Edward Appleton

Sir Edward Victor Appleton (1892-1965) 

By Dianne Excell and Peter Excell (deceased)

This account of the life and work of Edward Appleton is based on research by the late Professor Peter Excell and Mrs Dianne Excell. In its current form it has been written by Mrs Dianne Excell.

One of the injustices in life is that often those who do the most towards shaping events do not catch the eye of the general public. Sir Edward Appleton was one of the academic giants of the early 20th century yet it is doubtful whether the man-in-the street could pinpoint his niche in the hall of fame. William Baker – Technical Editor (Research) to the Marconi Company.

So why does Sir Edward Appleton’s name appear on several buildings in Bradford?

Edward Appleton was perhaps the greatest scientist to have come from Bradford: He won the Nobel Prize for Physics; he laid the foundations for international wireless communications and he made lasting contributions to our understanding of the Sun and the Earth’s atmosphere. Yet he was a working class lad with virtually no chance of getting to university no matter how brilliant he was – unless he was incredibly lucky. Fortunately, he was both!

 

Early life

Edward Victor Appleton was born in a small house in the Barkerend area of Bradford on 6th September 1892. Peter, his father was a warehouseman. He had two sisters, Isabel, a sickly child who died in 1911, and Dorothy born in 1913 and died in 2000.   In those days, there was no television or radio, and cinema was only just starting. A major centre of communal activity was the Bethesda Methodist Chapel at the end of the road, where Peter Appleton was the choirmaster. Edward took part in many of the activities: gymnastics; football; choir and outings to the Yorkshire Dales. He attended Barkerend Elementary School, Hanson (Secondary) School in Barkerend Road. At school he seemed to excel in all subjects, including art as well as the sciences. His name appears on the Honours Board at Hanson School several times, the first being in 1910 after he won an Isaac Holden Scholarship (value £150per annum). This enabled him to become a student at St. John’s College, Cambridge. He also studied and worked in the Department of Chemistry and Dyeing at Bradford Technical College in 1911-1913 as a blue plaque on the wall of the now Bradford College testifies. He graduated with First Class Honours in Physics and Mineralogy in 1913/14.

World War 1

Edward was a Bradford Pal in the West Riding Regiment and became a captain in the signals branch of the Royal Engineers. Working in the early days of radio, he was interested in fading radio signals – and so began his eminent career in atmospheric physics. He married Jessie Longson, daughter of the Bethesda Chapel Minister, in 1915.

Post World War 1

In 1918 he returned to Cambridge University.

In 1920 his research at the Cavendish Lab. in Cambridge investigated the way in which radio signals varied according to different times of the year and different places around the earth. This helped radio engineers to understand the way different wavelengths were needed in communications.

In 1922 he moved to Trinity College Cambridge.

Between 1924 and 1936, he was Professor of Physics at Kings College, London. In 1901 Marconi’s experiment in radio transmission was successful, although it wasn’t expected to. As an explanation in 1902, American scientists Kennelly and Heaviside suspected a reflecting layer may exist in the atmosphere. Using BBC transmitters in 1924, Appleton’s experiments proved the existence of a layer in the upper atmosphere about 60 miles above ground which reflected radio waves back to earth (‘a mirror in the sky’) and named it the Kennelly- Heaviside Layer. Further experiments in 1926 showed there was a stronger reflecting layer 150 miles above the ground which made world broadcasting possible. This became known as the Appleton Layer but both layers are now known as the Ionosphere.

World War 2 onwards

In 1939, as Secretary to the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, he had key responsibility for Civil Science and vital defence matters. His research in this post provided the basis of the technique developed by Robert Watson-Watt for aircraft detection. He stated that, ‘but for the scientific work of Appleton, radar would have come too late to have been a decisive influence in The Battle of Britain.’

In 1943 Appleton visited the USA to make Britain’s contribution in the Manhattan Project involved in the development of the atomic bomb.

In 1949 he returned to academic life, becoming Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh and continued in this post till his death in 1965. He continued to lecture and research in ionospheric physics and his international reputation led to his participation in a number of worldwide scientific activities.

Accolades

1941 – Knight Commander of the Bath

In 1947 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics for his contributions to the knowledge of the ionosphere which led to the development of radar by Robert Watson-Watt – so crucial in WW2 and later important in space exploration and satellite communications.

1947 – French Legion of Honour.

1947 – Freedom of the City of Bradford presented by the Right Worshipful Lord Mayor, Alderman T. I. Clough JP.

1947 – International recognition in India and Denmark, the Norwegian Cross of Freedom and the Medal of Merit USA.

1948 – Medal of Pontifical Academy of Science presented by the Pope.

1952 – Honorary Doctor of Science at the University of Sydney – one of 17 Honorary degrees.

1950s – played a crucial role in the development and establishment of Jodrell Bank as a center for radio astronomy. He recognized the potential of radio astronomy and actively supported the research program at Jodrell Bank, including securing government funding.

1962 – IEEE Medal of Honour – the highest recognition of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

The Appleton Layer – part of the ionosphere 150 miles above the ground.

A crater on the moon.

1966 – The Appleton Tower at the University of Edinburgh which is the centre for Sciences with a display of his awards in the foyer.

Blue Plaques at Kings College, London and Bradford College.

 

Edward’s wife Jessie died in 1964. He married his secretary, Helen Lennie, in 1965 just a month before he died. She died in 1983 and is buried in the same grave as Edward in Morningside Cemetery, Edinburgh.

Obituary

‘… as one of the foremost physicists of his time, he combined a genius for research with a gift for administration and showed great shrewdness and determination… Sir Edward was a wise counsellor both to the great organisations and institutions that he served and to his younger friends, in whose careers and problems he took a warmly human interest.

Quotations from Sir Edward

‘I rate enthusiasm even above professional skill.’

‘I am only a physicist with nothing material to show for my labours. I have never seen the ionosphere, although I have worked on the subject for 30 years. That does show ow lucky people can be. If there had been no ionosphere, I would not have been standing here this morning’

‘No scientific subject has ever aroused quite the same mixture of hopes and fears.’

‘The history of science has proved that fundamental research is the lifeblood of individual progress and that the ideas that lead to spectacular advances spring from it.’

 

To find out more:

Nobel Prize page – https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1947/appleton/biographical/

Wikipedia page – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Appleton

Rishbeth, H. Reflections in Appleton’s Mirror: a century of ionospheric science, Engineering Science and Education Journal, August 1995, pp.167-175

Excell, P. S. Sir Edward Appleton and Joseph Priestley: two giants of electrical science, Journal of Atmospheric and Terrestrial Physics, Vol. 56. May 1994, pp. 693-704

Clark, R. Sir Edward Appleton, Pergamon Press, Oxford, 1971