Dr Crumpe’s December 1795 Weather Report

Dr Samuel Crumpe born in Rathkeale in 1766. He studied medicine in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Returning to Limerick in 1788, he worked in St. John’s Hospital which had only been founded in 1780 by Lady Lucy Pery Harstonge.

He married Susanna Ingram in 1792, they had a son (who did not live past infancy) and a daughter.

He was a made freeman of Limerick in 25 June 1792. Dr. Crumpe’s work on opium provided an experimental basis for classifying the drug as a stimulant rather than a narcotic. He died on the 27 January 1796 aged 29 of typhus which he contracted from a patient.

He is buried in St. Mary’s Cathedral Graveyard.

The following is an extract from Dr Samuel Crumpe’s diary of 1795 in which he kept track of the weather each day of that year, monitoring the barometer reading, wind direction, thermostat reading (from March onwards) and general remarks. The temperatures given are in Fahrenheit. 50 degrees Fahrenheit equals 10 degrees Celsius.

Jan – Feb – Mar – Apr – May – Jun – Jul – Aug – Sep – Oct – Nov – Dec

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The following are the entries from his weather diary of 1795 for December.

Date	Barometer	Thermostat	Wind	Remarks
01 Dec 1795	29.9	53	W	Dry
02 Dec 1795	29.9	50	NW	Showers
03 Dec 1795	29.9	53	NW	Dry
04 Dec 1795	29.9	56	W	Moist
05 Dec 1795	30	55	W	Dry
06 Dec 1795	29.9	55	W	Dry
07 Dec 1795	30	56	W	Dry
08 Dec 1795	30.1	56	W	Heavy mist
09 Dec 1795	30.1	53	W	Heavy mist
10 Dec 1795	30.1	47	NW	Dry
11 Dec 1795	30	45	E	Dry
12 Dec 1795	29.5	45	SE	Wet, barom falling fast,storm
13 Dec 1795	29.7	50	S	Wet
14 Dec 1795	29.2	50	S	Dry
15 Dec 1795	29.2	2	SE	Wet
16 Dec 1795	29.1	52	SE	Heavy,wet
17 Dec 1795	29.4	52	S	Dry
18 Dec 1795	29.4	55	SW	Dry
19 Dec 1795	29	55	W	Heavy, wet storm
20 Dec 1795	29.5	54	W	Showery,wet
21 Dec 1795	29.5	50	SW	Wet showers
22 Dec 1795	29.5	53	SE	Wet
23 Dec 1795	59.6	50	SW	Dry
24 Dec 1795	29.9	47	SW	Showery
25 Dec 1795	30.1	50	SW	Dry, heavy moist
26 Dec 1795	29.7	52	SW	Dry, high wind
27 Dec 1795	29.6	50	SW	Wet,high winds
28 Dec 1795	29.6	52	SW	Showery
29 Dec 1795	29.7	48	E	Dry, slight frost
30 Dec 1795	29.7	54	W	Dry, slight frost
31 Dec 1795			SE	Heavy, wet

You can find the Weather Reports for other months in 1795 here.