13 Facts About Wilson Bentley

Wilson Bentley perfected a process of catching flakes on black velvet in such a way that their images could be captured before they either melted or sublimated, and elaborated the theory that no two snowflakes are alike.

Wilson Bentley donated his collection of original glass-plate photomicrographs of snow crystals to the Buffalo Museum of Science.

Wilson Bentley was born on February 9,1865, in Jericho, Vermont.

Wilson Bentley first became interested in snow crystals as a teenager on his family farm.

In collaboration with George Henry Perkins, professor of natural history at the University of Vermont, Wilson Bentley published an article in which he argued that no two snow crystals were alike.

Wilson Bentley's photographs have been requested by academic institutions worldwide.

In 1931 Bentley worked with William J Humphreys of the US Weather Bureau to publish Snow Crystals, a monograph illustrated with 2,500 photographs.

Wilson Bentley photographed all forms of ice and natural water formations including clouds and fog.

Wilson Bentley was the first American to record raindrop sizes, and was one of the first cloud physicists.

Wilson Bentley died of pneumonia, which he may have contracted while walking home in the snow, at his farm on December 23,1931.

Wilson Bentley was memorialized in the naming of a science center in his memory at Johnson State College in Johnson, Vermont.

The Caldecott Medal winner in 1999 for the best-illustrated children's book was Snowflake Wilson Bentley, which remembers Wilson Bentley's life.

Wilson Bentley was a friend of naturalist, industrialist, and collector Franklin Fairbanks.