Virtual Museum of Art | Virtual Museum of History | Virtual Public Library | Virtual Science Center | Virtual Museum of Natural History | Virtual War Museum
   You are in: Museum of History >> Hall of North and South Americans >> Robert Allen Coffin





The Seven Flags of the New Orleans Tri-Centennial 1718-2018

For more information go to New Orleans 300th Birthday

 

Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography, edited by James Grant Wilson, John Fiske and Stanley L. Klos. Six volumes, New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1887-1889 and 1999. Virtualology.com warns that these 19th Century biographies contain errors and bias. We rely on volunteers to edit the historic biographies on a continual basis. If you would like to edit this biography please submit a rewritten biography in text form . If acceptable, the new biography will be published above the 19th Century Appleton's Cyclopedia Biography citing the volunteer editor




Virtual American Biographies

Over 30,000 personalities with thousands of 19th Century illustrations, signatures, and exceptional life stories. Virtualology.com welcomes editing and additions to the biographies. To become this site's editor or a contributor Click Here or e-mail Virtualology here.



A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

 



Robert Allen Coffin

A Stan Klos Edited Biography

COFFIN, Robert Allen, educator, born in Williamsburg, Massachusetts, 23 August, 1801; died in Conway, Massachusetts, 4 September, 1878. He was graduated at Amherst in 1825, after which he taught in Northampton, and became principal of academies in New Ipswich, New Hampshire, Warren, Rhode Island, New Bedford, Massachusetts, and elsewhere.

 

His last years were spent in Conway, Massachusetts, where he was chiefly employed as an accountant, though giving instruction almost to the last. In 1856-'7 he represented Conway in the Massachusetts legislature. Mr. Coffin was an occasional contributor to the religious magazines, and published "Compendium of Natural Philosophy" (New York, 1844); " Town Organization: its Uses and Advantages," a prize essay (Boston, 1845); and "History of Conway" (Northampton, 1867).

 

--His brother, James Henry Coffin, meteorologist, born in Williamsburg, Massachusetts, 6 September, 1806: died in Easton, Pennsylvania, 6 February, 1873. He was graduated at Amherst in 1828, supporting himself by teaching in a private school in Berkshire County. In 1829 he established the Fellenberg academy in Greenfield, Massachusetts, the first and most successful manual-labor school in the country. From 1837 till 1840 he was principal of the Ogdensburg, New York, academy, and while there he began his investigations in meteorology.

 

In 1840 he was elected a tutor in Williams, and erected an observatory upon the Greylock peak of Saddle mountain, at a height of nearly 4,000 feet above the ocean, where continuous observations were taken by a self-registering anemometer which he devised. From 1843 till 1846 he was principal of the Norwalk, Connecticut, academy, and then was elected to the chair of mathematics and astronomy in Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania, where he remained until his death. Prof. Coffin's reputation depends chiefly upon his work in meteorology. In 1853 he announced before the American association for the advancement of science his theory of atmospheric circulation, including the principle, quoted in Europe since 1860 as "Buys-Ballot's Law."

 

Besides the numerous valuable papers published in the transactions and proceedings of the societies of which he was a member, there appeared among the publications of the Smithsonian institution "Winds of the Northern Hemisphere" (1853); "Psychrometrical Tables " (1856); " The Orbit and Phenomena of a Meteoric Fire Ball" (1869); and "The Winds of the Globe, or the Laws of Atmospheric Circulation over the Surface of the Earth" (1875). The two large quarto volumes of the "Results of Meteorological Observations for 1854-'9" were edited for the Smithsonian institution by him. He also published "Exercises in Book-keeping" and "Key" (Greenfield, 1835); "Elements of Conic Sections and Analytical Geometry" (New York, 1849); "Key" (1854); and "Solar and Lunar Eclipses" (1845).

 

Prof. Coffin was one of the early members of the National academy of sciences, and a sketch of his life by Arnold Guyot appears in the "Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences" (Washington, 1877). See also "Life" by John C. Clyde (Easton, 1882).

 

--His son, Selden Jennings Coffin, educator, born in Ogdensburg, New York, 3 August, 1838, was graduated at Lafayette in 1858, and at Princeton theological seminary in 1864. During the same year he became connected with Lafayette College, where he has held the offices of tutor and adjunct professor of mathematics. On the death of his father in 1873 he became professor of mathematics and astronomy, and in 1874 was ordained by the presbytery of Lehigh. In 1876 he was commissioned by the state of Pennsylvania to secure the "College exhibits" for the educational building at the Centennial exhibition.

