Buys Ballot Buys Ballot was a Dutch scientist who laid the foundations of modern weather forecasting, including the development of a system of weather observations that is recognized internationally. He was born in Kloetinge and studied at the University of Utrecht. In 1854, he founded the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute and served as its director. The Buys Ballot law which states that the direction of winds around a pressure center depends on whether the center is north or south of the equator is attributed to him.