" in the 1980s and 1990s. In particular, he demonstrated that chlorine atoms can combine with ozone to form chlorine oxide and oxygen: this simple equation describes the desctruction of ozone by chlorine.

More recently, Molina has led a team studying the effect of aerosols (and in particular sooty sulphurous coal smoke from China and India) on the storm track over the Pacific. His team has used satellite data to analyze deep Pacific storms following wind-blown bursts of pollution. They determined that the aerosols have a climatologically-significant effect, and found increased storm activity that they ascribe to the aerosols.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Ghana2283c (Mi3386)From MS6 (2283 (a-f)) (Mi3384-3389)2001"Mario Molina"
Mexico2060 (Mi2663)1997
Mexico2060 fdcStamp and cancel and cachet on FDC
Spain3778 maxi (Mi? maxi)(Multi-color printed) cachet on maxicard2011
SpainNone(Multi-color printed) cachet on personalized postage stamped envelope2011
SpainNone(Multi-color printed) cachet on (un-canceled) (Spanish Post) stamped envelope (from 2011)2013(70th anniv. birth)
SpainNone(Multi-color printed) cachet (different) on (un-canceled) (Spanish Post) stamped envelope (from 2011)"For their work in atmospheric chemistry, particularly concerning the formation and decomposition of ozone", Paul J. Crutzen, Mario Molina and F. Sherwood Rowland won the 1995 Nobel Prize in physics; (70th anniv. birth)


Page

Page, Robin
(1943–present?)

Robin Page is a British author and television presenter. He is the author of Weather Forecasting: the Country Way. Published in 1977, it is a popular book of meteorological history, science, legend and folklore. It includes the following subjects:

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Great Britain1963-1966 fdc (Mi1924-1927 fdc)Signature on FDC (Benham cachet, Oxford cancel), also insert2001"Robin Page"


Fish

Fish, Michael
(1944–present)

Michael Fish is a well-known British television meteorologist. He joined the Meteorological Office in 1962 and went to work at Gatwick Airport. In 1965, he was transferred to the Met Office headquarters (then at Bracknell) where he worked on research projects. From 1966 to 1968 he was based at the London Weather Centre.

Fish's broadcasting career dates from 1971, when he began forecasting for BBC Radio. In January 1974 he moved to the weather team at BBC Television. He was later involved in training television (TV) weather presenters from various African countries. In March 2004 he won the award for Best Weather Presenter at the TRIC (Television and Radio Industries Clubs) Awards. He retired from the BBC in October 2004. Since then he has appeared as the regional weatherman on BBC South East, and has created a free telephone weather service.

Fish has written numerous articles on travel and weather and acted as consultant for several meteorological books, and is a Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society. In 2007 he co-authored the book Storm Force: Britain's Wildest Weather, in which he, Ian McCaskill and Paul Hudson describe the "most devastating storms and ferocious floods" in Britain's history.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Great Britain956-959 fdc (Mi891-894 fdc)Cachet (and signature) on FDC1981"Michael Fish"
Great Britain959 fdc (894 fdc)Cachet (and signature) on FDC
Great Britain1966a fdc (BL10, Mi1924-1927 fdc)(A.G. Bradbury Leicester) cachet on FDC, also detail2001"Michael Fish"
Great Britain1966a cover (BL10, Mi1924-1927 cover)Cachet (and signature) on cover2002"Michael Fish"


Hayes

Hayes, Denis
(1944–present)

Denis Hayes is an American environmental activist. In 1970, when just in his mid-20s, he became the national coordinator of the very first Earth Day. He is now the emeritus chair of the International Earth Day Network.

Climate change, threats to the hydrological cycle, acidification of the world's oceans and energy are some of the issues with which Hayes has grappled. He is currently focusing on the politics of the debate on global warming and climate change in the US, and emphasizes that obtaining meaningful climate change legislation will require much more than slogans, green talk and hard science: it will demand intense and determined political action in the face of powerful lobbies. He has pointed out that "the tragedy is that we still have a chance to solve the global warming crisis, but we are blowing it by chasing false hopes in the form of an inadequate cap-and-trade bill." Furthermore, he notes that following decades of denial of climate science, the US now lags far behind Europe and Japan in the tools needed to become carbon-neutral. What should a serious American energy and climate policy look like? As a first step, Hayes advocates the capping of carbon where it enters the economy rather than where it leaves it.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Palau479p (Mi1418)One of MS16 (479 (a-p)) (Mi1403-1418)1999"Denis Hayes"
United States3189a fdc (Mi3225 fdc)(Multi-color printed) cachet on FDC1999The first "Earth Day was the idea of Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson. It was largely organized by a college student, Denis Hayes. Hayes left Harvard University to serve as National Coordinator".


