John Patterson

John Patterson (January 3, 1872 – February 22, 1956) was a Canadian physicist and meteorologist.

Born on a farm in Oxford County, Ontario, he was one of thirteen children of Francis Patterson and Annie (Telfer). He matriculated to the University of Toronto, graduating in 1900 with a B.A. in engineering, and was awarded a 1851 Exhibition Science Research Scholarship to study physics for his M.A. at the Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge. There he performed studies of thin metallic films and their electrical properties, ionization of the air, and the variation of electrical resistance of metals when exposed to magnetic fields.

Patterson traveled to India in 1903 where he served as professor of physics at the University of Allahabad, until in January 1905 he was named imperial meteorologist to the Government of India at Simla. On January 1, 1906, he was married to Margaret Norris, a medical practitioner and professor of obstetrics working in India. The couple would have two children, one of whom died in India. With John suffering from ill health, the couple left for Toronto with their son Arthur in 1910.

He became a physicist for the Canadian Meteorological Service, where he was responsible for organizing a pilot program for performing upper air observations using balloons. In 1912 he was placed in charge of the newly formed department of physics at the Central Office in Toronto. During the First World War, he worked for the British Admiralty to perform an experiment in extracting helium from natural gas. Following the war, he was involved in designing a new barometer and was responsible for developing the 3-cup anemometer now in widespread use. In 1925 he became assistant director of the Meteorological service, then in 1929 he was named director (controller), succeeding the retiring Sir Frederic Stupart. Patterson would hold this post until his retirement in 1946. He was elected to serve as president of the American Meteorological Society during 1930–31 and president of the Royal Canadian Institute in 1932–33.

In 1954, the Patterson Distinguished Service Medal was created in his honnor and attributed to him.