Legacy
Howard's classification of clouds was later adopted by Ralph Abercromby and Hugo Hildebrand Hildebrandsson, who further developed and popularised the system laid out by Howard. Abercromby noted in a paper on the naming of clouds that to the Quaker Howard "any name connected with heathen mythology was specially distasteful".
Howard's cloud classification had a major influence on the arts as well as on science. His original essay, On the Modification of Clouds, was translated into German and French in 1815. This allowed German writer and scholar Goethe to access the text. Goethe was entranced by Howard's system, and he later wrote a series of poems in gratitude to him, including the lines (note: English translation):
Goethe also wrote to Howard (via one of Goethe's English friends), requesting Howard's autobiography and process in developing his classification system. Goethe also attempted to commission German painter Caspar David Friedrich for cloud studies based on Howard's system, but Friedrich declined. However, Friedrich did begin a series of cloud studies later that year. Howard's classification system, along with Goethe's interest, resulted in a great artistic interest in clouds. Howard's work is also rumored to have inspired Shelley's poem "The Cloud" and informed John Constable's paintings and studies of skies, in addition to the writings and art of John Ruskin, who used Howard's cloud classification in his criticisms of landscape paintings in Modern Painters.
Howard appears in a novel by French writer Stéphane Audeguy titled, La théorie des nuages, winner of the 2005 Prix de l'Académie. Published in the US in 2007 as The Theory of Clouds. Luke Howard is also the main character in the historic novel Le Dernier Nuage written by French author Frédéric Chignac (published in 2025 by Hervé Chopin Editions).
An English Heritage blue plaque dedicated to Howard at 7 Bruce Grove, Tottenham (the house in which he died, aged 91), states simply his fame as "Namer of Clouds". Howard was actively involved in the development of a Tottenham religious meeting house with his son, John Eliot Howard. Originally known as Brook Street Meeting House, it is now the Brook Street Chapel found on Tottenham High Road.
Whilst Howard's factory was located in Plaistow, he resided at The River House, 3, Blaker Road, Stratford. Howard's observations of the changing skyscape as he travelled between his home and factory facilitated his recording and categorization of clouds and his other observations of nature. Town Planning consent for this property's redevelopment was submitted in 2015.
His daughter Rachel founded a school in Ackworth, West Yorkshire, which also contains a Plymouth Brethren burial ground.
In 2018, Tottenham Hotspur FC club, located near his house in Bruce Grove, named viewing areas in honour of his cloud names at the top of its east and west stands of its new stadium. These, with panoramic views of the pitch and across London, were named 'Stratus East' and 'Stratus West' in recognition of Howard's classifications of cloud formations.
In 2024, The Royal Mail released a stamp honouring Howard.
