author

Thomas Bassnett

b. 1808

An early American meteorologist and scientific writer, he explored bold 19th-century ideas about storms, lunar influence, and the sun. His surviving works capture a time when weather, astronomy, and natural philosophy often overlapped.

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

Little is firmly documented about his life, but reliable reference and library sources identify Thomas Bassnett, born around 1808, as an early American meteorologist. One cemetery record cited by reference sources may refer to him and suggests he was born on June 9, 1808 and died on February 16, 1886, though that identification is not certain.

Bassnett is known chiefly through his books. His best-known works include Outlines of a Mechanical Theory of Storms (1853), which connected weather patterns with lunar influence and offered practical guidance for navigators, and The True Theory of the Sun (1884), which turned to solar spots, the corona, storms, and cyclones.

Today, he is remembered less as a mainstream scientist than as a fascinating example of 19th-century speculative science writing. For listeners interested in the history of meteorology, navigation, and older attempts to explain the natural world, his work offers a vivid glimpse into how people once tried to make sense of weather and the cosmos.