 

Prof. Coffin has served on various committees of the American association for the advancement of science, and has been a frequent contributor to the scientific journals of articles on meteorology. Besides minor biographical pamphlets, he has published "Record of the Men of Lafayette" (Easton, 1879), and revised "Olmsted's Astronomy" (New York, 1882). He has also completed "The Winds of the Globe" (Washington, 1875), written by his father, said to be the largest collection of numerical tables ever published in the United States.

 

Edited Appletons Encyclopedia by John Looby, Copyright © 2001 StanKlos.comTM

COFFIN, Robert Allen, educator, born in Williamsburg, Massachusetts, 23 August, 1801; died in Conway, Massachusetts, 4 September, 1878. He was graduated at Amherst in 1825, after which he taught in Northampton, and became principal of academies in New Ipswich, New Hampshire, Warren, Rhode Island, New Bedford, Massachusetts, and elsewhere. His last years were spent in Conway, Massachusetts, where he was chiefly employed as an accountant, though giving instruction almost to the last. In 1856-'7 ha ropresented Conway in the Massachusetts legislature. Mr. Coffin was an occasional contributor to the religious magazines, and published "Compendium of Natural Philosophy" (New York, 1844); " Town Organization: its Uses and Advantages," a prize essay (Boston, 1845); and "History of Conway" (Northampton, 1867).--His brother, James Henry, meteorologist, born in Williamsburg, Massachusetts, 6 September, 1806: died in Easton, Pennsylvania, 6 February, 1873. He was graduated at Amherst in 1828, supporting himself by teaching in a private school in Berkshire county. In 1829 he established the Fellenberg academy in 676 COFFIN Greenfield, Massachusetts, the first and most successful manual-labor school in the country. From 1837 till 1840 he was principal of the Ogdensburg, New York, academy, and while there he began his investigations in meteorology. In 1840 he was elected a tutor in Williams, and erected an observatory upon the Greylock peak of Saddle mountain, at a height of nearly 4,000 feet above the ocean, where continuous observations were taken by a self-registering anemometer which he devised. From 1843 till 1846 he was principal of the Norwalk, Connecticut, academy, and then was elected to the chair of mathematics and astronomy in Lafayette College, East-on, Pennsylvania, where he remained until his death. Prof. Coffin's reputation depends chiefly upon his work in meteorology. In 1853 he announced before the American association for the advancement of science his theory of atmospheric circulation, including the principle, quoted in Europe since 1860 as " Buys-Ballot's Law." Besides the numerous valuable papers published in the transactions and proceedings of the societies of which he was a member, there appeared among the publications of the Smithsonian institution " Winds of the Northern Hemisphere" (1853); "Psychrometrical Tables " (1856); " The Orbit and Phenomena of a Meteoric Fire Ball" (1869); and " The Winds of the Globe, or the Laws of Atmospheric Circulation over the Surface of the Earth" (1875). The two large quarto volumes of the "Results of Meteorological Observations for 1854-'9" were edited for the Smithsonian institution by him. He also published "Exercises in Book-keeping" and "Key" (Greenfield, 1835); "Elements of Conic Sections and Analytical Geometry" (New York, 1849); "Key" (1854); and "Solar and Lunar Eclipses" (1845). Prof. Coffin was one of the early members of the National academy of sciences, and a sketch of his life by Arnold Guyot appears in the "Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences" (Washington, 1877). See also "Life" by John C. Clyde (Easton, 1882).--His son, Selden Jennings, educator, born in Ogdensburg, New York, 3 August, 1838, was graduated at Lafayette in 1858, and at Princeton theological seminary in 1864. During the same year he became connected with Lafayette College, where he has held the offices of tutor and adjunct professor of mathematics. On the death of his father in 1873 he became professor of mathematics and astronomy, and in 1874 was ordained by the presbytery of Lehigh. In 1876 he was commissioned by the state of Pennsylvania to secure the "College exhibits" for the educational building at the Centennial exhibition. Prof. Coffin has served on various committees of the American association for the advancement of science, and has been a frequent contributor to the scientific journals of articles on meteorology. Besides minor biographical pamphlets, he has published "Record of the Men of Lafayette" (Easton, 1879), and revised "Olmsted's Astronomy" (New York, 1882). He has also completed "The Winds of the Globe" (Washington, 1875), written by his father, said to be the largest collection of numerical tables ever published in the United States.

Edited Appletons Encyclopedia, Copyright © 2001 VirtualologyTM

Start your search on Robert Allen Coffin.


