W. E. Knowles Middleton (1902-88) wrote 15 books and 75 to 100 scientific papers related to the science of weather instruments and meteorological optics as well as their history. His major contribution was the book Meteorological Instruments, first published in 1953. From 1929-46, he worked for the Meteorological Service of Canada, specializing in measurement and instrumentation. After retiring, he was a professor emeritus and honorary lecturer associated with the Department of History of Medicine and Science at the University of British Columbia.
The historical and technical evolution of the barometer during the three centuries since its invention is systematically and thoroughly documented... The author has furnished extremely valuable new data about many of the instrument makers... The more significant of the surviving barometric instruments are listed and described in a 20-page appendix, an extremely useful addition to a most impressive and valuable reference work for the historian of science and of technology alike. The book is clearly written and beautifully presented. It is thoroughly indexed and well illustrated throughout. Science This is an excellent book and an important one. It is recommended generally; in science collections it will become a standard work. Library Journal This unique treatise is indeed a milestone in meteorological literature and a model to be emulated by other specialists. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society Dr. Knowles Middleton begins with the fascinating prehistory of this familiar instrument and gives in detail what is the best account of the seventeenth-century discoveries of vacuum and air pressure so far available in English. This well-written and well-produced book is of absorbing interest and takes its place as the standard work on its subject. Times Literary Supplement This is a book which should be found in any library covering either meteorology or general scientific instrumentation. Royal Meteorological Society Quarterly Journal The text is well documented from primary sources, and many of the illustrations are reproductions of original diagrams. The book is both instructive and delightful to read. American Journal of Physics
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