Born in New York City, he published work on the atmosphere and climate, and was responsible for the introduction of the US system of standard time.
Abbe was educated at The New York Free University and the University of Michigan. Graduated in 1860 before working with United States Coast Survey until 1864.
From 1865 until 1866, he was research assistant to Otto Struve at Pulkova Observatory in Russia.
In 1868, Abbe became the director of the Cincinnati, Ohio, Observatory. He expanded the scope of interests of the observatory and proposed that observatory become the American Center for collecting, analyzing and publishing telegraphic weather observations from around the word.
Abbe began on September 1, 1869, to publish the daily “Weather Bulletin of the Cincinnati Observatory.”
His most important papers included “Treatise on Meteorological Apparatus and Methods” Published in1887, and “Preparatory Studies for Deductive Methods in Storm and Weather Prediction” published in 1889.
He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1879.
Abbe, Cleveland
