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 International Geophysical Year (IGY) of 1957–1958 was one of the most significant scientific events of the 20th century that marked the beginning of the Space Age. IGY united efforts of scientists from 67 countries for comprehensive study of our planet. The scientific program included multidisciplinary activity on all the continents, in the oceans, in the air, and in space. This article gives a brief overview of the history of the IGY organization and its main achievements.

Researching, compiling and analysing geophysical ideas and measurements in historical periods will contribute to the historical development of earth science. Also, this is important for geophysicists working on time-dependent (historical) data and revealing the physical properties of the earth. This paper focuses on the earth and its sciences (with concepts, ideas and measurements) in classical Islamic science in the Ottoman Empire and the evolution of these thoughts and concepts.

Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777–1855) was one of the most eminent scientists of all time. He was born in Brunswick, and from 1807 until his death, he was director of the Göttingen Astronomical Observatory, where he made world-famous and lasting contributions. In his honour, and to preserve his memory, the Gauss Society was founded in Göttingen in 1962. The present paper aims to give nonspecialists a brief introduction into the life and works of Gauss and a brief history of the Gauss Society.

The early 20th century voyages of the Carnegie – a floating geophysical observatory – revealed the daily rhythm of atmospheric electricity. Combined with ideas from Nobel Prize winner C. T. R. Wilson, the Carnegie curve helped answer a fundamental question, from the time of Benjamin Franklin, about the origin of Earth's negative charge. The Carnegie curve still provides an importance reference variation, and the original data, explored further here, have new relevance to geophysical change.

Tides from the Moon and Sun change the force of gravity. Pendulum clocks that use pendula are affected by this, but the resulting time errors are less than a millisecond over a day. These errors were measured by a few precision pendulum clocks between 1929 (the first data showing tidal gravity signals) and 1985. This paper shows the original results of each measurement and also compares these with simulations using modern tidal models.