 

 


 


Unauthorized Site: This site and its contents are not affiliated, connected, associated with or authorized by the individual, family, friends, or trademarked entities utilizing any part or the subject's entire name. Any official or affiliated sites that are related to this subject will be hyper linked below upon submission and Evisum, Inc. review.

Copyright© 2000 by Evisum Inc.TM. All rights reserved.
Evisum Inc.TM Privacy Policy

Search:

About Us

 

 

Image Use

Please join us in our mission to incorporate The Congressional Evolution of the United States of America discovery-based curriculum into the classroom of every primary and secondary school in the United States of America by July 2, 2026, the nation’s 250th birthday. , the United States of America: We The People Click Here

 

Historic Documents

Articles of Association

Articles of Confederation 1775

Articles of Confederation

Article the First

Coin Act

Declaration of Independence

Declaration of Independence

Emancipation Proclamation

Gettysburg Address

Monroe Doctrine

Northwest Ordinance

No Taxation Without Representation

Thanksgiving Proclamations

Mayflower Compact

Treaty of Paris 1763

Treaty of Paris 1783

Treaty of Versailles

United Nations Charter

United States In Congress Assembled

US Bill of Rights

United States Constitution

US Continental Congress

US Constitution of 1777

US Constitution of 1787

Virginia Declaration of Rights

 

Historic Events

Battle of New Orleans

Battle of Yorktown

Cabinet Room

Civil Rights Movement

Federalist Papers

Fort Duquesne

Fort Necessity

Fort Pitt

French and Indian War

Jumonville Glen

Manhattan Project

Stamp Act Congress

Underground Railroad

US Hospitality

US Presidency

Vietnam War

War of 1812

West Virginia Statehood

Woman Suffrage

World War I

World War II

 

Is it Real?



Declaration of
Independence

Digital Authentication
Click Here

 

America’s Four Republics
The More or Less United States

 
Continental Congress
U.C. Presidents

Peyton Randolph

Henry Middleton

Peyton Randolph

John Hancock

  

Continental Congress
U.S. Presidents

John Hancock

Henry Laurens

John Jay

Samuel Huntington

  

Constitution of 1777
U.S. Presidents

Samuel Huntington

Samuel Johnston
Elected but declined the office

Thomas McKean

John Hanson

Elias Boudinot

Thomas Mifflin

Richard Henry Lee

John Hancock
[
Chairman David Ramsay]

Nathaniel Gorham

Arthur St. Clair

Cyrus Griffin

  

Constitution of 1787
U.S. Presidents

George Washington 

John Adams
Federalist Party


Thomas Jefferson
Republican* Party

James Madison 
Republican* Party

James Monroe
Republican* Party

John Quincy Adams
Republican* Party
Whig Party

Andrew Jackson
Republican* Party
Democratic Party


Martin Van Buren
Democratic Party

William H. Harrison
Whig Party

John Tyler
Whig Party

James K. Polk
Democratic Party

David Atchison**
Democratic Party

Zachary Taylor
Whig Party

Millard Fillmore
Whig Party

Franklin Pierce
Democratic Party

James Buchanan
Democratic Party


Abraham Lincoln 
Republican Party

Jefferson Davis***
Democratic Party

Andrew Johnson
Republican Party

Ulysses S. Grant 
Republican Party

Rutherford B. Hayes
Republican Party

James A. Garfield
Republican Party

Chester Arthur 
Republican Party

Grover Cleveland
Democratic Party

Benjamin Harrison
Republican Party

Grover Cleveland 
Democratic Party

William McKinley
Republican Party

Theodore Roosevelt
Republican Party

William H. Taft 
Republican Party

Woodrow Wilson
Democratic Party

Warren G. Harding 
Republican Party

Calvin Coolidge
Republican Party

Herbert C. Hoover
Republican Party

Franklin D. Roosevelt
Democratic Party

Harry S. Truman
Democratic Party

Dwight D. Eisenhower
Republican Party

John F. Kennedy
Democratic Party

Lyndon B. Johnson 
Democratic Party 

Richard M. Nixon 
Republican Party

Gerald R. Ford 
Republican Party

James Earl Carter, Jr. 
Democratic Party

Ronald Wilson Reagan 
Republican Party

George H. W. Bush
Republican Party 

William Jefferson Clinton
Democratic Party

George W. Bush 
Republican Party

Barack H. Obama
Democratic Party

Please Visit

Forgotten Founders
Norwich, CT

Annapolis Continental
Congress Society


U.S. Presidency
& Hospitality

© Stan Klos

 

 

 

 


Virtual Museum of Art | Virtual Museum of History | Virtual Public Library | Virtual Science Center | Virtual Museum of Natural History | Virtual War Museum