Beaufort, Sir Francis (1774-1857), was a British admiral and hydrographer—a scientist who charts the seas and lakes, measures their depth, and studies their tides and currents. He introduced the Beaufort Scale, a table to describe the force of winds. He based his table on the effects of winds on sailing ships. The scale goes from 0 (calm) to 17 (full hurricane). Beaufort was born on May 27, 1774, at Navan, in County Meath, Ireland. He joined the British Royal Navy in 1790, and became hydrographer to the Admiralty (navy command) in 1832. He died on Dec. 17, 1857.
See also Hydrography ; Wind (The Beaufort wind scale) .
