Torricelli is given credit for the discovery of the principles of the
barometer. Otto Von Guericke, of Magdeburg, to whom we are indebted for
the air pump, is credited as being the first person to use the barometer
as a weather indicator.
Because of the fact that the mercurial barometer is not adaptable for
portability, many scientists began work on producing a barometer without
fluid that could be easily carried about and would give accurate
results. In 1798 M. Comte, professor of aerostatics in the school at
Meudon near Paris, invented the aneroid barometer, which he used in his
balloon ascents. This instrument has been described fully on page 55.