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:
Drafts for paper by Appleton, Lyon and Pritchard, 'Some anomalies in the E-layer of the Ionosphere', 1955
Drafts for paper by Appleton, Lyon and Pritchard, 'Some anomalies in the E-layer of the Ionosphere'. Typescript. The material consists of: 'Draft lay-out', 5 pages; Introduction and text, 5 pages plus 40 pages; and concluding summary of results, dated October 1955, 3 pages.
Drafts for papers and research notes on collaborative work by Edward Appleton on E layer with A. J. Lyon and A. G. Pritchard, 1954-1965
Drafts for papers and research notes on collaborative work by Edward Appleton on E-layer with A. J. Lyon and A. G. Pritchard, dated 1954-1965.
Drafts for papers on absorption, no date and 1948
Drafts for papers on absorption. The material consists of short sequences only, no date. Also included is a 1 page note, ‘Measurements of Oblique-Incidence Absorption’, by G.McK. Allcock, 1948.
Drafts for papers, or sections of papers, on ionospheric storms, no date
The material consists of drafts for papers, or sections of papers by Edward Appleton, on ionospheric storms. Some of the material is paginated.
Drafts, notes, headings, references, anecdotes, etc. for Edward Appleton’s speeches, c. 1920-1965
The material consists of drafts, notes, headings, references, anecdotes, etc. for Edward Appleton’s speeches on subjects including science, education, government, etc
Edinburgh and Scottish organisations, schools, societies, etc. (not indexed), 1965
Letters of condolence received on Sir Edward Appleton's death from Edinburgh and Scottish organisations, schools, societies, etc. (not indexed), 1965.
Edinburgh University ceremonies, c. 1949-1965
The material consists of photographs of Edward Appleton at Edinburgh University ceremonies, including visits from H.R.H. Prince Philip and Pandit Nehru [Jawaharlal Nehru]. No date, however Appleton was principal and vice-chancellor from 1949 until his death in 1965 so would be during these years.
Edinburgh University Diary, 1953-1954
The diary includes scientific notes and ideas.
Edinburgh University Diary, 1954-1955
The diary contains a few scientific notes.
Edinburgh University Diary, 1955-1956
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.
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