The British scientist Sir Edward Victor Appleton (1892-1965) was a pioneer in radio physics who gained fame through his study of the ionosphere--the upper reaches of the atmosphere.

Edward Victor Appleton was born on September 6, 1892, in Bradford, Yorkshire, England. He was a brilliant student who excelled in the study of literature and language as well as science and mathematics. At age 16 he entered the University of London and two years later was awarded a scholarship for study at Cambridge University. Appleton left Cambridge in 1913, graduating with first-class honors in physics. He immediately began postgraduate work in crystallography with the distinguished physicist Sir Lawrence Bragg.

The advent of World War I interrupted this research effort. Appleton enlisted in the Royal Engineers and was assigned to signal duty as a commissioned officer. It was here that he was first introduced to radio, a means of communication then in its infancy...