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:
Press-cuttings relating to developments in radio research, 1920s-1930s
The material consists of press-cuttings, mainly articles written by Edward Appleton relating to developments in radio research for World-Radio, Wireless World and other journals, dated 1920s and 1930s.
Press-release regarding R.A. Watson-Watt, and notes for address and speeches by Edward Appleton, 1952
The material consist of a 1 page press-release on radar awards to R.A. Watson-Watt, January 1952; an address by Edward Appleton at the Conference of School of Scottish Studies, May 1952; and Appleton’s notes for speeches in Australia, 1952.
Principal Sir Edward Appleton: Correspondence With Chancellor, 1952-1965
Principal Sir Edward Appleton: Correspondence With Chancellor.
Principal Sir Edward Appleton: General Correspondence, 1948-1954
Principal Sir Edward Appleton: General Correspondence
Principal Sir Edward Appleton: Speeches etc., 1955-1965
Principal Sir Edward Appleton: Speeches etc.
Principal Sir Edward Appleton: Thanksgiving and Memorial Service, 1965
Principal Sir Edward Appleton: Thanksgiving and Memorial Service
Programme, resolutions and papers for meeting of Mixed Commission on the Ionosphere, 1947-1948
Programme, resolutions and papers for meeting of Mixed Commission on the Ionosphere (Edward Appleton was Chairman), Brussels, July 1947. The material includes a 13 page typescript paper by Appleton and Beynon on 'Some unsolved problems of the ionosphere', paper by Chapman and Kahn on solar flares, and other research reports. Also included is printed matter regarding British papers contributed to U.R.S.I [Union Radio-Scientifique Internationale] General Assembly, Stockholm, 1948.
Progress reports on Edward Appleton's research, prepared for Radio Research Board, 1933-c.1936
Progress reports on Edward Appleton's research, prepared for Radio Research Board. The material consists of 3 reports: 1933 (King's College, London); no date, c.1934 (King's College, London); and no date, c.1936 (Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge).
Projected book on the Ionosphere, c. 1920-1941
This sub-series consists of 2 files containing material relating to Edward Appleton's planned book on the ionosphere, c. 1920-1941.
Projected layout of chapters of book on the ionosphere, c. 1920-1929
The material consists of an original folder inscribed 'Methuens Monograph' containing projected layout by Edward Appleton for eight chapters, and drafts of chapters 1 and 3. It is believed to have been written in the 1920s, much earlier than the draft in Coll-37/D.17.
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