Land Office, under Jefferson, he instituted the nation's first system of daily meteorological observations at the land offices throughout the country which evolved into the National Weather Service . Societies In 1818, Meigs was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia. During the 1820s, Meigs was a member, and at one point, president, of the Columbian Institute for the Promotion of Arts and Sciences. He was also one of the original corporators and trustees of Columbian College (now George Washington University), and professor of experimental philosophy there. Personal In 1782, Meigs married Clara Benjamin. Their son Henry Meigs served in the U.S. Congress. Another son, Charles Delucena Meigs, became a prominent obstetrician. Their daughter Clara married John Forsyth, U.S. Secretary of State under Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren. Among his grandchildren was the American Civil War Major General Montgomery C. Meigs. Meigs died on September 4, 1822, and was buried in Holmead's Cemetery in Washington, D.C. In 1878, when The cemetery was disbanded and the graves removed, he was reinterred in Arlington National Cemetery in the lot of Major General Meigs. Legacy He is remembered at the University of Georgia in the name of the university's highest teaching honor. The university annually recognizes up to five faculty members with the Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professorship. The city of Meigs, Georgia, is named in his honor as is Meigs Street in Athens, Georgia. Notes Sources History of the University of Georgia, Thomas Walter Reed, Imprint: Athens, Georgia : University of Georgia, ca. 1949 Arlington National Cemetery headstone and short bio for Josiah Meigs New Georgia Encyclopedia entry for Josiah Meigs History of Meigs Hall on the UGA campus External links William M. Meigs, Life of Josiah Meigs, Philadelphia (J.P. Murphy, printer), 1887. 132 pages. 1757 births 1822 deaths Presidents of the University of Georgia Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Writers from Athens, Georgia American surveyors General Land Office Commissioners Burials at Holmead's Burying Ground Surveyors General of the Northwest Territory George Washington University trustees