Data acquisition and keypunching codes for marine meteorological observations at the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, 1854–1968

Halfway the 19th century, the American lieutenant Matthew Fontaine Maury (see Figure d) was the first who organised an attempt to collect weather observations from the world’s oceans. Using meteorological and oceanographic information reported in the ships’ logbooks, he was able to compile climatological Wind and Current Charts of the various oceans (Maury, 1851). With the help of these monthly climatological charts, the so-called Pilot Charts, the average duration of the ocean passages of sailing ships reduced dramatically. The Netherlands showed a growing interest in these charts. The Dutch Navy officer Marin Henry Jansen (see Figure a) travelled to America in 1852 to meet Maury in Washington. Maury and Jansen became good friends and discussed the possibilities to exchange American Pilot Charts for Dutch marine observations. Once back in the Netherlands, Jansen took several steps to encourage Dutch ship owners and captains to use this American system (Van Driest, 1946).