TOPEKA, Ind. (WANE) - A presentation was held in Topeka, Indiana, Tuesday evening remembering the life of Francis Wylton Reichelderfer. National Weather Service Northern Indiana marks 25 years of operations The Harlan native and Topeka High School graduate rose to national distinction by transforming weather forecasting and leading the United States Weather Bureau for 25 years. Francis Wylton Reichelderfer.Francis Wylton Reichelderfer.Francis Wylton Reichelderfer.Francis Wylton Reichelderfer. The Topeka Area Historical Society gave a PowerPoint presentation that included numerous photos, newspaper articles, and a newsreel about the man. Topeka Area Historical Society President Harold Gingerich gives a presentation about what he discovered.Topeka Area Historical Society President Harold Gingerich gives a presentation about what he discovered.Topeka Area Historical Society President Harold Gingerich gives a presentation about what he discovered.Topeka Area Historical Society President Harold Gingerich gives a presentation about what he discovered. Historical Society President Harold Gingerich discovered the man by accident; Gingerich was watching 1989 footage from two women in their 90s talking about paving the main street of Topeka. All of the sudden, they talked about Reichelderfer because he graduated from the high school in town a year before them. Early Life "Reich," as he was nicknamed, was born on August 6th, 1895, in Harlan to Francis Allen and Mae Carrington Reichelderfer. His father was a Methodist minister and was assigned to serve the congregation in Topeka on April 11th, 1911. The family made the move to Topeka that summer and there is evidence his father conducted a funeral for a local couple's three-year-old son that fall...not the best way for a pastor to start off his ministry in a new community. Schooling and Introduction to Meteorology Wylton graduated from Topeka High School in 1913, with his father giving the baccalaureate address at his commencement. He was one of 14 graduates that year and there is evidence he appeared in the class play that year. In the fall of 1913, Wylton attended Northwestern University on a scholarship to study science. He worked throughout college to supplement his scholarship, including rising at 3:30 AM to stoke furnaces and wait tables in the women's dormitory. He graduated in 1917 with a BS in chemistry and chemical engineering. After graduating, he entered the United States Navy Reserve with the hopes of becoming a pilot. However, his career would soon be changed when he signed up for courses in aerology (meteorology for fliers) when at ground school at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). As a result of this education, "Reich" was sent to Nova Scotia to brief submarine patrol pilots on weather conditions. The Navy eventually sent him to Harvard's Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory to study advanced meteorology and receive training as a weather officer. In 1918, Wylton received his commission from the Navy and he earned his aviator's wings in 1919. Career Beginnings Wylton's first post was in Lisbon, Portugal, where he provided critical weather information for the first trans-Atlantic flight made by the Curtiss NC-4. The Curtiss NC-4. Eleven years later, he would chart the weather maps for Charles Lindbergh's historic flight that crossed the Atlantic Ocean from New York to Paris in the Spirit of Saint Louis! It was a 14.5 hour flight from May 20th to 21st, 1927. The Spirit of Saint Louis. In the years that followed, "Reich" flew a variety of aircraft and even competed as a hot air balloonist. Advancements in Meteorology Wylton became dissatisfied with the current texts and theories in meteorology and decided to change his way of thinking. He began treating weather phenomena as physical airmasses and fronts. He took this approach, knowledge, and experience to his new role as the Chief of Navy Aerology in 1922. He would serve in this role until 1928, working from a corner in the main United States Weather Bureau offices in Washington, D.C. He drew up maps, compared them to official forecasts, and he recognized the value of meteorology to aviation. He was assigned to Lakehurst, New Jersey, as the chief meteorologist of lighter-than-air operations, expanding the Navy's dominance in aviation weather forecasting. He also served on the USS Los Angeles airship from 1928 to 1931 and he acted as an observer on the Hindenburg airship in 1936. Thankfully, he was not on board during the May 1937 crash and he did not witness the disaster. Leading the United States Weather Bureau At the age of 43, having earned a doctorate degree from Northwestern in 1939, "Reich" retired after 21 years of service to the Navy and was appointed the Director of the United States Weather Bureau on December 15th, 1939. The Weather Bureau was not called the National Weather Service until 1970. Over the course of 25 years, Wylton guided the weather bureau through World War II and introduced radar as a weather observation and forecasting tool. By the mid-1950s, radar had become a key component of the bureau's storm warning system, especially for tornadoes and hurricanes. He oversaw the development of the WSR-57 radar system in the late 1950s and his career culminated with the launch of the ground-breaking Tiros I weather satellite on April 1st, 1960. This was the world's first successful weather satellite to be launched and deployed into space. "Reich" giving a newsreel report while the Director of the Weather Bureau. He asserted by the end of his time at the bureau that the government's forecasting had become 85 to 90 percent accurate. Personal Life and Death Wylton married his wife, Beatrice Caralyn Hoyle, on June 19th, 1920. They had one son, Bruce Allen Reichelderfer, who lived from 1928 to 2017. Francis Wylton Reichelderfer died on January 26th, 1983, at the age of 87. He is buried with his wife at Arlington National Cemetery. The nation's primary weather satellite ground station at Wallops Island, Virginia, is dedicated to his memory. The Reichelderfer gravesite in Arlington National Cemetery. Legacy "Reich" served under four presidents and transformed meteorology from an art to a science. The American Meteorological Society (AMS) today annually awards the Francis W. Reichelderfer Award to recognize distinguished contributions to the provision of operational environmental services to the public. The AMS website notes that, “Francis Wilton Reichelderfer presided over a revolutionary era in the history of the National Weather Service. From 1938-1963, he guided the organization through World War II and brought modern technology to weather forecasting. Reichelderfer’s greatest strengths were in comprehending where meteorology should be going, acting to move in that direction, and then attracting and keeping the talent to make it happen. Reichelderfer’s influence transcended national boundaries; he helped form the World Meteorological Organization and served as its first president in 1951.” Without question, Wylton's contributions to meteorology were immense. It is amazing that a man who grew up in Harlan and Topeka, Indiana, played such a big role in meteorology's evolution to the science it is today. A thank you to the Topeka Area Historical Society for their contributions to this report. To learn more about the society and to support them, visit their website here.