Appleton, Sir Edward Victor, 1892-1965 (physicist and principal of the University of Edinburgh)
Dates
- Existence: 1892 - 1965
Biography
Appleton was born in Bradford and educated at local schools and St John's College, Cambridge where he was awarded first class honours and several prizes in both parts of the Natural Sciences Tripos (1913, 1914). He began research at the Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge with W.L. Bragg, but during his service in the Army Signals in the First World War he developed the interest in valves and 'wireless' signals which informed his subsequent research career. He returned to the Cavendish Laboratory in 1919, continuing to work on valves and, with B. van der Pol, on non-linearity, and on atmospherics. In 1924, in collaboration with M.F. Barnett, he performed a crucial experiment which enabled a reflecting layer in the atmosphere to be identified and measured; subsequent research indicated the existence of more than one reflecting layer. From 1924 to 1936 Appleton was Wheatstone Professor of Physics at King's College, London, directing research teams and, in 1932, heading an expedition to Tromsö in northern Norway as part of the programme of observations scheduled for the Second International Polar Year
He was President of the International Union of Scientific Radio (URSI), 1934-1952. In 1936 he succeeded C.T.R. Wilson in the Jacksonian Chair of Natural Philosophy at Cambridge, where he continued collaborative research on many ionospheric problems, including solar and lunar tides in the E-layer. From September 1936 he served on the re-constituted Committee for the Scientific Survey of Air Defence (the 'Tizard Committee'), and in October 1938 was appointed successor to Sir Frank Smith as Secretary to the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR). He remained at the DSIR throughout the Second World War and until 1948 when he was appointed Principal of Edinburgh University. He took up the appointment in May 1949 and remained in office until his death in 1965. Appleton was elected FRS in 1927 (Bakerian Lecture 1937, Hughes Medal 1933, Royal Medal 1950) and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1947 for his investigations into the ionosphere. He was knighted in 1941.
Found in 663 Collections and/or Records:
Correspondence
The material consists of notes, drafts and correspondence. The early material was described by C. S. Gillmor as 'work on pulse characteristics of receivers, and problems of receiving atmospherics'. The later material (from c. 1929) is mainly on the effects of thunderstorms.
Correspondence and data , 1942
Correspondence and data, dated 1942. The material mainly relates to the influence of water vapour density.
Correspondence and data and notes on seasonal variations, 1936-1937 and no date
The material consists of correspondence and data on seasonal variations, enclosing graphs of Slough observations for 1936, from R. Naismith, dated 1937; and 1 page of notes by L.J. Ingram, annotated by Appleton, no date.
Correspondence and data by Edward Appleton and C.P. Bell, June 1958-December 1958
Correspondence and data by Edward Appleton and C.P. Bell, dated June 1958-December 1958. The material is mainly on γ values modified to remove seasonal variation, and includes graphs and tables by Bell and AppletonThe material is mainly on γ values modified to remove seasonal variation, and includes graphs and tables by Bell and Appleton.
Correspondence and data by Edward Appleton and William Farvis, October 1957-December 1957
Correspondence and data by Edward Appleton and William Farvis, October 1957-December 1957. The material includes Edward Appleton's letter discussing arrangements for C.P. Bell to do 'a certain amount of computational work', and explaining research projects, and some notes by W.E.J. Farvis.
Correspondence and data from R. Naismith to Edward Appleton, 1934
Correspondence and data from R. Naismith to Edward Appleton, dated 1934.
Correspondence and data from R. Naismith to Edward Appleton, 1948
Correspondence and data from R. Naismith to Edward Appleton, dated 1948.
Correspondence and data from W.R. Piggott to Edward Appleton, 1939
Correspondence and data from W.R. Piggott to Edward Appleton, dated 1939. The material includes an extensive manuscript report on experiments.
Correspondence and data on F2 layer from W.R. Piggott to Edward Appleton, 1947
Correspondence and data on F2 layer from W.R. Piggott to Edward Appleton, dated 1947.
Correspondence and data with Edward Appleton, January 1959-March 1959
Correspondence and data with Edward Appleton, dated January 1959-March 1959.
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