Gale Force Ten: The Life and Legacy of Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort

The story of the inventor of the Beaufort scale, a British sailor during the Napoleonic period. Born in 1774, Francis Beaufort went to sea with the East India Company at the age of 14. With a passion for mathematics, he spent much of naval career in scientific observation, becoming hydrographer to the navy at the age of 55. He was famous for having been the man who sent Charles Darwin off in the Beagle, and a great facilitator of science. Nicholas Courtney is the author several books including, Queen Elizabeth: the Queen Mother (1987), Princess Anne (1987), and Prince Andrew (1983).