John Farrar

John Farrar (July 1, 1779 – May 8, 1853) was an American scholar. He first coined the concept of hurricanes as “a moving vortex and not the rushing forward of a great body of the atmosphere”, after the Great September Gale of 1815. Farrar remained Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy at Harvard University between 1807 and 1836. During this time, he introduced modern mathematics into the curriculum. He was also a regular contributor to the scientific journals. Life and works After attending Phillips Academy, Andover, and graduating from Harvard in 1803. In 1805, he was appointed Greek tutor at Harvard. Farrar was chosen Hollis Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy in 1807. He retained the chair till 1836, when he resigned in consequence of a painful illness that finally caused his death. His second wife, Eliza Ware Farrar (née Rotch), was Flemish. She married him in 1828. She authored several children's books. Farrar maintained weather records between 1807 and 1817 at Cambridge, Massachusetts. For the 23 September 1815 hurricane, he particularly noted the shape as "a moving vortex". He also observed the veering of the wind, and its different times of subsequent impacts on the cities of Boston and New York City. Farrar was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1808, and a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1814.