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, papers and reports, 1943
Correspondence, papers and reports. The material relates to the supply and use of M.B.I. [what does MBI stand for?] equipment at Slough, mainly dated July 1943.
Correspondence regarding appointment, April 1964-June1964
The material consists of correspondence of Martin Rivers Pollock relating to an appointmentm, dated April-1964-June 1964. It includes correspondence with Sir Edward Appleton, Vice-Chancellor regarding resources being made available.
Correspondence regarding general Epigenetics Research Group matters, 1962-1972
Contains a letter from Edward Appleton to the MRC accepting the Council's offer of financial support for the Research Group (30 May 1962); correspondence concerning Charlotte Auerbach and the Mutagenesis Unit; and correspondence concerning the building of and alterations to the Epigenetics Building (1967-1972).
Correspondence regarding the Journal of Atmospheric and Terrestrial Physics, 1949
The material consists of correspondence between Edward Appleton with colleagues about the proposal to publish a new journal, its title, advisory board, and range of contributions, etc. It includes a photocopy of Appleton's circular letter to colleagues on the subject, and also correspondence with P. Rosbaud (publisher).
Correspondence, reports and data from R. Naismith to Edward Appleton, 1940-1942
Correspondence, reports and data from R. Naismith to Edward Appleton. The material relates to various F2 projects, dated 1940-1942.
Correspondence to Edward Appleton, 1933-1959
Correspondence to Edward Appleton, 1958
Correspondence to Edward Appleton from various correspondents, October 1957-November 1957
Correspondence to Edward Appleton from H.V. Griffiths (B.B.C.), W.J.G. Beynon, H.S.W. Massey, A.C.B. Lovell and M. Allan. The material relates to the Russian satellite, Sputnik and is dated October 1957-November 1957. It Includes 1 page of manuscript notes by Appleton, perhaps for a lecture on the subject.
Correspondence with Edward Appleton, 1952, 1958
Correspondence with Edward Appleton, dated 1952 and 1958. It relates to Appleton's research at Edinburgh on recombination and negative ions. The material consists of correspondence from D.R. Bates, including research notes; K.G. Emeleus; H.S.W. Massey; W.R. Piggott; J.A. Ratcliffe; J. Sayers, including a research communication; and one letter from K. Bibi, dated 1958. These items are in Appleton's original folder labelled 'Recombination. Theory'.
Correspondence with Edward Appleton, 1954
Correspondence with Edward Appleton, dated 1954. The material is regarding papers and other matters relating to the Brussels meeting. It includes papers by P. Lejay.
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