The man was a genius. And he fared like many geniuses: because he was far ahead of his time, his extraordinary abilities and the resulting findings were held in low esteem during his lifetime. Yet one hundred years ago, the Briton Lewis Fry Richardson created nothing less than the mathematical foundations on which every modern weather forecasting model is based today.
His formula work, which he published at Cambridge University in 1922, was so extensive that only a few other people were able to understand it at the time. But even then, Richardson was deeply convinced of his findings: he had found a way to not only provide the world with up-to-date weather data, but also a scientifically sound forecast for the next day - a novelty at the time.
However, several decades had to pass before Richardson's calculations could be utilised. The computer had yet to be invented. And even the world's first mainframe computer still needed a whole day in 1950 to produce a weather forecast using Richardson's formulae.
But who was this man and how did he become a brilliant inventor, tinkerer, maths and physics genius? Richardson had already invented a forward-looking echo sounder. He discovered the phenomenon of air turbulence at high altitudes. He found out why the longitudes of country borders and coastlines sometimes differed by several hundred kilometres, depending on the source.
Riccardo Bellingacci, a Munich patent attorney and mathematician by training - and a passionate sailor in his spare time - remembers the great Lewis Fry Richardson in a comprehensive tribute. His almost unbelievable life story can now be readin YACHT, issue 6/2022, available as a digital edition in the YACHT app and can be ordered directly here. Or you can download the portrait directly via the link below.
