Joseph Baxendell

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Joseph Baxendell FRS FRAS (1815–1887) was a British meteorologist and astronomer. He was born in Manchester on 19 April 1815, the son of Thomas Baxendell and Mary (née Shepley). He left school at fourteen, but his love of science was encouraged by his mother and his headmaster. Six years at sea sharpened his powers of observation; in 1833 he witnessed a meteor shower in the Pacific. He left seafaring in 1835 and returned to Manchester, where he briefly worked as an estate agent.

Back in Manchester, Baxendell quietly pursued astronomy and meteorology, using the observatory of his friend Robert Worthington at Crumpsall Hall. His first contribution to the Royal Astronomical Society appeared in 1849. He also wrote for the Royal Society’s Proceedings and other journals, but much of his work was for the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society. He joined the society in 1858, became a council member in 1859, and in 1861 became joint Secretary and Editor of the Proceedings, roles he held for many years.

His work covered both astronomy and meteorology. He made important astronomical observations, especially catalogues of variable stars. He helped establish links between meteorology, terrestrial magnetism, and solar physics. He also proposed practical uses of meteorology, notably storm signals, which led to some controversy with the Board of Trade. He predicted the drought of 1868 and helped Manchester manage its water supply, and he once predicted an epidemic in Southport.

In 1859 Baxendell became astronomer to the Manchester Corporation. He later oversaw the Fernley meteorological observatory at Hesketh Park, Southport, and was appointed meteorologist to Southport. He served on the Crumpsall Local Board from 1873 to 1877. His scientific output was substantial; the Royal Society’s Catalogue lists 67 contributions. In later years he lived at Birkdale, near Southport, and died there on 7 October 1887, aged 72.

In his personal life, Baxendell married Mary Anne Pogson in 1865, who was the sister of Norman Robert Pogson, government astronomer for Madras. They had one son, also named Joseph Baxendell, who followed his father as meteorologist to the Southport Corporation. Baxendell was a churchman and a staunch Anglo-Israelite.