Appleton, Sir Edward Victor, 1892-1965 (physicist and principal of the University of Edinburgh)

Person

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

University of Edinburgh -- Principal

Found in 833 Collections and/or Records:

Correspondence from L.J. Comrie and J. Egedal to Edward Appleton, 1938 and 1936

File

Identifier: Coll-37/C.188

Scope and Contents

Correspondence from L.J. Comrie to Edward Appleton, dated 1938 and J. Egedal to Edward Appleton, dated 1936. The correspondence from Egedal includes a draft note.

Dates: 1938 and 1936

Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / Papers of Sir Edward Victor Appleton / Research topics / Lunar tides / Correspondence in alphabetical order

Correspondence from L.J. Comrie to Edward Appleton, 1937

File

Identifier: Coll-37/E.29

Scope and Contents

Correspondence from L.J. Comrie to Edward Appleton, dated 1937. The material consists of 2 letters by Comrie, and a manuscript draft by Appleton on conductivity. Comrie advised on mathematical calculation of integrals. One letter bears a manuscript note, 'Papers leading up to Bakerian Lectures J.A.R. '(Ratcliffe).

Dates: 1937

Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / Papers of Sir Edward Victor Appleton / Correspondence

Correspondence from L.J. Ingram to Edward Appleton, 1935

File

Identifier: Coll-37/E.54

Scope and Contents

Correspondence from L.J. Ingram to Edward Appleton, dated 1935.

Dates: 1935

Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / Papers of Sir Edward Victor Appleton / Correspondence / Correspondence from L.J. Ingram to Edward Appleton

Correspondence from L.J. Ingram to Edward Appleton, 1936-1937

File

Identifier: Coll-37/E.55

Scope and Contents

Correspondence from L.J. Ingram to Edward Appleton, dated 1936-1937.

Dates: 1936-1937

Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / Papers of Sir Edward Victor Appleton / Correspondence / Correspondence from L.J. Ingram to Edward Appleton

Correspondence from L.J. Ingram to Edward Appleton, 1934

File

Identifier: Coll-37/E.53

Scope and Contents

Correspondence from L.J. Ingram to Edward Appleton, dated 1934.

Dates: 1934

Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / Papers of Sir Edward Victor Appleton / Correspondence / Correspondence from L.J. Ingram to Edward Appleton

Correspondence from L.S. Harley to Edward Appleton, 1945

File

Identifier: Coll-37/E.47

Scope and Contents

Correspondence from L.S. Harley to Edward Appleton, dated 1945. The material includes comments on a draft broadcast script by Appleton, on radar.

Dates: 1945

Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / Papers of Sir Edward Victor Appleton / Correspondence

Correspondence from L.W. Hayes, J.T. Henderson, E. Herbays and F.J. Hewitt to Edward Appleton, 1931-1950

File

Identifier: Coll-37/E.49

Scope and Contents

The material consists of:

Correspondence from L.W. Hayes to Edward Appleton, dated 1946;

Correspondence from J.T. Henderson to Edward Appleton, dated 1931;

Correspondence from E. Herbays to Edward Appleton, relating to the U.R.S.I. [Union Radio-Scientifique Internationale], and enclosing a letter on Japanese co-operation, dated 1950;

Correspondence from from F.J. Hewitt to Edward Appleton, containing information about Johannesburg, dated 1949.

Dates: 1931-1950

Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / Papers of Sir Edward Victor Appleton / Correspondence

Correspondence from M. Ryle and others to Edward Appleton, 1946-1951

File

Identifier: Coll-37/C.350

Scope and Contents

Correspondence from M. Ryle and others to Edward Appleton, dated 1946-1951. The material includes drafts of papers, contributions to U.R.S.I. [Union Radio-Scientifique International] reports, etc. by Ryle, comments on publications by others, and on Appleton's proposed research at Edinburgh.

Dates: 1946-1951

Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / Papers of Sir Edward Victor Appleton / Research topics / Solar Noise / Correspondence

Correspondence from M. Ryle to Edward Appleton, 1956

File

Identifier: Coll-37/E.105

Scope and Contents

Correspondence from M. Ryle to Edward Appleton, dated 1956. The material encloses information on research.

Dates: 1956

Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / Papers of Sir Edward Victor Appleton / Correspondence

Correspondence from M.A. Ellison to Edward Appleton, 1950, 1958

File

Identifier: Coll-37/E.37

Scope and Contents

Correspondence from M.A. Ellison to Edward Appleton, dated 1950 and 1958. The material relates to 'Solar Flares' including data, and a letter from Zirkler, dated 1950.

Dates: 1950, 1958

Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / Papers of Sir Edward Victor Appleton / Correspondence

Appleton, Sir Edward Victor, 1892-1965 (physicist and principal of the University of Edinburgh)

Dates

Biography

Topics

Found in 833 Collections and/or Records:

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