Clabon Walter (Cla) Allen

FRAS FRAS may refer to: * Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, post-nominal letters * Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland Fellows of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland are individuals who have bee ...

, (28 December 1904 – 11 December 1987) was an Australian

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either o ...

, director of the University of London Observatory and author of ''Astrophysical Quantities''. Allen was born at Subiaco, Perth the third child of James Bernard Allen (died 1912), a

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

n-born lecturer in physics at Perth Technical School, and his wife Alice Hooper, ''née'' Aitken, a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

-born trained nurse. Cla (as he was known) was educated at the High School,

Perth, Western Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

and the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...

(B.Sc., 1926; M.Sc., 1929; D.Sc., 1936). Allen was appointed to a research fellowship at the newly established Commonwealth Solar Observatory in 1926 at

Mount Stromlo Mount Stromlo (formerly Mount Strom ) is a mountain with an elevation of that is situated in the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. The mountain is most notable as the location of the Mount Stromlo Observatory. The mountain forms part ...

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. ...

, becoming an assistant there in 1928. Allen observed the 1 October 1940 solar eclipse in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

and obtained important results on the

solar corona A corona ( coronas or coronae) is the outermost layer of a star's atmosphere. It consists of plasma. The Sun's corona lies above the chromosphere and extends millions of kilometres into outer space. It is most easily seen during a total sola ...

, including measurements of its electron density which were to prove invaluable to radio astronomers. Allen accepted an invitation by Sir Harrie Massey in 1951 to become Perren professor of astronomy at

University College, London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

, and director of the University of London Observatory,

Mill Hill Mill Hill is a suburb in the London Borough of Barnet, England. It is situated around northwest of Charing Cross. Mill Hill was in the historic county of Middlesex until 1965, when it became part of Greater London. Its population counted 18,45 ...

. Within a few years Allen had built up his observatory into one of the best astronomical departments in England. He published the first edition of ''Astrophysical Quantities'' in 1955, a compilation of numerical data of astrophysical interest. Universally known as "AQ", it is the most quoted book on the subject.

References

External links

Allen, Clabon Walter (1904–1987)
at Encyclopedia of Australian Science
Interview with Clabon Allen, Professor of Astronomy / Interviewer: Amy MacGrath. (sound recording)
at Trove, National Library of Australia {{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Clabon Walter 1904 births 1987 deaths 20th-century Australian astronomers Fellows of the Royal Astronomical Society Academics of University College London University of Western Australia alumni