author

Thomas Bassnett

b. 1808

An early American weather theorist, he wrote bold, often unconventional books that tried to explain storms, the sun, and the forces shaping the natural world. His work offers a fascinating glimpse into 19th-century scientific curiosity and debate.

1 Audiobook

Outlines of a mechanical theory of storms : containing the true law of lunar influence, with practical instructions to the navigator, to enable him approximately to calculate the coming changes of the wind and weather, for any given day, and for any part of the ocean

Outlines of a mechanical theory of storms : containing the true law of lunar influence, with practical instructions to the navigator, to enable him approximately to calculate the coming changes of the wind and weather, for any given day, and for any part of the ocean

by Thomas Bassnett

About the author

Thomas Bassnett, born around 1808, is remembered as an early American meteorologist and scientific writer. Surviving records about his life are sparse, but reference sources and library catalogs consistently connect him with a series of 19th-century works on weather, storms, and astronomy.

His best-known book, Outlines of a Mechanical Theory of Storms (1854), set out his ideas about lunar influence on weather and included practical guidance for navigators trying to anticipate changes in wind and sea conditions. He also wrote The True Theory of the Sun (1884), showing that his interests ranged beyond meteorology into broader theories about solar activity and atmospheric disturbance.

What makes Bassnett interesting today is not just the theories themselves, but the window they open onto a time when independent thinkers often tried to connect observation, navigation, astronomy, and weather into one grand explanation of nature. Even where modern science moved in different directions, his books still reflect the energy and imagination of that era.