In the latter year, he was appointed to the chair of chemistry, mineralogy and geology in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

[3] He published an elaborate theory of hail-stones in 1830, which caused much discussion, but finally received the general approbation of meteorologists.

The shower of shooting stars that fell in November 1833 attracted his attention, and he studied their history and behavior until he was able satisfactorily to demonstrate their cosmical origin.

[6] However, he is chiefly known to the scientific world for his observations on hail (1830), meteors and the aurora borealis (see Smithsonian Contributions, vol.

Meanwhile, authors writing more broadly about the southern United States elaborated on Olmsted's ideas, treating the cotton gin as a symbol of nineteenth century prosperity or of the evils of slavery.