Bacon, J.

Bacon, Jim
(1950–present?)

Jim Bacon is a British meteorologist. He joined the Met Office in 1968 and did aviation forecasting before taking the BSc course in meteorology at Reading University from 1974 to 1978. He was then posted to the London Weather Centre where he became a senior forecaster before joining the BBC forecast team under Jack Scott. Bacon was the weatherman on 'The Travel Show' on BBC 2 during its early years. In 1986 he left national television to join the Anglia TV weather forecasting team, where he worked until 1997. After the local weather office was closed, he set up Weatherquest, a private weather forecasting company. He later appeared on BBC Look East as one of their forecasting team. He retired in 2019.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Bahamas732-735 fdc (Mi760-763 fdc)(Cyan rubber-stamp) cachet (and signature) on FDC1991"Jim Bacon"
Great Britain959 fdc (Mi894 fdc)Cachet (and signature) on FDC1981"Jim Bacon"


Foot

Foot, John Stuart
(1940s?–present?)

John Foot is an English meteorologist who after obtaining his PhD joined the UK Meteorological Office in 1971, where he conducted cloud physics research at Bracknell. In 1979 he was posted to the Meteorological Research Flight group at Boscombe Down where he did atmospheric radiation studies using the Canberra and Hercules research aircraft. In 1988 he was posted to the Remote Sensing Branch of the Met Office as project scientist for the AMSU-B satellite microwave sounding instrument. In 1995 he returned to the Meteorological Research Flight group as its Head of Branch. He later became the head of observational-based research with the Met Office.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Great BritainNoneSignature on cover1997"John S. Foot"


Giles

Giles, Bill
(1940s?–present?)

Bill Giles is a well known British television (TV) weather broadcaster. He presented the weather on BBC Television for over 25 years. In 1983 he became the senior forecaster and leader of the Met Office broadcast meteorologist team, a position he held until retiring in January 2000. Since then, he has advised clients on questions related to broadcast meteorology.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Great Britain959 fdc (Mi894 fdc)Signature on FDC1981"Bill Giles"
Great Britain1963-1966 fdc1 (Mi1924-1927 fdc1)Cachet (and signature) on FDC2001"Bill Giles"
Great Britain1963-1966 fdc2 (Mi1924-1927 fdc2)Signature on FDC (A.G. Bradbury Leicester cachet)


McCaskill

McCaskill, Ian
(1938–2016)

Ian McCaskill is a British television (TV) weather broadcaster. In 1959 he joined the Meteorological Corps of the RAF. As an airman meteorologist he served in Kinloss, Scotland and then in Cyprus. He joined the UK Met Office in 1961 and was posted to various locations until a transfer in 1978 took him to the London Weather Centre, where he became part of the BBC Television forecast team. He remained in that position until his retirement in 1998.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Great Britain1963-1966 fdc1 (Mi1924-1927 fdc1)Signature on FDC (? cachet)2001"Ian McCaskill"
Great Britain1963-1966 fdc2 (Mi1924-1927 fdc2)Signature on FDC (A.G. Bradbury Leicester cachet)
Great Britain1966a fdc (BL10, Mi1924-1927 fdc)Signature on FDC (? cachet)


Mégie

Mégie, Gérard
(1946–2004)

Gérard Mégie was a French researcher and administrator who specialized in atmospheric and climate science. In 1991 he began the initiative that led to the creation in 1995 of the Institut Pierre-Simon Laplace (IPSL), an organization designed to coordinate multidisciplinary studies of the environment and the global climate system. Its goal is to understand the system as a whole through conducting research into phenomena at regional and local scales and inegrating the results into studies of the global climate and environment. Mégie was the director of the IPSL from its inception to 2000. From 1996 to 2000, he also served as the director of the Aeronomy Service (which was a joint responsibility of the CNRS (Centre national de la recherche scientifique), the Université Pierre et Marie Curie, and the Université de Versailles - Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines). He became the director of the CNRS in 2000, a position he occupied until his death.

