About Robert Simpson (meteorologist)
Robert H. Simpson (November 19, 1912 – December 18, 2014) was an American meteorologist, hurricane specialist, first director of the National Hurricane Research Project (NHRP) from 1955 to 1959, and a former director (1967–1974) of the National Hurricane Center (NHC). He was the co-developer of the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale with Herbert Saffir. His wife was Joanne Simpson. == Early life == Simpson was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, on November 19, 1912, to Clyde Simpson, a ranching equipment merchant, and Annie Laurie Simpson (née Rainey), a pianist. He survived the devastating landfall of the 1919 Florida Keys hurricane at age six; one of his family members drowned. Simpson graduated with honors from Corpus Christi High School in 1929. He initially pursued a career in architecture and briefly worked as an apprentice architect for a housing developer in San Antonio, but the onset of the Great Depression soon brought an end to that pursuit. Fascinated by the weather, he went on to get a Bachelor of Science degree in physics from Southwestern University in 1933, and a Master of Science degree in physics from Emory University in 1935. Finding no work as a physicist during the Great Depression, he taught music in Texas high schools. == Early career == On April 16, 1940, he was hired by the United States Weather Bureau.
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