This paper outlines the establishment of the Liverpool Tidal Institute in 1919. There is a particular focus on early patrons and supporters, in the context of both previous tidal research on the accuracy of predictions and debates about the involvement of state actors in science at the end of the First World War. It shows that industrial support was crucial to the early tidal institute, which adds to debates about patronage in the history of modern physical oceanography in Britain and beyond.

The Pakistan Space Weather Centre (PSWC) was inaugurated on 20 August 2018, but its long history dates back to the 1950s. SUPARCO was established as the national space agency in 1961 and, along with other projects, started ionospheric and geomagnetic monitoring and research in the country. The milestones achieved in the discipline of space weather are mentioned that subsequently resulted in the establishment of PSWC. It is anticipated that PSWC will act as a Regional Warning Center in future.

This paper reviews Michael Rycroft's career as part of his 80th birthday celebrations in terms of the social and structural changes in international science. His contributions to research, teaching, and management across solar–terrestrial and ionospheric physics, and atmospheric and space science are also discussed. The paper is based on primary sources combined with the recollections of colleagues.

A brief history of the development of the Leith atmosphere model (LAM) by Chuck Leith around 1960 is presented. It is argued that the LAM was the first model that could reasonably be considered a comprehensive atmospheric general circulation model. The LAM was notable in that it had a representation of the hydrological cycle including prognostic cloud fields. The LAM left almost no footprint on the journal literature, but LAM simulations were published in pioneering computer animations.