Charles Fitzhugh Talman

Charles Fitzhugh Talman was an American meteorologist, librarian, bibliographer, and science writer who worked for the U.S. Weather Bureau. He entered the bureau in 1896, served at stations in the Caribbean and northern South America during the Spanish-American War era, and later moved to Washington, where he became librarian at the central office on July 1, 1908.

Talman became especially known for making weather science understandable to ordinary readers. Contemporary tributes described him as a leading popularizer of meteorology, and he wrote thousands of short explanatory pieces, including a long-running syndicated series called Why the Weather? He also contributed frequently to newspapers and magazines and published books such as Meteorology: The Science of the Atmosphere and Our Weather; What Makes It and How to Watch It.

Beyond his own writing, Talman was admired for building up the Weather Bureau’s library, preparing bibliographies, and helping researchers find and use meteorological literature. Colleagues remembered him not just for his learning, but for the clarity, accuracy, and generosity with which he shared it. He died in 1936 at age 61.