Tatiana Yurievna Feklova,
Candidate of History Sciences, Saint-Petersburg Branch of the Institute for the History of Science and Technology named by S.I. Vavilov, Russian Academy of sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia, e‑mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Magneto-Meteorological Stations of the Saint-Petersburg’s Academy of Sciences in China in the Second Half of the 19th Century
DOI: 10.31518/2618-9100-2023-3-15
Currently, the world community actively raises the issue of the anthropogenic influence on the climate. However, it should be noted that the instrumental weather measurement only started in the second half of the 19th century and cannot give the whole picture of the long-term processes of climate change. In the 19th century meteorology began to develop as an independent science in Russia and the world. In the second half of the 19th century permanent magneto-meteorological stations and observatories were established. They were equipped with a unified methodological and instrumental apparatus for meteorological research. At the same time meteorological investigations moved far beyond metropolises. At the beginning of the 18th century a Russian Orthodox mission was organized in China. In 1848 a Magneto-meteorological observatory was established on its territory. The observatory became the first European magneto-meteorological observatory in China. Information about the observations was being transmitted to the Saint-Petersburg Academy of Sciences. In 1862, the observatory in Beijing was transferred into the jurisdiction of the Academy of Sciences. The director of the Beijing Observatory, G.A. Fritsche organized several stations on the territory of China and Mongolia (stations in Urga, Kalgan, Kyakhta). Observations at the stations were carried out for a short time and by non-specialists, but those stations were very important as they collected and accumulated information about the weather conditions of China.
Publishing: 28/06/2023
The article has been received by the editor on 16/02/2023
How to cite: Feklova T.Yu. Magneto-Meteorological Stations of the Saint-Petersburg’s Academy of Sciences in China in the Second Half of the 19th Century // Historical Courier, 2023, No. 3 (29), pp. 179–188. [Available online: http://istkurier.ru/data/2023/ISTKURIER-2023-3-15.pdf]
Links: Issue 3 2023
Keywords: China; Beijing; meteorology; observatory; station; G.A. Fritsche