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:

Draft for a paper 'Radio Sounding of the Lower Atmosphere' and report on visit to America, c. 1946 and no date

File

Identifier: Coll-37/D.28

Scope and Contents

The material consists of a 5 page manuscript draft, and data for a paper provisionally titled 'Radio Sounding of the Lower Atmosphere', no date; and a 2 page report relating to a visit to America, c. 1946.

Dates: c. 1946 and no date

Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / Papers of Sir Edward Victor Appleton / Lectures, speeches, publications

Draft for a slide lecture on James Clerk Maxwell, 1931

File

Identifier: Coll-37/D.8

Scope and Contents

Draft for a slide lecture on James Clerk Maxwell by Edward Appleton, 16 pages, manuscript with note at end, 'Unfinished, more possibly tomorrow'.

Dates: 1931

Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / Papers of Sir Edward Victor Appleton / Lectures, speeches, publications / Lectures on James Clerk Maxwell

Draft for slide lecture, mainly on the work of Sir Charles Wheatstone, c. 1931

File

Identifier: Coll-37/D.12

Scope and Contents

Draft for slide lecture by Edward Appleton, mainly on the work of Sir Charles Wheatstone, given at King's College, London, no date, c. 1931.

Dates: c. 1931

Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / Papers of Sir Edward Victor Appleton / Lectures, speeches, publications

Draft for speech on James Clerk Maxwell at school prize-giving , c. 1931

File

Identifier: Coll-37/D.11

Scope and Contents

Draft for speech on James Clerk Maxwell at school prize-giving by Edward Appleton, using material from the lectures in Coll-37/D.8-D.10 which were written in 1931.

Dates: c. 1931

Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / Papers of Sir Edward Victor Appleton / Lectures, speeches, publications / Lectures on James Clerk Maxwell

Draft letter by Sir Edward Appleton to 'Dear Barlow' (Sir Alan Barlow), c 1943

File

Identifier: Coll-37/A.11

Scope and Contents

Draft letter by Sir Edward Appleton to 'Dear Barlow' (Sir Alan Barlow). The letter is about relations between Department of Scientific and Industrial Research and other government departments, especially the Treasury Establishment Section. It is undated, however Appleton refers to his 'four years in the Civil Service', therefore it is assumed to be from 1943.

Dates: c 1943

Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / Papers of Sir Edward Victor Appleton / Biographical and personal / Career, honours and awards

Draft of book to be called 'The Ionosphere', c. 1941

File

Identifier: Coll-37/D.17

Scope and Contents

The material consists of a black hardcover spring-back binder, containing draft of book to be called 'The Ionosphere by Sir Edward Appleton FRS' and dedicated 'To my research students 1920-1940'. It contains the preface and chapters 1 and 2 only, no date c.1941

Dates: c. 1941

Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / Papers of Sir Edward Victor Appleton / Lectures, speeches, publications / Projected book on the Ionosphere

Draft on ‘Irregularities’ with additional notes by R. Naismith, c. 1937

File

Identifier: Coll-37/C.393

Scope and Contents

The material consists of a 4 page manuscript draft on 'Irregularities', with 3 pages of manuscript notes on same subject by R. Naismith.

Dates: c. 1937

Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / Papers of Sir Edward Victor Appleton / Research topics / Additional Material / Absorption / 'General Theory of Absorption' / 'Absorption R.R.B. [Radio Research Board] Report' / Notes and drafts by Edward Appleton

Drafts and correspondence between Edward Appleton and A.J. Lyon, on research and publications, c. 1957-1961

File

Identifier: Coll-37/C.147

Scope and Contents

Drafts and correspondence between Edward Appleton and A.J. Lyon, on research and publications. The material includes a 1 page manuscript, 'Abstract' by Appleton, for a paper on E-layer, no date but which perhaps refers to collaborative papers on the E-layer from 1957 and 1961.

Dates: c. 1957-1961

Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / Papers of Sir Edward Victor Appleton / Research topics / General Ionospheric Topics / Data and correspondence

Drafts and ideas for research, c. 1941-1963

sub-subseries

Identifier: Coll-37/C.106-C.131

Scope and Contents From the Sub-Series: Under this heading are grouped all data, notes and correspondence which were not included in Appleton’s named folders, but were received as loose and disordered papers. Most of them relate to his period at Edinburgh University, when he conducted collaborative research on a number of ionospheric projects simultaneously. His consistent collaborator was A. G. Pritchard (later Turnbull) whose data comprise many different topics; for the period c.1949-54 he also worked closely with A.J. Lyon...

Dates: c. 1941-1963

Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / Papers of Sir Edward Victor Appleton / Research topics / General Ionospheric Topics

Drafts and ideas for research on F layer, c. 1936-1960

sub-subseries

Identifier: Coll-37/C.56-81

Scope and Contents From the Sub-Series:

Appleton's original labelled folders do not appear to have survived for the early research; those which are included here (Coll-37/C.94, C.97-C.99) are mainly from the Edinburgh period. Much of the material in this sequence has been assembled from loose papers. Appleton's own research ideas, discussion papers and drafts occupy Coll-37/C. 56-C.81 followed by an approximately chronological sequence of data and correspondence (Coll-37/C.82-C.105).

Dates: c. 1936-1960

Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / Papers of Sir Edward Victor Appleton / Research topics / F layer

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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