Cloud names reached a poetSourced
Goethe admired Howard’s cloud classification
British meteorologist Luke Howard proposed a cloud classification in 1802, naming types including cumulus, stratus and cirrus. Goethe admired the work, celebrated it in poems and asked Howard for an autobiography.
Naming clouds led to an exchange with a poet.
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Luke Howard (meteorologist) · Wikimedia contributors
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Reviewed: 2026-10-05