Mégie was awarded the EGU (European Geosciences Union) Alfred Wegener Medal in 2004. It is bestowed to scientists who have achieved exceptional international standing in the atmospheric, hydrological or ocean sciences.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
French Southern and Antarctic Territories407 (Mi665)2008"Gérard Mégie"
French Southern and Antarctic Territories407 fdcStamp and (pictorial) cancel and (Éditions J.F.) cachet on FDC


Schwarzenegger

Schwarzenegger, Arnold
(1947–present)

Arnold Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-born American actor who was elected governor of California in 2003. As a politician, he became something of an environmental activist, and has been characterized as a Republican who stands up for the environment. He has stated that "The science is in. The facts are there that we have created, man has, a self-inflicted wound through global warming". As governor, he has shown leadership in addressing the issues of global warming and climate change, and has even made them something of a personal crusade.

Under his leadership, California became the first state to limit the emissions of greenhouse gases in 2006 (through the landmark Global Warming Solutions Act (AB-32). With this bill he placed his state at the forefront of the fight against global warming and climate change. Opponents of the bill, however, hope to take advantage of economic difficulties to get elected in California in 2010 and roll the bill back.

Schwarzenegger also signed agreements on climate between California and other states and foreign governments. And his state has, in the California Climate Change Center, one of the few state-funded climate research programs in the US.

In 2007, Schwarzenegger praised Tony Blair's environmental leadership as "truly a model for the world" and emphasized that California had modeled its program to curb carbon emissions on the British cap-and-trade model.

Blair in turn lauded Schwarzenegger's "vision and leadership" on the climate issue, referring to California's action of leading a few US states to adopt Kyoto-style targets, despite the overall US rejection of the accord.

At the Copenhagen Climate Conference COP-15, Schwarzenegger referred to the activism of the '60s and suggested that a similar approach to reducing carbon emissions, through a sub-national climate conference, might be more effective than full international conferences. In this he was supported by José Serra, the governor of the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo.

In December 2009, Schwarzenegger announced CalAdapt, a new Google Earth-based tool whose goal is to allow Californians to learn about climate change impacts and adaptation.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
This list is an incomplete sample of the numerous postal items that contain this person.
Austria1961 (Mi?)2004
Austria1961 blackBlackprint
Austria1961 fdcStamp on FDC
ChadUnknown ms (Mi?)MS4 (a-d)2003
FranceNone(Red) meter1994
Guinea RepublicMi5163From MS6 (Mi5163-5168)2007(60th anniv. birth)
Guinea RepublicMi5168
Guinea RepublicMi5169Stamp from SS1
Guinea RepublicMi4720One of MS3 (Mi4719-4721)2007(60th anniv. birth)
Guinea RepublicMi7582One of MS6 (Mi7578-7583)2010
MaliUnknown ss (BL none)In (lower-right) margin of SS1 [known illegal issue]2010
RwandaUnknown (Mi none)[known illegal issue]1999"Arnold Schwarzenegger"
Sierra LeoneUnknown (Mi?)
Unknown imperf

Imperforate
2011
Sierra LeoneUnknown ss (BL?)SS1202275th anniv. birth "Arnold Schwarzenegger"
Tuvalu1031 (BL1)MS6 (1031 (a-f))2007Name and quotation (in right margin text); (60th anniv. birth)
United StatesNone(Pictorial) cancel and (black printed) cachet on cover2007Austria 1961 (in cachet)


Gore

Gore, Albert
(1948–present)

Al Gore was the 45th Vice-president of the US He narrowly missed becoming President in 2000. He has been interested in environmental issues since his university days, and since 2000 has devoted most of his time to environmental activism.

Gore's interest in global warming and other environmental issues was sparked by Roger Revelle, with whom he took a class during his studies at Harvard. Gore won a seat in the US House of Representatives in 1976, where he held the first congressional hearings on climate change and co-sponsored hearings on global warming and toxic waste. In the late 1990s, he strongly advocated that the Kyoto Protocol be ratified, but found no support in the Senate. After losing the 2000 presidential race, Gore became a tireless advocate for the environment and traveled the world warning of the consequences of anthropogenic global warming and climate change. He had a central role in the 2006 film An Inconvenient Truth which outlined the challenges posed by global warming. It won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Film in 2007. Also in 2006 he published his book An Inconvenient Truth: the Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About It. At about the same time, he founded the Alliance for Climate Protection, an organization whose aim is to "persuade people of the importance, urgency and feasibility of adopting and implementing effective and comprehensive solutions for the climate crisis."

