Austen H. Nagle
Austen Harold Nagle | |
|---|---|
 Nagle circa 1940 | |
| Born | 1 November 1903 Birmingham, England |
| Died | 2 September 1984 (aged 80) Washington, D.C., United States |
| Occupation | Meteorologist |
Austen Harold Nagle (1 November 1903-2 September 1984) was an English aeronautical meteorologist who served as the first director of the Irish Meteorological Service, and president of World Meteorological Organisation's Commission for Aeronautical Meteorology.[1]
Life and family
Austen Harold Nagle[2] was born in Birmingham, England, on 1 November 1903.[3] He attended Imperial College of Science and Technology, University of London,[4] and was awarded an MSc.[3]
Nagle lived in Dundrum while director of the IMS, and was remembered by staff for buying fish on Moore Street, who presumed it was for his pet cats.[4]
His first marriage was to Rachel (Ruby) Chambers, with whom he had one daughter, Stephanie Yates. After Ruby's death in 1976, he married a second time to Olive. Nagle died in Washington on 2 September 1984.[1]
Career
From 1927 to 1938, Nagle worked for the British Meteorological Office (BMO) as Secretary of a Staff Association,[4] and had a central role in the organisation of meteorological work of the Royal Navy.[2] On 8 December 1936, he was appointed the first director of the newly founded Irish Meteorological Service (IMS).[3][5] At the time, there was a requirement for Irish civil servants to be Irish citizens, but this was overcome by the BMO assuring the Irish government officials that Nagle's "paternal grandparents Irish born of pure Irish stock present Irish attachments family and social" and through a public interest clause was invoked to employ him as a non-national.[2]
Prior to Nagle's appointment, all Irish weather forecasting was conducted by the BMO.[6] At the time of his appointment in 1936, he had 3 staff based in 14-15 St Andrew's Street, Dublin,[7] by 1946, the IMS had 241 staff.[5] The first proposed name for the service was the "Meteorological Section, Transport and Marine Branch, Department of Industry and Commerce", but Nagle objected, arguing it implied a limited scope for the new service and should reflect general forecasting as well. The new service was initially knows as "Saorstát Meteorological Service". He went on to define the roles and responsibilities of the new organisation.[2]
The initial immediate task for the IMS was to work from Foynes, and later other Irish airports, to provide weather forecasts for the emerging transatlantic aviation.[5] In this capacity, Nagle attended international conferences of the International Meteorological Organization (later the World Meteorological Organization).[8] In 1947, he was elected chair of the International Civil Aviation Organisation's weather meeting.[9]
He remained in Ireland until 1948, when he took up a post with the US Weather Bureau in Washington,[3] as an executive assistant to the chief of the Bureau, Francis Reichelderfer.[10] He recommended Mariano Doporto as his replacement in the IMS.[5] Brendan McWilliams noted that Nagle was remembered as "a tough and capable administrator".[11] On his arrival in Washington, Walter J. Moxom director of the first region of the New York branch of the Weather Bureau described Nagle as "the most valuable man in international meteorology".[12]
Nagle had hoped to be elected the first Secretary-General of the WMO, and he believed that being the US Weather Bureau would be a better sponsor than the IMS. He remained on the ballot until the final round, when he was defeated by David Arthur Davies, who had worked under Nagle in Foynes.[4] In 1957, Nagle was appointed WMO representative to Commission for Aeronautical Meteorology[13] and later serving as president.[4] He retired from the Bureau in 1973.[3]
He visited Ireland in June 1980 for the official opening of the new headquarters of the IMS in Glasnevin.[7]
References
- 1 2 "Obituary: Austen H. Nagle". The Washington Post. 5 September 1984. Retrieved 19 August 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 Keane, Tom (2012). Establishment of the Meteorological Service in Ireland: The Foynes Years, 1936-1945. Varsity Press. pp. 8–20. ISBN 9781908417183.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Mulcahy, Colm. "Irish Maths/Physics Meteorologists: July 2026". Mathematics Ireland. Retrieved 19 August 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Shields, Lisa, ed. (1987). The Irish Meteorological Service: The First Fifty Years 1936-1986. Dublin: The Stationery Office. pp. 6, 8. ISBN 0-7076-0030-8.
- 1 2 3 4 Siggins, Lorna (8 December 1986). "Met magicians cast a cold spell". The Irish Times. p. 11.
- ↑ Dillon, William (9 December 1986). "Met men's 50th splash". Irish Independent.
- 1 2 "Dublin 'pyramid' for weathermen". Cork Examiner. 20 June 1980.
- ↑ "Saorstat Expert at Paris Conference". The Irish Press. 19 November 1937. p. 1.
- ↑ "Irish Chairman of Weather Experts". The Irish Press. 19 September 1947. p. 1.
- ↑ "Weather Forecasting Will Be Modified". The Irish Times. 4 February 1950.
- ↑ McWilliams, Brendan (24 May 2002). "The past and present Taoisigh of weather". The Irish Times. p. 24.
- ↑ "RAIN MEETS WEATHER MAN; He Leaves Ireland to Escape It, Finds Plenty in City". The New York Times. 21 August 1948. Retrieved 19 August 2026.
- ↑ "October 1957 Overview". WMO Bulletin. VI (4): 143. 1957. Retrieved 19 August 2026.