FitzRoy : the remarkable story of Darwin's captain and the invention of the weather forecast / John and Mary Gribbin.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gribbin, John, 1946-

Contributor:

Gribbin, Mary.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Fitzroy, Robert, 1805-1865.

Fitzroy, Robert.

Admirals--Great Britain--Biography.

Admirals.

Meteorology.

History.

Great Britain.

Meteorology--History--19th century.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xii, 336 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps, portraits ; 25 cm

Other Title:

Remarkable story of Darwin's captain and the invention of the weather forecast

Place of Publication:

New Haven, Conn. : Yale University Press, 2004.

Summary:

The name of Robert FitzRoy, captain of the Beagle, is forever linked with that of his most famous passenger, Charles Darwin. This exceptionally interesting biography brings FitzRoy out of Darwin's shadow for the first time, revealing a man who experienced high adventure, suffered tragic disappointments, and -- as the inventor of weather forecasting -- saved the lives of countless fellow mariners. John Gribbin and Mary Gribbin draw a detailed portrait of FitzRoy, recounting the wide range of his accomplishments and exploring the motivations that drove him. As a very young and successful commander in the British navy, FitzRoy led a life in the mold of a Patrick O'Brien novel. Later disappointments, including an unpopular tenure as governor of New Zealand and a sense of dismay over his own contributions to Darwin's ideas of evolution, troubled FitzRoy. Even his groundbreaking accomplishments in meteorological science failed to satisfy his high personal expectations, and in 1865 FitzRoy committed suicide at the age of sixty. This biography focuses well-deserved attention on FitzRoy's status as a scientist and seaman, affirming that his was a life that, despite its sorrowful end, encompassed far more successes than failures.

Contents:

A Very British Hero 3

1 Before the Beagle 7

2 First Command 43

3 Interlude in England 77

4 FitzRoy's Passenger 89

5 The Darwin Voyage 123

6 The Happy Return 177

7 Difficulties Down Under 199

8 Unrequited Hopes 237

9 Prophet without Honor 249

10 Aftermath 285

Appendix I Loose Ends 295

Appendix II FitzRoy's C.V. 301

Appendix III Vice Admiral FitzRoy 307.

Notes:

First published in United Kingdom in 2003 by Review.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 311-313) and index.

ISBN:

0300103611

OCLC:

56210701