Abbe, Cleveland (1838-1916), an American meteorologist, was a pioneer of weather forecasting as a public service. He was the first chief meteorologist of the U.S. Weather Bureau, later renamed the National Weather Service. He also wrote articles and books about the atmosphere and climate.
Abbe originally studied astronomy and, at the age of 30, became director of the Cincinnati Observatory. As an astronomer, he was greatly occupied with the subject of civil timekeeping and later helped introduce the U.S. system of Standard Time. Abbe became increasingly interested in the workings of the earth’s atmosphere and turned to the study of meteorology. He started a public information service dealing with the weather and weather prediction, which was soon taken over by the United States Army. From 1871 to 1916, Abbe was chief meteorologist of the weather service, which was transferred to civilian control in 1891 and named the U.S. Weather Bureau.
Abbe was born on Dec. 3, 1838, in New York City. He died on Oct. 28, 1916.
