earth science

Weatherbird

Weatherbird is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Weatherbird rather than just read about it. In short: The Weatherbird is a cartoon character and a single-panel comic. It is printed on the front of the St.

Key takeaways

Weatherbird belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Weatherbird to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Weatherbird from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Weatherbird is a cartoon character and a single-panel comic. It is printed on the front of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and has been in the paper continuously since 1901, making it the longest-running American newspaper cartoon and a mascot of the newspaper.

Cartoonists The Weatherbird, in its long run, has been drawn by just six cartoonists (three of them, by coincidence, named Martin):

Harry B. Martin (1901 – 1903) Oscar Chopin (1903 – 1910) S. Carlisle Martin (1910 – 1932) Amadee Wohlschlaeger (1932 – 1981) Albert Schweitzer (1981 – 1986) Dan Martin (1986 – present (as of 2021))

The character first appeared on February 11, 1901, Harry B. Martin originated the character, which was originally called "Dickey Bird" ('dicky-bird' is a generic slang term for any small bird). Martin had originally intended to rotate through just a few versions of the bird – one for rain, one for heat, etc. – but readers asked for a new drawing each day, which he then provided. Martin later moved to New York where he drew the strips It Happened in Birdland (1907–1909) and Inbad the Tailor (1911–1912, for the New York American). Martin became a golf correspondent and an authority on golf (writing 15 books on the subject) and a founder of the American PGA. Oscar Charles Chopin (1873 – 1932) inherited the Weatherbird from Martin, drawing it until 1910.

S. Carlisle Martin took over the Weatherbird in 1910. He started the tradition of making the Weatherbird comment on the news in addition to the weather, and started a pattern of six words or less for the bird's comments. He was assisted by Carlos Hurd, and drew the Weatherbird until his death in 1932. In 1912, the Post-Dispatch began running a full-page, multiple-panel color strip on Sunday, titled "Jinx and the Weather Bird Family", and featuring the Weatherbird (called "George" in the strip), his wife, and their mischievous Katzenjammer Kids-like children in various putatively comical escapades. (Jinx was an imp who observed or initiated the hijinks; later the strip was later retitled to just "The Weather Bird Family".) Carlisle Martin drew the strip, but the scripts were by Jean Knott, who later drew and wrote strips in New York. The strip apparently did not last past 1912. Amadee Wohlschlaeger had the longest tenure as Weatherbird artist: just short of fifty years. Wohlschlaeger was also the Post-Dispatch sports page cartoonist and drew for the Sporting News. Wohlschlaeger recalled that when barely out of his teens "I was doing sports art for the Post and when Carlisle died, I stayed up all night and drew 12 Weatherbirds so I could put them on the feature editor's desk the next morning. The feature editor grabbed me later in the day and said, 'You've got the job'". Wohlschlaeger retired in 1981 and lived until age 102, in 2014.

In his nearly half-century-long tenure, Wohlschlaeger's Weatherbird commented on events such as D-Day, the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and the Apollo 11 Moon landing, but his favorite cartoon appeared on October 2, 1944: it showed the Weatherbird dressed in St. Louis Browns uniform and standing on his head, in honor of the Browns' first and only American League pennant. Albert Schweitzer drew the first Weatherbirds to appear in color consistently. Schweitzer drew the Weatherbird with pink feathers, although he had appeared darkly shaded before. A long-time Post-Dispatch veteran, his retirement came just five years after he took over the strip. Dan Martin took over the strip in 1986. He eliminated the Weatherbird's emblematic cigars and drew a bird with a bit more of a beak (previous cartoonists had atrophied the beak to the point of flatness). Martin wrote the book The Story of the First 100 Years of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Weatherbird.

Other manifestations The Weatherbird inspired the name of John Hartford's "Weatherbird Reel".

Weatherbird brand shoes for children, using pictures of the Weatherbird in advertising, were offered starting in 1901 by the St. Louis-based Peters Shoe Company, later part of International Shoe which continued to base the brand's image on the Weatherbird until 1932 (the brand itself continued at least through the 1950s). Two of the original windows from the Peters Shoe Company factory, featuring pictures of the Weatherbird, adorn the Weatherbird Cafe in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch office. A life-size Weatherbird costume is used by the Post-Dispatch for promotions such as meet-and-greets at local bars.

References

Further reading Martin, Dan (2001). The Story of the First 100 Years of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Weatherbird: The Oldest Continuously Running Daily Cartoon in American Journalism. Virginia Publishing. ISBN 978-1891442155.

External links Dan Martin draws the Weatherbird on YouTube Dan Martin discusses the Weatherbird on Vimeo

Illustrations

Weatherbird: First Weatherbird appearance, February 11, 1901, drawn by Harry B. Martin — First Weatherbird appearance, February 11, 1901, drawn by Harry B. Martin

Weatherbird: Another Harry Martin Weatherbird, showing the cigar associated with the character until the late 20th century — Another Harry Martin Weatherbird, showing the cigar associated with the character until the late 20th century

Weatherbird: An S. Carlisle Martin Weatherbird — An S. Carlisle Martin Weatherbird

Weatherbird: Dan Martin's Weatherbird (this one marking the 2004 death of Ronald Reagan). The Weatherbird has long since traded his wings and tail for hands. Martin's bird shows a bit of beak, though, in contrast to Amadee's entirely flat face. — Dan Martin's Weatherbird (this one marking the 2004 death of Ronald Reagan). The Weatherbird has long since traded his wings and tail for hands. Martin's bird shows a bit of beak, though, in contrast to Amadee's entirely flat face.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Weatherbird

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Weatherbird claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Weatherbird before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Weatherbird ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Weatherbird

In research: Weatherbird appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Weatherbird in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Weatherbird is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1901 comics debuts, American comics characters, American mascots, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Weatherbird outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Weatherbird in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Weatherbird means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Weatherbird out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Weatherbird in simple terms?

The Weatherbird is a cartoon character and a single-panel comic. It is printed on the front of the St.

Why does Weatherbird matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Weatherbird?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Weatherbird.