Gore, with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, received the Nobel Prize for Peace in 2007.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Guinea RepublicMi5165One of MS6 (Mi5163-5168)2007(60th anniv. birth, in 2008)
Guinea RepublicMi5166
Guinea RepublicMi5171Stamp from SS1 (BL1437)2007"Al Gore"
Guinea RepublicBL1413SS1 (Mi5114)2007"Al Gore"
Guinea RepublicMi4721One of MS3 (Mi4719-4721)2007(60th anniv. birth, in 2008)
Guinea RepublicMi4781)On stamp in SS1 (BL1235)
Guinea-BissauMi3668-3671_ms4MS4 (Mi3668-3671)2007(60th anniv. birth, in 2008)
Guinea-BissauBL621A
BL621B
SS1
Imperforate SS1
Gore awarded Nobel Prize; the fight against global warming; (60th anniv. birth, in 2008)
Guinea-BissauBL621A fdc
BL621B fdc
SS1 and cachet on FDCGore awarded Nobel Prize; the fight against global warming; (60th anniv. birth, in 2008)
LiberiaUnknown (Mi?)From MS15 (14x single + other)2000Gore is erroneously presented as US President in these stamps
LiberiaUnknown ss (BL?)On stamp of SS1
Palau479j (Mi1412)One of MS16 (479 (a-p)) (Mi1403-1418)1999"Al Gore"
St. Thomas and Prince Islands2109d (Mi4042)One of MS4 (2109 (a-d)) (Mi4039-4042)2009(60th anniv. birth, in 2008) "Al Gore"
St. Thomas and Prince Islands2109 fdcMS4 on FDC
St. Vincent1896 (BL?)In (upper-left and lower-right) margins of SS11993
South AfricaNoneCachet on cover1994Gore signature
SpainNone(Multi-color printed) cachet on (un-canceled) (Spanish Post) stamped envelope (from 2011)2013
TurkmenistanUnknown ms (Mi?)On stamps 'a', 'c', 'e', and 'g' and label of MS8 (a-h + label)2000
Tuvalu1030 (BL5)In (left) margin of MS6 (1030 (a-f))2007(60th anniv. birth, in 2008)
United StatesNone(Collins) cachet on cover1993Inauguration Day cover
United StatesNone(R.C. Graebner, Chapter #17, AFDCS) cachet on cover1993Inauguration Day cover
United StatesNone(ArtCraft) cachet on cover1993Inauguration Day cover
United StatesNone(?DM) cachet on cover1993Inauguration Day cover
United StatesNone(J. Pugh?) cachet on cover1993Inauguration Day cover
United StatesNone(Artmaster) cachet on cover1993Inauguration Day cover
United StatesNone(?) cachet on cover1993Inauguration Day cover
United StatesNone(?) cachet on cover1993Inauguration Day cover
United StatesNone(George Fisher) cachet on cover1993Inauguration Day cover
United StatesNone(HF) cachet on cover1997Inauguration Day cover
United StatesNone(Collins) cachet on cover1997Inauguration Day cover
United StatesNone(DGW) cachet on cover1997Inauguration Day cover


Carlson

Carlson, David
(~1950?–present)

David Carlson is an American oceanographer and scientific administrator. He joined UCAR (University Corporation for Atmospheric Research) in 1991, where he led the TOGA-COARE IPO (Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere - Coupled Ocean Atmosphere Response Experiment International Project Office). TOGA-COARE was carried out over the warm tropical ocean of the western Pacific because of that region's influence on global atmospheric circulation and global climate variability. He was the Director of the Atmospheric Technology Division (ATD) at NCAR (National Center for Atmospheric Research) from 1994 to 2003. The ATD provided advanced observing systems and tools for weather, climate and air quality research throughout the world. In 2004, Carleson worked on upper ocean - lower atmospheric exchange processes with the NCAR's Climate and Global Dynamics Division. In 2005, he became the director of the IPO (the International Polar Year (IPY) Program Office).

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Guinea RepublicBL1398In (right) margin of SS1 (Mi5084)2007name (in text); also IPY
Guinea RepublicBL1398 fdcSS1 on FDC


Kettley

Kettley, John
(1952–present)

John Kettley,a British meteorologist, was with the Meteorological Office from 1970 through 2000. He did applied research with the Meteorological Research Flight group, and from 1985 to 2000 worked as a national BBC TV broadcast meteorologist. He became a member of the Institute of Broadcast Meteorology in 1995. In 2001 he became a Fellow the the Royal Meteorological Society, and since then has been a regular freelance weather presenter for BBC Radio 5 Live and an Associate of British Weather Services, a private sector company.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Bahamas732-735 fdc (Mi760-763 fdc)(Cyan rubber-stamp) cachet (and signature) on FDC1991Weatherman "John Kettley"
Great Britain1963-1966 fdc (Mi1924-1927 fdc)Signature on FDC2001Weatherman "John Kettley"
Great Britain1965 fdc (Mi1926 fdc)Signature on FDC, also back and insert


