Wilson Bentley, American meteorologist and photographer (b. 1865)
Wilson Alwyn Bentley (February 9, 1865 – December 23, 1931), also known as Snowflake Bentley, was an American meteorologist and photographer, who was the first known person to take detailed photographs of snowflakes and record their features. He perfected a process of catching flakes on black velvet in such a way that their images could be captured before they either melted or sublimated.
Kenneth G. Libbrecht notes that the techniques used by Bentley to photograph snowflakes are essentially the same as those used today, and that while the quality of his photographs reflects the technical limitations of the equipment of the era, "he did it so well that hardly anybody bothered to photograph snowflakes for almost 100 years". The broadest collection of Bentley's photographs is held by the Jericho Historical Society in his home town, Jericho, Vermont.
Bentley donated his collection of original glass-plate photomicrographs of snow crystals to the Buffalo Museum of Science. A portion of this collection has been digitized and organized into a digital library.
1931Dec, 23
Wilson Bentley
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Events on 1931
- 20Feb
San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge
The Congress of the United States approves the construction of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge by the state of California. - 19Mar
Nevada
Gambling is legalized in Nevada. - 23Mar
Indian independence movement
Bhagat Singh, Shivaram Rajguru and Sukhdev Thapar are hanged for the killing of a deputy superintendent of police during the Indian struggle for independence. - 1Oct
Women's suffrage
Spain adopts women's suffrage. - 7Nov
October Revolution
The Chinese Soviet Republic is proclaimed on the anniversary of the October Revolution.