Joseph Henry A Life in Science"Can you imagine a time when weather forecasts were not available, or when people did not know that storms followed predictable paths? The science of meteorology was in its infancy when the Smithsonian was founded in 1846, but over the next three decades, the Institution developed a national network for collecting meteorological data, and made possible some of the earliest weather forecasts.
When Joseph Henry became the Smithsonian's first Secretary in 1846, he brought with him a longstanding interest in meteorology. In the 1820s, as a professor at the Albany Academy in New York, he had proofed data sent in by weather observers throughout the state. During his time at Princeton University in the 1830s and 1840s, Henry continued to stay abreast of meteorological research."