Roker

Roker, Albert Lincoln, Jr.
(1954–present)

Albert Roker is an American weather forecaster, television personality and the weather anchor on NBC's Today Show. His career with NBC began in 1978 when he was hired by WKYC-TV in Cleveland. After Willard Scott announced his semi-retirement from Today in 1996, Roker moved into Today's regular weekday weather slot. In the 14 December 2018 episode of Today, he was honored for his 40 years of service at NBC.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
United StatesNone(Coverscape) cachet on cover2019"Al Roker"


Davies

Davies, Martyn
(1956–present)

Martyn Davies is a British television (TV) weather broadcaster who joined the ITV network in 1989. He was their chief presenter until early 2009, when he began work as a holiday relief forecaster. Davies was also involved in a series of short films designed to aid the teaching of meteorology.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Great Britain1963-1966 fdc (Mi1924-1927 fdc)Signature on FDC2001"Martyn Davies"


Libbrecht

Libbrecht, Ken
(1958–present)

Ken Libbrecht is an American professor of physics at CalTech University. Trained in solar astronomy, he has become an expert in the physics of ice crystals and snowflakes, and is known for his beautiful photographs of snowflakes. He has said that "to capture the characteristics of each crystal, I have developed a special microscope that allows me to add backlighting. The snow crystal functions as a complex lens that reflects light, resulting in beautiful coloring effects." Libbrecht takes pictures of both artificial and natural snowflakes. He is a recipient of the Lennart Nilsson Award, which is given to scientists renowned for their scientific images. He has also published books about snowflakes (The Secret Life of a Snowflake: an Up-Close Look at the Art and Science of Snowflakes; The Little Book of Snowflakes; The Art of the Snowflake: A Photographic Album; Ken Libbrecht's Field Guide to Snowflakes) and maintains a website (http://snowcrystals.com/) that also celebrates the art and science of snowflakes.

Libbrecht's photographs of snowflakes appeared on a set of stamps issued by the US Postal Service in 2006, and on a set issued by the Swedish Postal Service in 2010.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Sweden2647 (Mi2785?)From MS4 (2647a (4x 2647))2010Snowflake images by Libbrecht
Sweden2648a (Mi2786)Self-adhesive, from booklet pane of 5 (2648 (a-e)), with booklet outside (front and back), and booklet interior
Sweden2648b (Mi2787)
Sweden2648c (Mi2788)
Sweden2648d (Mi2789)
Sweden2648e (Mi2790)
Sweden2648a maxiMaxicard of stamp 'a'
Sweden2648b maxiMaxicard of stamp 'b'
Sweden2648c maxiMaxicard of stamp 'c'
Sweden2648d maxiMaxicard of stamp 'd'
Sweden2648e maxiMaxicard of stamp 'e'
Sweden2648a-e fdc1Five stamps and (pictorial) cancel and (Swedish Post Official) cachet on FDC
Sweden2648a-e fdc2Five stamps and (pictorial) cancel and (Swedish Post Official) cachet (and signature) on FDC
SwedenNonePO Bulletin front with 2748a and 2748c2010Snowflake images by Libbrecht
United States4101 (Mi4181)From block of 4 (4104a (4101-4104)); or from sheet of 20 (4104b (5x (4101-4104)))2006Snowflake images by Libbrecht
United States4102 (Mi4182)
United States4103 (Mi4183)
United States4104 (Mi4184)
United States4101 fdc1Stamp and (Fleetwood) cachet on FDC
United States4101 fdc2Stamp on FDC (also cancel and Mystic cachet with other snowflakes), also back
United States4102 fdcStamp and (Fleetwood) cachet on FDC
United States4103 fdcStamp and (Fleetwood) cachet on FDC
United States4104 fdc1Stamp and (Fleetwood) cachet on FDC
United States4104 fdc2Stamp on FDC (also cancel and Aquila Associates cachet with other snowflakes)
United States4101+4104 fdcTwo stamps on FDC (also PCS cachet with other snowflakes)
United States4101-4104 fdc1Four stamps on FDC (USPS cachet); (also cancel with other snowflakes)
United States4101-4104 fdc2Four stamps on FDC (PG #70 cachet); (also cancel with other snowflakes)
United States4101-4104 program(USPS) FDOI program
United States4105 (Mi?)From block of 4 (4108a (4105-4108)); or from booklet of 20 (4108b (5x (4105-4108)))
United States4106 (Mi?)
United States4107 (Mi?)
United States4108 (Mi?)
United States4109 (Mi?)From block of 4 (4112a (4109-4112)); or from booklet of 20 (BK303 (front and back)); or from vending pane of 20 (4112e (2x4112b+4112c+4112d))
United States4110 (Mi?)
United States4111 (Mi?)
United States4112 (Mi?)
United States4113 (Mi?)From block of 4 (4116a (4113-4116)); or from ATM booklet of 18 (4116b (5x (4113+4114) + 4x (4115+4116)))
United States4114 (Mi?)
United States4115 (Mi?)
United States4116 (Mi?)
United States4114 fdcStamp and (Fleetwood) cachet on FDC
United StatesSP1626(USPS) souvenir page (4101-4116), also back
United StatesCP776(USPS no.777) commemorative panel (4104a)


