Essay on the Modifications of Clouds

An industrial chemist by profession, Luke Howard (1772-1864) proposed the method of cloud classification that is still in use today. His life-long interest in meteorology led him to produce this landmark work in the history of the subject. General scientific opinion at the time was that clouds were too changeable to be classified, but, inspired by Linnaeus’ work in biological classification, Howard proposed a method which used Latin terminology - cirrus, cumulus, stratus and nimbus - to provide a standard description for each of three groups of cloud types. His work was first published in the Philosophical Magazine in 1803; it was produced in book form in 1832 but went quickly out of print. This reissue is of the third printing (1865) of the edition brought out after his death in 1864 by two of his sons. Howard’s other meteorological works are also reissued in this series.