Whipple Database

Database of the Whipple One-Name Study (WONS)

James Alfred Van Allen

James Alfred Van Allen

Male 1914 - 2006  (91 years)

Personal Information    |    Media    |    Notes    |    Event Map    |    All    |    PDF

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

    Father Alfred Morris Van Allen,   b. 1869, Mount Pleasant, Henry, Iowa Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Mother Alma E. Olney,   b. Abt 3 Aug 1884, prob, Dudley, Wapello, Iowa Find all individuals with events at this location 
    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
    Link to Google MapsBirth - 7 Sep 1914 - Mount Pleasant, Henry, Iowa Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsDeath - 9 Aug 2006 - Iowa City, Johnson, Iowa Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth 

  • Photos
    James Alfred Van Allen (1914-2006)
    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."


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