Braine

Braine, David
(~1960?–present?)

David Braine is an English television meteorologist with the BBC. From 1986 to 1987 he worked as research assistant at Oxford University's Department of Atmospheric Physics, where he studied the ozone hole and global warming. David joined the Meteorological Office in 1995 and became a member of the BBC's team of presenters, initially working for the two BBC satellite channels. He went on to become one of the best known BBC forecasters, appearing on all the main television channels and on BBC Radio. In 1997 he was promoted to Deputy Training Manager and senior broadcast meteorologist. He took over as the Training Manager responsible for the training of BBC Weather Centre staff and of regional broadcasting staff. David first started working for BBC Southwest in 2002 when he became a regular holiday relief presenter.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Great Britain1966a fdc (BL10, Mi1924-1927 fdc)Signature on FDC (Benham cachet), also insert2001"David Braine"


Gourdonneau signature

Gourdonneau, Olivier
(~1960?–present?)

Olivier Gourdonneau is a French meteorologist who participated with fellow meteorologist Sylvain Le Moal in 1994 in the 31st Crozet mission at the Alfred Faure base on Île de la Possession in the Crozet Archipelago in the southwestern Indian Ocean. Here are some of the weather measurements they recorded for the year 1994:

Gourdonneau and Le Moal were the last meteorologists posted to the Faure base. On 8 December 1994 the manned station program ceased and an automatic weather station began to provide the weather observations. They are sent to a Meteosat weather satellite in geostationary orbit, which then rebroadcasts them to their various destinations.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
French Southern and Antarctic Territories189a cover (Mi311-312 cover)Names and signatures on cover1994Last manned overwintering at the Faure base weather station; also Le Moal


Guinot

Guinot, Benjamin
(~1960?–present?)

Benjamin Guinot is a French atmospheric chemist with the Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (LSCE) in France.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesNoneCachet (and signature) on cover2001"Guinot"


Lang

Lang, Isobel
(~1960?–present?)

Isobel Lang is a British television (TV) weather presenter. She joined the Meteorological Office in September 1991 and worked as a forecaster at the London Weather Centre where her duties included preparing forecasts for the press and presenting the weather on local radio. Isobel also worked as a holiday relief forecaster for Meridian Television in Kent. She joined the BBC Weather Centre team in May 1995 and has been a regular BBC TV forecaster since December of that year. She co-presented the BBC 2 series 'The Essential Guide to Weather' and presented some stories about climate change in the program 'Country File'.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Great Britain1963-1966 fdc (Mi1924-1927 fdc)Signature on FDC (Benham cachet, Reading cancel), also back and insert1 and insert22001"Isobel Lang"


Le Moal signature

Le Moal, Sylvain
(~1960?–present?)

Sylvain Le Moal is a French meteorologist who participated with fellow meteorologist Olivier Gourdonneau in 1994 in the 31st Crozet mission at the Alfred Faure base on Île de la Possession in the Crozet Archipelago in the southwestern Indian Ocean. Here are some of the weather measurements they recorded for the year 1994:

Le Moal and Gourdonneau were the last meteorologists posted to the Faure base. On 8 December 1994 the manned station program ceased and an automatic weather station began to provide the weather observations. They are sent to a Meteosat weather satellite in geostationary orbit, which then rebroadcasts them to their various destinations.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
French Southern and Antarctic Territories189a cover (Mi311-312 cover)Names and signatures on cover1994Last manned overwintering at the Faure base weather station; also Gourdonneau


Young

Young, Helen
(~1965?–present?)

