History of Bedford County Pennsylvania United States of America

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William Ferrell, meteorologist, was born in Bedford county, Pa., Jan. 29, 1817. He became interested in astronomy in his boyhood and could predict eclipses with almost absolute precision. By his own efforts he acquired a college education, studying at Franklin college for two years and receiving his degree from Bethany college, Va., in 1844. He taught in Liberty, Mo., 1844-46; in Southern Kentucky, 1846-53;and in Nashville, Tenn., 1853-57. Meanwhile he devoted his leisure to the study of higher mathematics and astronomy and contributed occasionally to scientific periodicals. In 1857 he became assistant in the office of the American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac, Cambridge, Mass. In 1867 he was appointed an assistant on the coast survey, having charge of the tidal observations, resigning in 1882 to accept the chair of meteorology in the signal office in Washington, D.C. The maxima and minima tidal-predicting machine, described in Appendix No. 10 of the Report of the Coast and Geodetic Survey of 1883 was invented by him. He was elected a member of the National academy of sciences in 1868; was an associate fellow of the American academy of arts and sciences, and an honorary member of the meteorological societies of Austria, London, and Germany. He received the honorary degrees of A.M. and Ph.D. His published writings comprise over fifty papers, including Motions of Fluids and Solids relative to the Earth's Surface (1859); Determination of the Moon's Mass from Tidal Observations (1871); Converging Series Expressing the Ratio between the Diameter and the Circumference of a Circle (1871); Meteorological Researches: Part I., On the Mechanics and the General Motions of the Atmosphere (1877). Part II., On Cyclones, Tornadoes and Waterspouts (1888), and Part III., On Barometric Hypsometry and the Reduction of the Barometer to Sea Level (1882); Temperature of the Atmosphere and the Earth's Surface (1884); a textbook On the Recent Advances in Meteorology (1886); and A Popular Treatise on the Winds (1889). He died in Maywood, Ken., Sept. 18, 1891.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Robert W. Fyan, representative, was born in Bedford county, Pa., March 11, 1835; son of Robert and Alice Fyan. He was admitted to the bar and in 1858 removed to Missouri. On the breaking out of the civil war he volunteered in the Union army and went into active service as major of the 24th Missouri infantry. He was soon promoted to the colonelcy of the 46th Missouri infantry and in that capacity served throughout the war. At its close he was elected circuit attorney of the 14th Missouri judicial circuit and a year later judge of the same circuit, to which position he was re-elected in 1868, 1874 and 1880, and resigned in 1882 on being elected a representative in the 48th congress. He was a member of the constitutional convention of Oct. 30, 1875. He was also a Democratic representative from the thirteenth district of Missouri in the 52d and 53d congresses, 1891-95. He died in Marshfield, Mo., July 28, 1896.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Job Mann, representative, was born in Bedford county, Pa., March 31, 1795. He became clerk to the board of county commissioners in 1816; was register, recorder, and clerk of the courts of Bedford county, 1818-35; was a Democratic representative in the 24th congress, 1835-37; and was defeated for the 25th congress by Charles Ogle, Whig. He was admitted to the bar in 1839, practised in Bedford and was treasurer of Pennsylvania, 1842-48, and a representative in the 30th and 31st congresses, 1847-51. He died in Pennsylvania.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

History of Bedford County Pennsylvania

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