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Edward Victor Appleton

Edward Victor AppletonBorn: 6-Sep-1892
Birthplace: Bradford, Yorkshire, England
Died: 21-Apr-1965
Location of death: Edinburgh, Scotland
Cause of death: unspecified
Remains: Buried, Morningside Cemetery, Edinburgh, Scotland

Gender: Male
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Physicist

Nationality: England
Executive summary: Ionosphere, shortwave radio

Military service: British Army (6th West Yorkshire Battalion, 1914-18)

British physicist Edward Victor Appleton established that the ionosphere exists, and conducted research that led to the development of radar and shortwave radio. He studied under William Bragg, Ernest Rutherford, and J. J. Thomson, and won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1947. In 1924 he proved the existence and height of the ionosphere, using a technique which was later exploited to develop radar. In 1926 he discovered the F layer of ionization (also called the Appleton Layer) and showed that it could be used to reflect shortwave radio broadcasts around the world. He also studied crystallography and the principles of vacuum tubes.

Father: Peter Appleton (warehouse worker)
Mother: Mary Wilcock Appleton
Wife: Jessie Longson (m. 1915, d. 1964, two daughters)
Daughter: Marjery
Daughter: Rosalind
Wife: Helen Lennie Allison (his long-time secretary, m. Mar-1965)

    High School: Hanson Grammar School, West Yorkshire, England (1909)
    University: BA Natural Science, St. John's College, Cambridge University (1913)
    Scholar: MS Physics, Cambridge University (1914)
    Scholar: Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge University (1920-22)
    Scholar: Trinity College, Cambridge University (1922-24)
    Professor: Wheatstone Professor of Physics, King's College, University of London (1924-36)
    Scholar: Jacksonian Professor of Natural Philosophy, Cambridge University (1936-39)
    Administrator: Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Edinburgh University (1949-65)

    Royal Society 1927
    Institute of Radio Engineers Vice President, 1932
    Hughes Medal 1933
    Knighthood 1941 (Order of the Bath)
    Knight of the British Empire 1946
    Norwegian Cross of Freedom 1946
    French Legion of Honor 1947
    Nobel Prize for Physics 1947
    Royal Society of Edinburgh 1947
    Pontifical Academy of Sciences 1948
    Journal of Atmospheric and Terrestrial Physics Founder & Editor (1951-65)
    Royal Society of Arts Albert Medal 1950
    Royal Medal 1950
    IEEE Medal of Honor 1962
    UK Official Secretary of Scientific and Industrial Research (1939-49)
    English Ancestry
    Lunar Crater Appleton (37.2° N, 158.3° E, 63 km. diameter)


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