‘Weather history’ book centres on 17th century Cruquius

CRUQUIUS - The newest volume in an ongoing series of history books on the weather in the Netherlands during the previous Millennium, has 17th century meteorologist Nicolaus Cruquius as the protagonist. In his fifth book, author Jan Buisman deals with the era between 1675 and 1750, when Celsius, Fahrenheit, Boerhaave and others made a name for themselves. Cruquius, the Latinized version of the Dutch surname Kruk, was a multi-discipline scientist who in the beginning of the 18th century recorded weather patterns and data, eventually taken over by others, including the current meteorological institute KNMI. A steam pumping station, now a museum, in the Haarlemmermeerpolder near Amsterdam, was named after Cruquius, in recognition of his meteorological pioneering.