John Wainwright Evans

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John Wainwright Evans
Born(1909-05-14)May 14, 1909
New York City, New York, U.S.
DiedOctober 31, 1999(1999-10-31) (aged 90)
Santa Fe, New Mexico, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Known forEvans Solar Facility
SpouseBetty Evans
Awards
Scientific career
FieldsAstronomy

John Wainwright Evans (May 14, 1909 – October 31, 1999) was an American solar astronomer born in New York City.

Sacramento Peak was named after him.[2] Evans died in a murder–suicide
with his wife in 1999.

Education

Evans graduated from Swarthmore College in 1932 with a bachelor's degree in mathematics, and 1936 from Harvard University with a master's degree after spending some time in the University of Pennsylvania's astronomy department. In 1938 he was awarded a doctorate in astronomy by Harvard.[2]

Career

Evans taught for a year at the

Chabot Observatory and was appointed assistant professor. There he independently and belatedly invented the Lyot filter. In 1942 Evans moved to University of Rochester's Institute of Optics and developed optics for the military effort.[3]

Between 1946 and 1952 he served as assistant superintendent of the High Altitude Observatory, working in both Boulder and Climax, Colorado. In 1952, he became the first director of the United States Air Force's new Upper Air Research Observatory, located at Sacramento Peak in southern New Mexico. The facility he directed was renamed the National Solar Observatory after the National Science Foundation took over responsibility for it in 1976. As director of the observatory Evans chose the name Sunspot, New Mexico, for the post office and community where the observatory was located.[1][4]

Awards

While working at the National Solar Observatory, Evans was awarded

Evans retired from paid employment in 1974. After retiring, Evans was awarded

Optical Society of America in 1987[9] for distinguished work in applied optics. In 1987 the Evans Solar Facility was named in his honor.[10]

Death

Evans died on October 31, 1999, at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, as the protagonist in a murder–suicide with his 89-year-old wife Betty.[4][11]

Bibliography

Evans wrote a number of astronomy related books and papers.

References

  1. ^
    Bibcode:2000BAAS...32.1663D. Archived from the original
    on December 19, 2013. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  2. ^
    doi:10.1063/1.4765690
    .
  3. ISBN 978-0-387-31022-0
    .
  4. ^
    ISSN 0362-4331. Archived
    from the original on 2013-12-25. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  5. ^ "AAAS Newcomb Cleveland Prize, 1957". archives.aaas.org. Archived from the original on 4 January 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  6. doi:10.1086/128082
    .
  7. ^ Liebowitz, Ruth P. "CHRONOLOGY From the Cambridge Field Stations to the Air Force Geophysics Laboratory 1945-1985" (PDF). Hanscom Air Force Base, Bedford, MA: Air Force Geophysics Laboratory. p. 117 (Appendix E). Archived from the original on 2013-12-19. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  8. ^ "SPD Hale Prize Citations". AAS. Archived from the original on 2013-08-13. Retrieved 2009-10-06.
  9. ^ "David Richardson Medal". OSA.org. The Optical Society. 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-12-18. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  10. ^ "March 2009 Trip To Gran Quivira, New Mexico". obsessedeas.org. Mike & Pim Borman. 2009. Retrieved January 5, 2014.
  11. ^ Simon, George (December 25, 1999). "Mourning the Loss of Jack and Betty Evans" (PDF). Mountain Times. Sacramento Mountains, New Mexico. p. 14. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2008-08-07. Retrieved January 5, 2014.
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