Tempest Anderson

Tempest Anderson D.Sc
Portrait of a balding middle-age man with grey hair and beard, wearing a dark overcoat over a blue jacket and white shirt. Portrait of Tempest Anderson by Irish artist William Orpen. It currently resides in the Yorkshire Museum's Tempest Anderson Hall.
Born	Tempest Anderson (1846-12-07)7 December 1846 York
Died	Red Sea
Nationality	British
Alma mater	St Peter's School, York University College London Honorary degree from the University of Leeds
Occupation	Ophthalmic surgeon
Organization	President of the Yorkshire Philosophical Society
Known for	Early amateur photography, vulcanology and gifting the Tempest Anderson Hall to the Yorkshire Philosophical Society.

Tempest Anderson (7 December 1846 – 26 August 1913) was an ophthalmic surgeon at York County Hospital in the United Kingdom, and an expert amateur photographer and vulcanologist. He was a member of the Royal Society Commission which was appointed to investigate the aftermath of the eruptions of Soufriere volcano, St Vincent and Mont Pelee, Martinique, West Indies which both erupted in May 1902. Some of his photographs of these eruptions were subsequently published in his book, Volcanic Studies in Many Lands.

Early life and education

He was born in York, and was schooled at St Peter's School, York and studied medicine at the University of London. His father was William Charles Anderson, surgeon and Sheriff of York. His sister Constance married Percy Sladen, and his brother was Yarborough Anderson, a barrister. In 1904 Anderson received an honorary degree of DSc from the University of Leeds for his work on volcanoes.

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The plaque outside Anderson's house in Stonegate

Anderson lived at the family home of 17 Stonegate in the centre of York. He built a pair of houses on the road now known as Moorgate, on land purchased from the Holgate Garden Society. In 1911 Anderson was made one of the vice-presidents of the Old Peterite Club at St Peter's School, York.

Death and legacy

He was President of the Yorkshire Philosophical Society, and in 1912 he presented the society with a 300-seat lecture theatre (the Tempest Anderson Hall) attached to the Yorkshire Museum in York Museum Gardens. This was one of the world's first concrete buildings. He died on board ship on the Red Sea while returning from visiting the volcanoes of Indonesia and the Philippines. He was buried in Suez, Egypt. After his death, the houses he had built were left to his cousin, Colonel Fearnley Anderson.. He also bequeathed a substantial sum to the Yorkshire Museum.

Expeditions

The expeditions of Tempest Anderson

Year	Destinations	Publications	Example photograph
1883	Eifel area of Germany
1885	Southern France (Auvergne, Ardeche, Cantal		A basalt neck at Buron near Coudes, Southern France
1888	Italy (Naples, Vesuvius, Etna, Vulcano)
1889	Italy (Sicily, Vulcano, Stromboli), The Alps, Western Norway
1890	Iceland
1891	Canary Islands and Madeira
1893	Iceland
1894	Southern France
1895	French Alps
1896	Swiss and French Alps
1898	Swiss and French Alps, Italy (Naples, Vesuvius)
1899	Swiss Alps
1900	Western U.S.A, Eastern U.S.A
1901	Southern France, the Alps
1902	West Indies (Barbados, St Vincent, Martinique, Dominica), Southern France
1903	Egypt (?)
1904	Egypt (?), Italy (Vesuvius, Vulcano, Stromboli)
1905	Southern Africa (with the British Association)
1906	Italy (Vesuvius)
1906-1907	West Indies and Central America (Mexico, Guatemala, St Vincent, Martinique, Jamaica and Barbados)
1909	Pacific and Western North America (Samoa, Hawaii, New Zealand, Canadian Rockies, Winnipeg)
1910	Italy (?)
1911	Southern France
1913	Indonesia (Java, Krakatoa), The Philippines (died on the return voyage at Suez)

Mexico, Guatemala and the West Indies

Tempest Anderson spent nine months in Mexico, Guatemala and the West Indies in 1906/1907. He travelled to Mexico to attend the 10th Congres Geologique International before sailing by mail steamer to Guatemala to study the after effects of the 1902 earthquake and subsequent tidal wave. During the trip he observed and photographed Cerro Quemado, Santa Maria, and Atitlan. During this trip he collected first hand accounts of the 1902 eruption of the Santa Maria and the immediate aftermath. Captain Saunders of the Pacific Mail Steamer S.S. Newport observed the eruption cloud which rose to a great height. The Captain measured it using a sextant and recorded it as reaching 17 to 18 miles. The sounds accompanying the eruption were loud and were heard even louder at more distant places than close to the mountain. The eruption was heard as far away as Guatemala City, the noises so strong, they were assumed to come from neighbouring volcanoes.

Publications

Articles

Books