George James Symons Deserves a Statue

Rain. We love it, loathe it, measure it, and take great pleasure in talking about it. But when we talk about ‘since records began’, most people don’t know what ‘records’ and when exactly they began.

In 1866, George James Symons published the first annual report of rainfall statistics in Britain. Apart from their scientific interest, these annual reports were of great practical importance, since they afforded engineers and others engaged in water supply much-needed data for their calculations, the former absence of which had on some occasions given rise to grave mistakes.

Symons himself devoted special study not only to rainfall, but also to the evaporation and percolation of water as affecting underground streams, and his extensive knowledge rendered him a valuable witness before parliamentary committees. He was responsible for the first systematic recording of rainfall patterns in Britain and Ireland, and never received any payment for his work.

His grave currently lies in Kensal Green Cemetary, London, unmarked plot. A lasting memorial to this great mind, whether graveside or elsewhere, is long overdue.

Please sign this petition, which will then be handed to the Royal Meteorological Society to ask for a memorial for this great Britain.