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

 Person

Staff Only

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:

Memorials and obituaries, 1960-61

 File
Identifier: BAI 11/2
Scope and Contents

Memorials and obituaries of John Baillie, from publications, newspapers, minutes and other sources. Authors include Isobel Mary Forrester, John McIntyre, Sir Edward Appleton, Henry Pitney Van Dusen. Also the texts of funeral readings.

Dates: 1960-61
Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / Papers of Professor John Baillie, and Baillie Family Papers / John Baillie: posthumous

'Method of procedure', no date

 File
Identifier: Coll-37/C.240
Scope and Contents

'Method of procedure', no date. The material consists of 2 manuscript pages notes of notes by Edward Appleton with shorter notes and drafts.

Dates: no date
Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / Papers of Sir Edward Victor Appleton / Research topics / Oscillators / Drafts and notes by Edward Appleton

Miscellaneous biographical information, articles on Appleton and his work, obituary tributes, etc., 20th century

 File
Identifier: Coll-37/A.1
Scope and Contents

Miscellaneous biographical information, articles on Appleton and his work, obituary tributes, etc.

Dates: 20th century
Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / Papers of Sir Edward Victor Appleton / Biographical and personal / Biographical and bibliographical

Miscellaneous items of biographical interest., 1918, c 1973

 File
Identifier: Coll-37/A.59
Scope and Contents Miscellaneous items of biographical interest relating to Sir Edward Appleton. The material includes:Letter regarding arrangements for change of name of Radio and Space Research Station, Slough, to the Appleton Laboratory, 1973.Photographs of the 'Appleton Crater' on the moon.Photocopy of front pages of Field Telephones and Telegraphs, by E.J. Stevens, 1918. The 'Note to the Fifth Edition' acknowledges the help of...
Dates: 1918, c 1973
Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / Papers of Sir Edward Victor Appleton / Biographical and personal

Miscellaneous notes, etc. on ionisation, c. 1931-1938

 File
Identifier: Coll-37/C.180
Scope and Contents

Miscellaneous notes, etc. on ionisation, not included in Edward Appleton's original folder. The material consists of; 'Further Notes for the Discussion', a 5 page typescript, by Appleton, no date, c. 1931; 'Representative Character Figures of Upper Atmosphere Ionisation', a 2 page typescript, author unknown, c.1938; and photocopied material regarding Heaviside.

Dates: c. 1931-1938
Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / Papers of Sir Edward Victor Appleton / Research topics / Ionisation

Miscellaneous pages and figure for a paper on E-layer, c.1930-1950

 File
Identifier: Coll-37/C.38
Scope and Contents

Miscellaneous pages and figure for a paper on the E-layer.

Dates: c.1930-1950
Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / Papers of Sir Edward Victor Appleton / Research topics / E layer

Miscellaneous photographs relating to Appleton's research, 1939 and no date

 File
Identifier: Coll-37/H.6
Scope and Contents

The material consists of miscellaneous photographs relating to Edward Appleton's scientific research, one dated 1939. Most of them have no caption, except for one entitled "The Observatory, Eskdalemuir", and one with writing on the back: "Radio source NGC 4486, 100" telescope; [lambda] < 4000 A, showing discharge channel. [G]aade and [...]kowski Fig 8".

Dates: 1939 and no date
Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / Papers of Sir Edward Victor Appleton / Non-print material / Scientific photographs

N, 1965

 File
Identifier: Coll-37/A.51
Scope and Contents

Letters of condolence received on Sir Edward Appleton's death, "N", 1965.

Dates: 1965
Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / Papers of Sir Edward Victor Appleton / Biographical and personal / Letters of condolence received on Sir Edward Appleton's death

Newspaper article, 'Scotland and the Atomic Age' and 4 notes for speeches and addresses by Edward Appleton, January 1960-November 1960

 File
Identifier: Coll-37/D.59
Scope and Contents The material consists of ‘Scotland and the Atomic Age', an article written for The Scotsman, January 1960, 3 pages, typescript; Dinner speech at Edinburgh University Schools Club, February 1960, 14 pages, typescript; Dinner speech for British Federation of University Women, May 1960, 15 pages, typescript; Address at Guildhall, U.R.S.I. [Union Radio-Scientifique Internationale ] General Assembly, September 1960, 9 pages, typescript; and Address at Conference on Natural...
Dates: January 1960-November 1960
Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / Papers of Sir Edward Victor Appleton / Lectures, speeches, publications

'Normal and Abnormal Absorption of Radio Waves in the Ionosphere' by Edward Appleton and W.R. Piggott , c. 1935-1948

 File
Identifier: Coll-37/C.394
Scope and Contents

The material consists of an extensive draft for the paper 'Normal and Abnormal Absorption of Radio Waves in the Ionosphere' by Edward Appleton and W.R. Piggott; and various sequences, some with comments by Piggott, no date (Not listed in bibliography).

Dates: c. 1935-1948
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

Additional filters:

Subject
Physics 663
Correspondence 190
Radio Broadcasting 45
Diaries 33
Magnetism 24
Radar 17
Norway 14
Absorption 13
Astronomy 11
Meteors 11
Magnetic Storms 8
Oscillations 8
University of Edinburgh 8
University of Edinburgh -- Principals 8
Appleton, Edward Victor, Sir, 1892-1965 -- Correspondence 7
Science 7
Mathematics 6
Electricity 5
Television broadcasting 5
World War, 1914-1918 5
Belgium -- Brussels 4
History of Science 4
Tides 4
Atmosphere 3
Nuclear Energy 3
Aurora 2
Edinburgh -- Scotland 2
Electronics 2
Guest books 2
Industry 2
Johannesburg (South Africa) 2
Nuclear Physics 2
Obituaries 2
Peru 2
Photographs 2
Prizes 2
Seasonal variations 2
United States -- D.C. -- Washington 2
United States -- Ohio -- Cincinnati 2
Waddington, Conrad Hal, 1905-1975 -- Correspondence 2
Weather 2
Academic Writing 1
Air Force 1
America 1
Architecture 1
Architecture, Designs and Plans 1
Army Personnel 1
Atmospheric Pressure, Measurement 1
Atomic bomb 1
Auroras 1
Australia 1
Australia -- New South Wales -- Sydney 1
Baking 1
Bibliography 1
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Body temperature--Regulation 1
Calculus Integral 1
Cambridge (England) 1
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Copenhagen (Denmark) 1
Copenhagen, Denmark 1
Eclipses 1
Electric Circuits 1
Electrical engineering 1
Electromagnetic Waves 1
Encyclopedias and Dictionaries 1
England -- Merseyside -- Liverpool 1
England -- West Yorkshire -- Bradford 1
Eschatology 1
Falkland Islands 1
Fuel Technology 1
Funeral Rites and Ceremonies 1
Germany -- Lower Saxony -- Hanover 1
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Italy 1
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Massachusetts -- Harvard 1
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Netherlands -- The Hague 1
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