Helen Young is a British weather broadcaster. She joined the Meteorological Office in 1990 and worked in the Commercial Services Division as a consultant providing climatological data for the building and transport industries. She then moved to the Bristol Weather Centre where she began her broadcasting career as a regional weather presenter for BBC West. Then in 1993 she was transferred to the BBC Weather Centre in London. She became the team's Deputy Manager in 1998, Broadcast Manager in 2000, and Senior Forecaster and Lead Presenter in 2002. She left the BBC in 2005 after 12 years of television (TV) weather forecasting.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Great Britain1966a fdc (BL10, Mi1924-1927 fdc)Signature on FDC (Benham cachet), also insert2001"Helen Young"


Knabb

Richard Knabb
(1967?–present)

Dr. Richard Knabb is a tropical meteorologist who has worked as a hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center and the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. He also served for two years as the Weather Channel's tropical weather expert, and became the director of the National Hurricane Center in 2012. He returned to the Weather Channel in 2017 as an on-air hurricane expert.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
United StatesNone(Coverscape) cachet on cover2011"Weather Channel Hurricane Expert Dr. Rick Knabb"


Thunberg

Greta Thunberg
(2003–present)

Greta Thunberg is a young Swedish environmental activist whose campaign on climate change has gained international recognition. Her direct message to the public and political leaders is that immediate action is required to address what she sees as a climate crisis. She originated the School Strike for the Climate movement, and has appeared in Europe and North America as a champion for the climate.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
FranceNone+label (Mi?+label)(Historiaphil) privatepost label (part of stamp and label combination)2019"Greta Thunberg, young climate activist from Sweden"
FranceNone(Historiaphil) privatepost label and (Historiaphil) cachet on cover2019(As above for stamp); "debate on the fight against climate change with Greta Thunberg, the Swedish climate activist" (in French text)
MadagascarUnknown e
Unknown ie
One of MS6 (a-f)
One of imperforate MS6 (a-f)
2021Greta Thunberg
St. Thomas and Prince IslandsMi8611-8614_ms4MS4 (Mi8611-8614)2019"Greta Thunberg, climate change activist" (in Portuguese text); "School strike for the climate" (in Swedish text in stamp 'b'); "Join the Climate Strike" (in stamp 'c')
St. Thomas and Prince IslandsMi8611-8614_ms4 fdcMS4 and (multi-color printed) cachet on FDC
St. Thomas and Prince IslandsBL1568SS1 (Mi8615)"Greta Thunberg, climate change activist" (in Portuguese text); "School strike for the climate" (in Swedish text)
St. Thomas and Prince IslandsBL1568 fdcSS1 and (multi-color printed) cachet on FDC


Oakley

Howard Oakley
(19??–?)

Howard Oakley was the medical researcher and meteorologist in the British Joint Services Expedition to Brabant Island, Antarctica. It took place from January 1984 to March 1985.

In an article in The Geographical Journal, Vol.153, No.1, March 1987, pp. 1-10, expedition leader Commander Chris Furse, RN, presented an overview of the expedition, including some meteorological results:

"Meteorology (Howard Oakley): Readings were taken twice daily to support other sciences, but our mobility prevented records comparable with elsewhere. Consistent marked local phenomena and orographic effects will probably be of more interest.

"The [Antarctic] Peninsula region imposes less extreme temperatures than continental Antarctica, although Windchill Effective Temperatures ranged down to -80 °C. Cloud and poor visibility are much more frequent than farther south but, having a good map, we could use Thommen altimeters for dead reckoning in steep terrain. Snowfall is greatest on the west coast of the Peninsula, making snow conditions bad for travel, increasing avalanche risk, burying tents and returning as spindrift.

The Peninsula is however subject to the ferocious winds which are the dominating scourge of Antarctica. They are unimaginable to those who have not experienced them and take by surprise all who go there, no matter how experienced they are in mountains elsewhere. Winds of 100 knots (their force some nine times that of Gale Force 8) are not uncommon. Such winds can blow up extraordinarily quickly, and we were often caught unexpectedly: in boats the sudden onset of high winds could be fatal, with landing sites so far apart; on land one could simply pitch camp or dig a snowhole, and the main danger was that continual high winds could stop travel for so long that one ran out of food. At this latitude the normal increase of wind with height is exaggerated by the troposphere being only 5-8 km deep, and Brabant's 2.5 kilometre ridge formed a barrier across both the snow-laden north-easterlies prevailing in summer and the westerlies that howled out of clear skies in winter. The velocity of winds, concentrated through the cols and accelerating down lee-slope glaciers, was an order higher than the winds recorded in Basecamp. At Basecamp we recorded winds of Gale Force 8 or more on 31 percent of days, and winds of Storm Force 10 or more on seven percent of days: in the mountains high winds were more frequent, as well as more ferocious".

