Talk: John Ruskin - head in the clouds?
This event is part of the Royal Society's Summer Science Exhibition 2026.
John Ruskin – considered by many to be one of the most influential thinkers of the Victorian period – was best known as an art critic in the 19th century, but he was also a keen meteorologist and in 1884 gave a lecture about how clouds had changed over his lifetime. Ridiculed at the time, his account of changes in clouds has often been attributed to a mental decline.
Join , modern-day cloud scientist and Royal Society University Research Fellow at Imperial College London as he discusses whether Ruskin might have been correct in his observations and how they might help us better predict future climate change.
Attending the event
This event will be held in Theatre 2 at the Royal Society on Wednesday 1 July 2026, 2pm – 2.30pm.
- Free to attend as part of Summer Science Exhibition on a first-come, first-served basis, subject to seat availability. We recommend that visitors arrive 10-15 minutes before the session
- You can book . For entry slots where priority tickets are now fully booked, walk-up tickets will be available, subject to building capacity. Please be aware you may need to queue for entry
- Suitable for students aged 14+
- This talk will take place in person
- A recording of this talk will be available later on the
- Live subtitles will be available
- Travel and accessibility information and details on planning your visit - contact us directly to arrange any specific accessibility requirements
- Food and drink will be available for purchase at our onsite café
For all enquiries, please email us.