FitzRoy: The Remarkable Story of Darwin s Captain and the Invention of the Weather Forecast

by John Gribbin, Mary Gribbin

The name of Robert FitzRoy, captain of the Beagle, is forever linked with that of his most famous passenger, Charles Darwin. This exceptionally interesting biography brings FitzRoy out of Darwin’s shadow for the first time, revealing a man who experienced high adventure, suffered tragic disappointments, and—as the inventor of weather forecasting—saved the lives of countless fellow mariners.
John Gribbin and Mary Gribbin draw a detailed portrait of FitzRoy, recounting the wide range of his accomplishments and exploring the motivations that drove him. As a very young and successful commander in the British navy, FitzRoy’s life was in the mold of a Patrick O’Brian novel. Later disappointments, including an unpopular tenure as governor of New Zealand and a sense of dismay over his own contributions to Darwin’s ideas of evolution, troubled FitzRoy. Even his groundbreaking accomplishments in meteorological science failed to satisfy his high personal expectations, and in 1865 FitzRoy committed suicide at the age of sixty. This biography focuses well-deserved attention on FitzRoy’s status as a scientist and seaman, affirming that his was a life which, despite its sorrowful end, encompassed many more successes than failures.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, Science

352 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

John R. Gribbin is a British science writer, an astrophysicist, and a visiting fellow in astronomy at the University of Sussex. His writings include quantum physics, human evolution, climate change, global warming, the origins of the universe, and biographies of famous scientists. He also writes science fiction.

Reviews

[Sheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating story not atypical of other officers of the British Navy in that they were badly used by their service, remained loyal and in the end paid heavily. He made contributions to navigation, weather forecasting, governance but couldn't play the political game. That he ended his own life in despair of occupying any meaningful job late in his career leaves me gasping at the general stupidity with which gifted people must generally cope.

[Ross-Barry Barcock. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting comments regarding New-Zealand.

[James Courage · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started with hope but ended disappointed - the subject has everything going for it and there is much of interest but you have to persevere though a lot of detail that adds little to the story and a lot of omissions about the experiences and achievements especially around the surveying of the South American coast. The editing and writing is weak and disappoints - there is a better book to be written

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Have read it before, but still enjoyed it - just wish I could retain all the interesting information regarding seafaring and the weather.

[Dale Griffin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. The book gave a lot of insight into a complex and multidimensional man, who is mostly only remembered for being Darwin’s Captain.
I don’t give it a five for two reasons. He was a profoundly skilled surveyor and almost nothing is detailed about this. I would have loved to read some examples or situations he resolved, and how. I honestly think that the authors were not familiar with surveying and kind of glossed over any details of this.
The last couple of chapters were devoted to an invention that he called a weather forecast (as we do to this day). Again, rather short and did not go into any details of how he gave insight to the field or resolved situations unknown to anyone in the day.
So it deserves five stars for 80% of the book, and zero for the missing 20%.

[Judith Wolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book about a great man

John Gribbin makes a very readable account of the life of this eminent man, who did his duty to his country unstintingly, not sparing his own income and health. He contributed so many things, from surveying the coast of South America, while also providing the means for Charles Darwin to make his observations, to setting up the British Meteorological Office and coining terms like synoptic chart and gale forecast.

[Mr. Denis Frize · Rating 5 out of 5]

Weathering the storm.

A first rate lucid account of.life of the man who first.inspired.the most important scientist of the nineteenth century.

But.no hagiography. An honest " warts and all" biography.

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story about a lesser known person in history.

[Steve Dodd · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really interesting account of an underrated character. The narrative lags at times, but worth staying with it.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book because it gives more insight into Captain Fitzroy of the Beagle. Darwin has overshadowed him, and yet Fitzroy had many accomplishment which are far more superior than Darwin.