James Alfred Van Allen

1914 - 2006  (91 years)

• Name	James Alfred Van Allen
  Birth	7 Sep 1914	Mount Pleasant, Henry, Iowa
  Gender	Male
  Death	9 Aug 2006	Iowa City, Johnson, Iowa
  Person ID	I95462	Whipple Descendants
  Last Modified	18 Nov 2009

  
  

  Father	Alfred Morris Van Allen,   b. 1869, Mount Pleasant, Henry, Iowa
  Mother	Alma E. Olney,   b. Abt 3 Aug 1884, prob, Dudley, Wapello, Iowa
  Family ID	F27347	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Abigail "Abbie" Fithian Halsey, II
  Marriage	Fall 1945
  Children	1. Private   2. Private   3. Private   4. Private   5. Private
  Family ID	F40199	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - 7 Sep 1914 - Mount Pleasant, Henry, Iowa Death - 9 Aug 2006 - Iowa City, Johnson, Iowa  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Photos

  James Alfred Van Allen (1914-2006) Pioneering astrophysicist who discovered the Van Allen radiation belts.

  
  

• Notes

  !SOURCE: Email from Cate Heneghan (email hidden) to the Whipple Website, 19 Nov 2004. !SOURCE: George H. Ludwig, "James Alfred Van Allen from High School to the Beginning of the Space Era: A Biographical Sketch," Prepared for Van Allen's 90th Birthday Celebration at the University of Iowa, 9 October 2004. On the Web at: http://www-pw.physics.uiowa.edu/van90/VanAllenBio_LudwigOct2004.pdf !SOURCE: "What Is a Space Scientist? An Autobiographical Example," by James A. Van Allen (http://www-pi.physics.uiowa.edu/java/). !BIOGRAPHY: "James Van Allen is credited with discovering the Earth's magnetosphere and radiation belts. These belts are now called the Van Allen Radiation Belts. They explain the aurora borealis effect seen in the northern latitudes. Every physics student knows the name Van Allen." --C. Heneghan !CHILDREN: 5 children. --"What Is a Scientist?" !SOURCE: Obituary in the Iowa City Press-Citizen, 9 Aug 2006. !SOURCE: Voice of America News (http://www.voanews.com/english/2006-08-09-voa57.cfm), 9 Aug 2006. "The highlight of Van Allen's career was in the 1950s when instruments he designed and placed aboard the first U.S. satellite, Explorer One, discovered the bands of radiation surrounding the Earth. Those radiation belts were later named after Van Allen."