When raindrops fall, people naturally take cover under an umbrella, raincoat, or the roof of a house. But there was an odd Spanish Jesuit in 19th-century Manila who did the opposite: he went out into the rain, braved wind, lightning and thunder to stare a storm in the eye. His name was Federico Faura, best remembered today for a busy street named in his honor, Padre Faura in Ermita, Manila where the Manila Observatory stood from 1888 to 1945. While Faura is generally acknowledged as a ?founder? of the Manila Observatory, it seems that history has overlooked Fr. Francisco Colina who set up what was to evolve into the Manila Observatory in the pigeon coup of the Ateneo Municipal in Intramuros.

Colina observed and recorded the movements of a destructive typhoon that hit Manila in September 1865 using the most basic, and one could say primitive, equipment: a thermometer, to measure the changes in temperature, a hygrometer to measure the changes in relative humidity, a barometer to measure the changes in atmospheric pressure; and an anemometer, to determine the direction and speed of wind. Don?t be fooled by the technical name, the anemometer used in Intramuros was merely a piece of cloth flying freely from the top of a pole in the pigeon coup! Such is the early history of the Manila Observatory as recounted by J.J. Henessey, S.J. in an article that should be expanded, ornamented with pictures and published as a book.

While Faura arrived in Manila a year after the weather observation equipment was set up by Colina in the Ateneo, he is considered the ?founder? of the Manila Observatory because of his reputation as weather forecaster and the fact that in 1868, when Father Colina sent the unassembled ?Fr. Secchi Universal Meteorograph? to Manila from Europe without instructions or a diagram on how to put it together, Faura did so all by himself. Following Colina?s example, Faura compiled weather information from all corners of the archipelago with the assistance of the postal service. Postmen around the country recorded weather data and mailed all these to Faura in Manila, thus creating the basis for weather forecasting.

Faura also took note of seismic activity because many devastating earthquakes affected Manila in the late 19th century. In June 1863, Pedro Pelaez, archbishop of Manila, teacher of Fr. Jose Burgos, and one who campaigned for the Filipinization of the parishes, was buried under the Manila Cathedral that collapsed during an earthquake. In 1869, another earthquake hit Manila destroying the governor-general?s palace in Intramuros, forcing him to move to a casa de campo or vacation house on the banks of the Pasig that we know today as Malacañang.

Records were mined for accounts and descriptions of earthquakes in the Philippines throughout history and the data became the basis for later research. Data from Observatory instruments during the earthquakes of July 1880 were well received in scientific circles in Europe.

In August 1868, Faura led a three-man scientific expedition from the Philippines that joined 10 other teams from European countries to observe a total solar eclipse visible in Celebes. While the Faura expedition was unable to reach their assigned observation post due to travel problems, they recorded data from an island called Mantawalok-kiki that was considered significant enough to merit publication in Europe much later.

Faura passed away in 1897 and his associate of three years, Fr. Jose Algue, succeeded as director of the Manila Observatory. During Algue?s term, an 18-inch Mertz refracting telescope imported from Germany arrived, allowing a view of the heavens never before seen in Manila.

The Observatory received support both from the Spanish government till 1898 and from the succeeding American government because of the valuable work it was doing for the country. Like Faura before him, Algue also stared storms in the eye. He waded through floodwaters and braved earthquakes and volcanic eruptions to compile more data for study. He also improved on the famous ?Faura Barometer? calibrated for the Philippines by his predecessor and came up with a more accurate instrument for recording and predicting weather.

Faura barometers can still be found in the antique shops in Ermita. Most do not work anymore and are acquired for interior decoration in stylish homes. One of the working models used to be in the bedroom of former San Beda College rector Fr. Bernardo Ma. Perez, OSB who always validated DepEd and Pagasa announcements for the suspension of classes with his Faura barometer.

These barometers came in two models, English and Spanish, indicating whether turbulence was simply wind, a violent typhoon or a destructive one. They also indicated if this was distant or near.

Too bad these barometers are not made anymore. I took some Faura barometers to the Observatory and twice the director, Father Badillo, took them on an elevator ride to check if they were still working. Faura barometers are now extinct but the need for these instruments remains.

Some things should never go out of style. These barometers could have saved lives like they used to from the 19th century to the end of World War II.

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Comments are welcome at aocampo@ateneo.edu