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 833 Collections and/or Records:
Diary, 1952
The diary includes scientific notes, and Appleton's engagements in Australia.
Diary, 1953
Note that there are no diaries for 1937, 1961-1962, 1962-1963 and 1963-1964 in the collection. Where university diaries are used, they cover the academic year, i.e. autumn of one year until the following summer.
Diary, 1959-1960
Note that there are no diaries for 1937, 1961-1962, 1962-1963 and 1963-1964 in the collection. Where university diaries are used, they cover the academic year, i.e. autumn of one year until the following summer.
Diary, 1960-1961
The diary includes some scientific notes.
Diploma awarded to Appleton for Fellowship of Royal Society of Edinburgh, July 1947
Diploma awarded to Sir Edward Appleton for Fellowship of Royal Society of Edinburgh, dated July 1947.
'Discussion of Goodall diagrams' , 9 February 1941
'Discussion of Goodall diagrams'. The material consists of a 3 page typescript note, signed and dated 9 February 1941.
Diurnal and seasonal variations of h'F and its variation with latitude, c. 1957-1958
Diurnal and seasonal variations of h'F and its variation with latitude. The material consists of data from various stations, mainly dated 1957-1958.
Diurnal curves of fF2 (S.S. min. and S.S. max.) (part 1 of 2), 1937-1959
Diurnal curves of fF2 (S.S. min. and S.S. max.) (part 1 of 2). The material covers several stations, summer and winter values and at various dates, 1937-1957.
Diurnal curves of fF2 (S.S. min. and S.S. max.) (part 2 of 2), 1940-1958
Diurnal curves of fF2 (S.S. min. and S.S. max.) (part 2 of 2). The material covers several stations, summer and winter values and at various dates, 1940-1958.
Draft for a lecture on James Clerk Maxwell, 1931
Draft for a lecture on James Clerk Maxwell by Edward Appleton, 10 pages, manuscript.