Marine Glossary

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FitzRoy, Robert

Vice admiral in the British Navy and fellow of the Royal Society and "founding father" of modern marine weather. He was captain of the Beagle during its famous 1833 to '38 surveying voyage to Tierre del Fuego, Galapagos, Tahiti, and New Zealand. FitzRoy wanted to take a naturalist along, in large part to provide himself with intelligent company on the off watch. The young, unknown Charles Darwin was the choice. Data collected during this voyage formed the basis for the latter's revolutionary theory of evolution which first appeared two decades later in 1859. FitzRoy was, as many scientists and sea captains were at the time, a traditionally religious man, and did not share these views of his friend.

FitzRoy himself gathered scientific data throughout this and other voyages, not only in surveying, but also in oceanography and meteorology — Sir Francis Beaufort, originator of the Beaufort Scale, was the Hydrographer of the British Navy at the time, and in the US, Captain F.N. Maury was collecting and organizing data which was to form the basis of what is now called a pilot chart.

It would be fair to consider FitzRoy the father of scientific marine weather, and indeed of weather forecasting in general. He is, for example, the originator of the words "forecasting" and "synoptic charts" as we use them today, and was the first to establish weather stations around the country and to collect weather data by telegraph from these in an attempt to make forecasts valuable to fishermen and other mariners. He also developed the concept of wind roses for use on pilot charts to specify statistical winds as a function of location (see page 2 of G304). He called them "wind stars."

The idea of establishing and posting storm warnings at ports and harbors was his invention. It was a major contribution to the safety of fishing fleets then and remained so for many years to follow. Modern versions of these warnings are illustrated in G314.

After the Beagle voyages, FitzRoy spent some 15 years as a politician in parliament and governor of the New Zealand colony — activities which were somewhere between not successful and failures, at least as far as public perception was concerned. It is likely true, however, that he did perform valuable services in both positions, although his temperament as a sea captain along with a set of high standards in personal accomplishment and social ideals were not well suited to politics on land.

During this period, for example, he was the first to argue in parliament for the licensing of merchant marine personnel, an institution that was eventually crucial to the development of maritime commerce worldwide. He also (by the way, at a later time) was the first to argue for and establish the convention of having the chief engineer dine with the captain and other officers on steam or auxiliary vessels. His main contributions to weather also came later in the newly formed Meteorological Society and Lifeboat Institution.

As first head of the office of meteorology, he gathered marine weather data from ship captains (much as Maury was doing in the US at the time) and from this and his own experience helped develop rugged barometers (called FitzRoy barometers) along with a 50-page Barometer Manual (1856) which summarized their use along with other rhyming advice on practical forecasting. See ART-6 on old sayings.

His 340-page Weather Book appeared in 1862, which was the state of the art text on weather and weather forecasting at the time. The book was not intended for mariners alone, although maritime data and applications provided the background for the work.

FitzRoy was a wealthy man, from an aristocratic family, and he funded much of the original Beagle expedition from his own resources. Despite many accomplishments, however, his life ended sadly in suicide in 1865.

His own perception of failure versus success was likely at the root of the tragedy. His weather work, despite notable maritime successes underway, was much criticized on land because of its inevitably limited success rate. The extent and difficulty of the problem of forecasting was not at all understood at the time. The vision he had was not shared by politicians and newspapers which often berated his work, although several countries had copied his system of weather stations and forecasting.

He was also much troubled by the Darwin theory, which in a way he contributed to by successfully leading such a long and difficult voyage. Many less able sea captains would have failed at numerous situations that he led them through. He was likely troubled not only because of his lifelong belief in the literal interpretation of the Bible, but also because he was at heart a scientific man. He knew the actual data of Darwin was sound and he knew and respected Darwin as a person, and there was a growing awareness among intelligent people, regardless of their religious beliefs, that there were very significant issues being raised. It was indeed a time that the thoughts and values of all thinking people were being tested.

FitzRoy had also in his time in Tierra del Fuego and in New Zealand made dramatic efforts to assist the native populations. He had educated some Fuegians in England, attempted to set up missionary posts, and attempted to give the Maoris equal rights and protection when Governor of New Zealand. These efforts ultimately backfired, and tragically in several cases, with the murder of settlers in both regions. He had strong ideals and he acted on them, and in some cases they didn't work.

It appears that the poor reception of his latest and most important work in the field of meteorology (one more ideal) may have led to a personal review of his career that simply overwhelmed him. Sadly, it was only after his death that it was clearly established that his system of storm warnings for mariners had actually been very successful.

Darwin described his trip with FitzRoy as "the most fortunate encounter of my life" and at one point summarized his character as "generous to a fault... and an ardent friend to all under his sway."

For a biography see FitzRoy of the Beagle, by H.E.L. Mellersh (London, Hart-Davis, 1968). It is out of print, but available in some libraries — not easy reading, but engaging subject matter. FitzRoy's weather publications are rare books, difficult to find in the US.