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
British Antarctic TerritoryNoneSignature on cover, also detail1984"Howard Oakley"
British Antarctic TerritoryNoneSignature on cover (different)


meteorologist

Other
Modern Era
Contributors

The following postal items contain additional names of modern era contributors to meteorology and climatology, for whom the details are limited or unknown. Overall, these items are given in chronological order, thus determining the order for the contributors in the table below.

CountryCatalog NumberType of ItemYear of IssueNotes on Content
Bravo, Pablo (~1920?–?)
ArgentinaNoneSignature and cachet on cover1964P. Bravo, meteorologist-in-charge, Orcadas (Naval) Meteor. Observatory, in 1964
Chambers, M.J. (~1930?–?)
British Antarctic TerritoryNoneSignature on cover1960sM.J. Chambers, base meteorologist at the British Signy Island Base, in the South Orkneys, at some time in the 1960s
Webster, Bruce D. (19??–?)
United StatesNoneSignature on cover1973B. D. Webster, meteorologist-in-charge at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station
Freckleton, H.J. (19??–?)
Great BritainNoneCachet on cover1982H.J. Freckleton, senior meteorological officer aboard the British ocean weather ship Starella in the early 1980s
Mader, P. (19??–?)
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesNone(Magenta rubber-stamp) cachet on cover1987P. Mader, head meteorologist at the Amsterdam Island station in 1987
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesNoneCachet on cover1987P. Mader, head meteorologist at the Amsterdam Island station in 1987
Brooks, David (19??–?)
Bahamas732-735 fdc (Mi760-763 fdc)(Cyan rubber-stamp) cachet (and signature) on FDC1991Weatherman "David Brooks"
Charlton, Suzanne (19??–?)
Bahamas732-735 fdc (Mi760-763 fdc)(Cyan rubber-stamp) cachet (and signature) on FDC1991Weatherwoman "Suzanne Charlton"
Brault, Robert (~1960?–present?)
United StatesNoneSignature on cover1992R. Brault, meteorologist at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole station in the early 1990s
González, E. (~1960?–present?)
French Southern and Antarctic Territories224 cover (Mi359 cover)Name in cachet on cover1997B. González, part of the meteorological team at the Dumont d'Urville base in 1997
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesNoneName in cachet on cover1997B. González, part of the meteorological team at the Dumont d'Urville base in 1997
Lambert, M. (~1960?–present?)
French Southern and Antarctic Territories224 cover (Mi359 cover)Name in cachet on cover1997M. Lambert, part of the meteorological team at the Dumont d'Urville base in 1997
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesNoneName in cachet on cover1997M. Lambert, part of the meteorological team at the Dumont d'Urville base in 1997
Tanguy, C. (~1960?–present?)
French Southern and Antarctic Territories224 cover (Mi359 cover)Name in cachet on cover1997C. Tanguy, part of the meteorological team at the Dumont d'Urville base in 1997
French Southern and Antarctic TerritoriesNoneName in cachet on cover1997C. Tanguy, part of the meteorological team at the Dumont d'Urville base in 1997
Jinghe, Zhou (19??–?)
China (People's Republic)NonePostal card2006Z. Jinghe, Chief, Yiyang Weather Bureau (in text below the lower-left photograph)
Tao, Wu (19??–?)
China (People's Republic)NoneAddress on postal card2007W. Tao, Chief Administrative Officer, Jiangxi Province Weather Bureau
Flouttard, Alexandre (19??–present)
French Southern and Antarctic Territories533 cover (BL? cover)(Blue rubber-stamp) cachet (with signature) on cover2017Alexandre Flouttard, "Météorologue, Mission 67, Terre Adélie"
French Southern and Antarctic Territories551 cover (Mi935 cover)(Blue rubber-stamp) cachet on cover2017Alexandre Flouttard, "Météorologue, Mission 67, Terre Adélie"
Copeland, Bob (19??–?)
United StatesNone(Coverscape) cachet on cover2017"Boston TV weatherman Bob Copeland"
Burbank, Barry (19??–?)
United StatesNone(Coverscape) cachet on cover2018Boston TV weatherman "Barry Burbank"
Leonard, Harvey (1949–?)
United StatesNone(Coverscape) cachet on cover2013Boston TV weatherman Harvey Leonard


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