John Waterhouse

John Waterhouse (3 August 1806 – 13 February 1879) was a British astronomer and meteorologist who invented Waterhouse stops. He was born at Well Head House in Halifax, Yorkshire the eldest son of John and Grace Elizabeth (née Rawson) Waterhouse. Well Head had extensive gardens with greenhouses and a staff of 6 gardeners. They cultivated exotic ferns, including a todea superba which Waterhouse had imported from New Zealand in 1860 and which is now at Kew Gardens. At the house, he built an observatory and meteorological station. Louis John Crossley studied at his laboratory. In 1834 he was President of the Halifax Mechanics' Institute. In the same year he was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society. He was also a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. In 1839 he travelled around the world for health reasons.