James Glaisher

Born in London in 1809, James Glaisher became an English meteorologist, aeronaut, and astronomer. He worked at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, and later played a major part in the early growth of systematic weather observation in Britain.

Glaisher is especially remembered for his high-altitude balloon flights with the aeronaut Henry Tracey Coxwell in the 1860s. These ascents were designed to measure the atmosphere at extreme heights, and one of them became famous when the pair pushed so high that Glaisher lost consciousness before Coxwell managed to bring the balloon down safely.

Alongside that dramatic work, he was deeply involved in scientific societies and careful long-term observation. He helped popularize meteorology as a serious field of study, and his wide-ranging interests also included astronomy and photography. He died in 1903, leaving behind a reputation as one of the most adventurous scientific figures of Victorian Britain.