A. Follett Osler
| Abraham Follett Osler | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
22 March 1808 London, England |
| Died | 26 April 1903 (aged 95) |
| Residence | Birmingham, England. |
| Occupation | Meteorologist |
| Title | Senior Researcher |
| Religion | Catholic |
Abraham Follett Osler (22 March 1808 – 26 April 1903), known as A. Follett Osler, was a pioneer in the measurement of meteorological and chronological data in Birmingham, England.
Early life
He attended Hazelwood School on Hagley Road, Birmingham (1816–1824) owned at that time by Thomas Wright Hill. In 1831, he became the manager of his father's glass manufacturing firm on Broad Street. He made many gifts of money and equipment to the BPI and BMI.
Career
He was a member of the Birmingham Philosophical Institution (BPI) (Honorary Secretary of the Junior Department in 1841), the Royal Society, and the Birmingham and Midland Institute (BMI).
Shortly after giving lectures on chronology in 1842 he provided an accurate display of local time based on astronomical measurements on a public clock in front of the Philosophical Institution in Cannon Street from which the church clocks were set. It was eventually synchronised to Greenwich Mean Time by electrical telegraph when the railway timetable became important. Later a number of clocks around Birmingham were linked by wire. The clock was transferred to the BMI when the BPI closed down in 1852. In 1883, he gave a clock and bells for the tower of the new Art Gallery, which was constructed in 1885. This clock, nicknamed Big Brum, subsequently acted as the town's timepiece, replacing the expensive network of clocks wired around the town.
Death and commemoration
Osler died on 26 April 1903, and was buried in Key Hill Cemetery, Hockley.
Osler Street and Osler Street School, Ladywood, were named in his honour.
His son, Henry F. Osler (d. 1913), carried on his meteorological work at the BMI and gave money for the purchase of the Observatory by the BMI just before his death.
See also
- Birmingham and Midland Institute – meteorological measurements
References
- The Birmingham and Midland Institute 1854–1954, Rachel E Waterhouse, 1954
- The Jewellery Quarter – History and Guide, Marie Elizabeth Haddleton, ISBN 0-9513108-0-1
External links
- Image of Abraham and his wife Mary Osler
- "Osler, Abraham Follett". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/35339. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)