In the year 1802, British pharmacist and amateur meteorologist Luke Howard developed his classification of cloud types. Howard’s classifications brought order to a subject that had little to no organized thought, as well as relating precipitation, temperature, and pressure to the formation of clouds; which was not well researched at the time. Luke Howard’s groundbreaking studies and pioneering work on meteorology as a whole was well founded despite the lack of knowledge of certain disciplines of physics and meteorology during his time. Howard’s studies have stood the test of time; even today his classifications, with some adjustments, are still used by meteorologists. Luke Howard not only influenced meteorologists in the nineteenth century, but has impacted the science of meteorology in such an immense way that created the foundation for all meteorologists that study clouds in the present day. …show more content…
He followed his father’s footsteps and became a business man for a pharmaceutical company that manufactured chemicals. Howard had a lifelong interest in the weather despite not having any formal training in meteorology or science. For many years, Howard recorded barometer and thermometer readings as well as his visual observations, but what he was most known for was his interest in and studies of the clouds. Howard took inspiration from the Linnaean system of classification when he created the names for the different types of formations of clouds. This system used a form of binomial classification of two Latin names; these names identify the subdivision and species of what is being observed. Howard created three major cloud types that were named based on their observable appearance: cirrus, cumulus, and