Francis Bretherton was born in England in 1935. He was educated at Cambridge University where he received his PhD in fluid dynamics in 1962. Bretherton taught mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1961 to 1962 before returning to Cambridge to teach meteorology and applied mathematics from 1962 to 1969. In 1969, he was appointed professor of meteorology and oceanography at John Hopkins University.
From 1974 to 1988, Bretherton directed the National Center for Atmospheric Research and then headed the Space Science and Engineering Center at the University of Wisconsin. As a member of the United States Committee for Global Atmospheric Research Program and the National Academy of Science's Committee on Atmospheric Science during the 1970s, he played a major role in lobbying for public support on environmental issues.
Bretherton delivered the Beatty Lecture on March 20, 1990, titled "Understanding the Earth System". His Lecture was part of a four-day series of environmental themed talks and debates titled The Listening Earth which also featured Beatty lectures by Daniel Boorstin and Norman Myers.
Photo credit: University Corporation for Atmospheric Research
