Frances L. Whedon
An older white woman with white hair, wearing glasses and a light-colored dress in front of an American flag
Frances L. Whedon, from a 1960 publication of the United States Army
Born
Frances Louisa Bliven

August 27, 1902
Provincetown, Massachusetts
DiedDecember 15, 1998 (1998-12-16) (aged 96)
Fairfax, Virginia
Occupation(s)Staff meteorologist, Army Research Office

Frances Louisa Bliven Whedon (August 27, 1902 – December 15, 1998) was an American meteorologist with the United States Army from 1942 to 1971, first as chief of the Signal Corps's meteorological section, and later as staff meteorologist at the Army Research Office. She twice received the Meritorious Civilian Service Award (in 1946 and 1962), and once the Exceptional Civilian Service Award (in 1971).

Early life

Frances L. Bliven was born in Provincetown, Massachusetts, the daughter of Charles Francis Bliven and Frances Eleanor Cates Bliven. Her father was a dentist.[1] She earned a bachelor's degree in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1924.[2][3]

Career

Whedon was a prominent civilian woman in the United States Army's weather services,[4][5][6] first as chief of the meteorological section of the Signal Corps from 1947 to 1959,[7][8][9] and later as staff meteorologist at the Army Research Office from 1959 to her retirement in 1971.[10][11] She served as the Army's representative on teams overseeing the use of high-altitude balloons, small rockets, and satellites for atmospheric research. She was also involved in International Geophysical Year programs,[12] and in Project Cirrus, a joint military effort to create weather modification technologies to facilitate tactical operations.[13] "Women scientists have demonstrated they can be equally competent, if well trained, when given equal opportunities", she said in a 1960 publication.[2] She received the Meritorious Civilian Service Award in 1946 and 1962.[14][15]

In 1958 Whedon was appointed to the American Meteorological Society's Committee for the Encouragement of Meteorological Research.[16] In 1961, she spoke at a Paris conference on exterior ballistics in 1961,[17] and chaired a session at the Conference on the Status of Meteorological Rocketry in Texas.[18][19][20] In 1962, she attended the international Conference for the Planning of Research in Tropical Meteorology, held in New Jersey,[21] and chaired a session at the Fourth Conference on Applied Meteorology in Virginia.[22] She was the Army's point of contact for activities surrounding the 1970 total solar eclipse.[23] In 1971, she received the Exceptional Civilian Service Award,[11] and was nominated for the Federal Woman's Award.[3]

Fellow MIT physics alumna and engineer Virginia Tower Norwood recalled Whedon's assistance with access to wind and temperature data: "She had been absolutely brusque with the men, but she took a shine to me."[24]

Selected publications

  • "The Role of Micrometeorology in the Army" (1965)[25]
  • "Small-Scale Atmospheric Modification" (1972, with David A. Lawson)[26]

Personal life

Bliven was married to William Edward Whedon; they had a daughter, and later divorced. Whedon died in 1998, aged 96 years, at a hospital in Fairfax, Virginia.[27]

References

  1. ↑ Eads, Jane (1951-11-07). "Rockets or Cakes; Woman Understands Both". The La Crosse Tribune. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-10-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. 1 2 "Mrs. Whedon Exemplifies Important Role Women May Achieve in Defense Research". Army Research & Development Newsmagazine. 1: 11. December 1960.
  3. 1 2 "Army Nominates 6 Employed in R&D for Annual Federal Woman's Award". Army Research & Development Newsmagazine. 12: 18. January–February 1971.
  4. ↑ Williams, Kathleen Broome (2001). Improbable Warriors: Women Scientists and the U.S. Navy in World War II. Naval Institute Press. p. 82. ISBN 978-1-55750-961-1.
  5. ↑ Bates, Charles Carpenter; Fuller, John Frederick (1986). America's Weather Warriors, 1814-1985. Texas A&M University Press. pp. viii. ISBN 978-0-89096-240-4.
  6. ↑ "Leading Meteorologists". Asbury Park Press. 1955-09-15. p. 3. Retrieved 2021-10-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ Bates, Charles C. (1996). "Comments on "WAVES Forecasters in World War II (with a Brief Survey of Other Women Meteorologists in World War II)"". Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 77 (7): 1586. ISSN 0003-0007. JSTOR 26233235.
  8. ↑ "Women in Meteorology". Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 39: 602–603. November 1958. JSTOR 26244979 – via JSTOR.
  9. ↑ Fuller, John (2015-03-30). Thor's Legions: Weather Support to the U.S. Air Force and Army, 1937-1987. Springer. p. 50. ISBN 978-1-935704-14-0.
  10. ↑ "News and Notes: U.S. Army Environmental Sciences Division Moves to Arlington, Va". Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 43 (12): 703. 1962. ISSN 0003-0007. JSTOR 26246617.
  11. 1 2 "Kudos". Army Research & Development Newsmagazine. 12: 46. July–August 1961.
  12. ↑ "Signal Corps Will Play Role in Geophysical Year Project". The Daily Record. 1955-12-22. p. 9. Retrieved 2021-10-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ National Science Foundation (U.S.) (1962). Weather Modification: Annual Report. National Science Foundation. pp. 78–79.
  14. ↑ "Army Gives Awards to 3 from Area" Northern Virginia Son (July 23, 1962): 12. via Virginia Chronicle
  15. ↑ "Army Research Office Personnel Cited for Meritorious Service". Army Research & Development Newsmagazine. 3: 16. July 1962.
  16. ↑ "Minutes of the Council". Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 39 (9): 477–478. 1958-09-01. doi:10.1175/1520-0477-39.9.477. ISSN 0003-0007.
  17. ↑ "Weather Experts Decide More Research Needed to Design Proper Equipment". Army Research & Development Magazine. 2: 9. October 1961.
  18. ↑ Funkhouser, Barbara (1961-12-06). "Top Woman Scientist Presides at Meeting". El Paso Times. p. 1. Retrieved 2021-10-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ↑ Schumaker, Robert L. (1962). "The Status of Meteorological Rocketry". Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 43 (4): 131–133. doi:10.1175/1520-0477-43.4.131. ISSN 0003-0007. JSTOR 26247010.
  20. ↑ "Control of Weather? Not Anytime Soon!". El Paso Herald-Post. 1961-12-06. p. 1. Retrieved 2021-10-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ↑ Portig, Wilfried H. (1963). "Conference for the Planning of Research in Tropical Meteorology". Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 44 (2): 79–82. doi:10.1175/1520-0477-44.2.79. ISSN 0003-0007. JSTOR 26247109.
  22. ↑ "Program of the Fourth Conference on Applied Meteorology of the American Meteorological Society, September 10–14, 1962, Hampton, Virginia". Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 43 (7): 310. 1962. ISSN 0003-0007. JSTOR 26246651.
  23. ↑ National Science Foundation (U.S.) (1970). Solar Eclipse 1970 Bulletin: F (final Bulletin) Program for Observations of the Total Solar Eclipse, March 7, 1970. National Science Foundation. p. 35.
  24. ↑ Dragoon, Alice (June 29, 2021). "The woman who brought us the world". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved 2021-10-23.
  25. ↑ Frances L. Whedon, "The Role of Micrometeorology in the Army" Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 46(4)(April 1965): 194-195).
  26. ↑ Lawson, David A.; Whedon, Frances L. (1972-01-01). "Small-Scale Atmospheric Modification". Defense Technical Information Center. Archived from the original on January 23, 2021.
  27. ↑ "Obituaries". The Washington Post. December 18, 1998. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
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