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:
Photograph of Edward Appleton with Duke and Duchess of York, c. 1924-1936
The material consists of a photograph of Edward Appleton with the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth) at King's College London. No date but Appleton was professor of physics here 1924-1936.
Photograph of results, 1931
The material consists of a photograph of results relating to Edward Appleton's research, dated 1931.
Photograph relating to Edward Appleton's war service, June 1916
The material consists of photograph relating to Edward Appleton's war service, dated June 1916.
Photograph relating to Edward Appleton's war service, June 1916
The material consists of photograph relating to Edward Appleton's war service, dated June 1916.
Photograph relating to Edward Appleton's war service, June 1916
The material consists of photograph relating to Edward Appleton's war service, dated June 1916.
Photographs and press-cuttings of award of Nobel Prize for Physics, 1947
The material consists of photographs and press-cuttings of award of the Nobel Prize for Physics to Edward Appleton in 1947.
Photographs at dinners and conferences attended by Edward Appleton, no date
The material consists of photographs at dinners and conferences attended by Edward Appleton. One of the pictures bears a stamp on its back reading "Journal La Lanterne, Bruxelles".
Photographs of scientific observations and equipment, 1931-1936
The material consists of photographs of scientific observations and equipment, some with dates and identifications on verso in the hands of Edward Appleton, R. Naismith, and L.J. Ingram, dated 1931, 1933 and 1936.
Portrait photographs and studies of Edward Appleton, no date, c. 1920-1965
The material consists of various portrait photographs and studies of Edward Appleton, no date, c. 1920-1965.
Postcard regarding Appleton's golf handicap, photograph of Appleton's house, menu of dinner at the Athenaeum containing signed sketch by Sir William Llewellyn P.R.A. and humourous sketch of the Halley Stewart Laboratory, 1928, 1936 and unknown
Postcard regarding Edward Appleton's golf handicap, dated 1928.
Photograph of Edward Appleton's house, undated.
Menu of dinner at the Athenaeum containing signed sketch by Sir William Llewellyn P.R.A. and humourous sketch of the Halley Stewart Laboratory, dated 1936.
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