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.
Topics
Found in 833 Collections and/or Records:
Correspondence from Edward Appleton to B. van der Pol, 2 November 1922-3 December 1922
The material consists of correspondence from Edward Appleton to B. van der Pol, dated 2 November-3 December 1922 and numbered 59-63.
Correspondence from Edward Appleton to B. van der Pol, 6 December 1922-12 April 1923
The material consists of correspondence from Edward Appleton to B. van der Pol, dated 6 December 1922-12 April 1923 and numbered 63a-73. The letters are not all numbered in chronological order – no. 64 is postmarked 15 December 1922 and no. 68 is postmarked 6 December 1922.
Correspondence from Edward Appleton to B. van der Pol, 3 May 1923-20 September 1923
The material consists of correspondence from Edward Appleton to B. van der Pol, dated 3 May-20 September 1923 and numbered 75-90. N.B. Four letters numbered 79-82 dated 1924 and referring to Appleton's consultancy with Philips and to his appointment at King's College, London, have been transferred to file Coll-37/E.129.
Correspondence from Edward Appleton to B. van der Pol, 19 October 1923-20 December 1923
The material consists of correspondence from Edward Appleton to B. van der Pol, dated 19 October-20 December 1923 and numbered 91-100. N.B. A letter numbered 92, addressed from King's College, London, 12 October [1924] has been transferred to file Coll-37/E.129.
Correspondence from Edward Appleton to B. van der Pol, 20 January 1924-25 April 1924
The material consists of correspondence from Edward Appleton to B. van der Pol, dated 20 January-25 April 1924 and numbered 101-107.
Correspondence from Edward Appleton to B. van der Pol, 6 June 1924-12 October 1924
The material consists of correspondence from Edward Appleton to B. van der Pol, dated 6 June-12 December 1924 and numbered 79-82 (transferred from Coll-37/E.126), 92 (transferred from Coll-37/E.127), 108-110. N.B. This marks the end of the legacy numbering sequence in red pencil on the material.
Correspondence from Edward Appleton to B. van der Pol, 1925
The material consists of correspondence from Edward Appleton to B. van der Pol, dated 1925. The letter dated 27 December mentions W. Altar.
Correspondence from Edward Appleton to B. van der Pol, March 1926-September 1926
The material consists of correspondence from Edward Appleton to B. van der Pol, dated March-September 1926.
Correspondence from Edward Appleton to B. van der Pol, 1927
The material consists of correspondence from Edward Appleton to B. van der Pol, dated 1927. It includes correspondence in February referring to Van der Pol's article, which Appleton considered to include damaging references to himself and his contribution to non-linearity problems. Van der Pol's reply to this is at Coll-37/E.144.
Correspondence from Edward Appleton to B. van der Pol, 1928
The material consists of correspondence from Edward Appleton to B. van der Pol, dated 1928, including one letter missing page 1.
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