John Wainwright Evans (May 14, 1909 – October 31, 1999) was an American solar astronomer born in New York City. He spent much of his career studying the sun and working with optics both of which earned him awards. The Evans Solar Facility at Sacramento Peak was named after him. Evans died in a

murder–suicide A murder–suicide is an act where an individual intentionally kills one or more people before killing themselves. The combination of murder and suicide can take various forms: * Suicide after or during murder inflicted on others ** Suicide af ...

with his wife in 1999.

Education

Evans graduated from

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the e ...

in 1932 with a bachelor's degree in mathematics, and 1936 from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

with a master's degree after spending some time in the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

's astronomy department. In 1938 he was awarded a doctorate in astronomy by Harvard.

Career

Evans taught for a year at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

, then at

Mills College Mills College at Northeastern University in Oakland, California is part of Northeastern University's global university system. Mills College was founded as the Young Ladies Seminary in 1852 in Benicia, California; it was relocated to Oakland in ...

. While teaching in

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

he worked at the

Chabot Observatory Chabot Space and Science Center (), located in Oakland, California, is a center for learning in Earth and space science, which features interactive exhibits, planetariums, a large screen theater, hands-on activities, and three powerful telescope ...

and was appointed assistant professor. There he independently and belatedly invented the

Lyot filter A Lyot filter (polarization-interference monochromator, birefringent filter), named for its inventor and French astronomer Bernard Lyot, is a type of optical filter that uses birefringence to produce a narrow passband of transmitted wavelengths. L ...

. In 1942 Evans moved to

University of Rochester The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...

's Institute of Optics and developed optics for the military effort. Between 1946 and 1952 he served as assistant superintendent of the

High Altitude Observatory The High Altitude Observatory (HAO) is a laboratory of the US National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). HAO operates the Mauna Loa Solar Observatory on Hawaii (island), Hawaii and a research institute in Boulder, Colorado. Its staff condu ...

, working in both

Boulder In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In ...

and

Climax, Colorado Climax is an extinct mining company town, railroad station, and post office located in Lake County, Colorado, United States. The town site is located at an elevation of at Fremont Pass on the Continental Divide of the Americas. The Climax s ...

. In 1952, he became the first director of the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

's new Upper Air Research Observatory, located at Sacramento Peak in southern New Mexico. The facility he directed was renamed the

National Solar Observatory The National Solar Observatory (NSO) is a United States federally funded research and development center to advance the knowledge of the physics of the Sun. NSO studies the Sun both as an astronomical object and as the dominant external influen ...

after the

National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...

took over responsibility for it in 1976. As director of the observatory Evans chose the name

Sunspot, New Mexico Sunspot is an unincorporated community in the Sacramento Mountains in the Lincoln National Forest in Otero County, New Mexico, United States, about south of Cloudcroft. Its elevation is . The Sunspot Solar Observatory and Apache Point Obse ...

, for the post office and community where the observatory was located.

Awards

While working at the National Solar Observatory, Evans was awarded *The

Newcomb Cleveland Prize The Newcomb Cleveland Prize of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is annually awarded to author(s) of outstanding scientific paper published in the Research Articles or Reports sections of ''Science Science is a ...

of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

(1957) *Fellowship of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

(1964) *The

Department of Defense Distinguished Civilian Service Award The Department of Defense Distinguished Civilian Service Award is the highest civilian award given by the United States Department of Defense. This award and accompanying Distinguished Civilian Service Medal is the department's highest award given ...

(1965) *An

Honorary Doctor of Science A Doctor of Science (; most commonly abbreviated DSc or ScD) is a science doctorate awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. Africa Algeria and Morocco In Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia, all universities accredited by the s ...

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...

(1967) *The

Guenter Loeser Memorial Award The Guenter Loeser Memorial Award was first established in 1955 at the Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratory. It was named after Dr. Loeser, a meteorologist who lost his life while conducting a field experiment. Over time, AFCRL became the Air Fo ...

by the

Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosphere ...

(1967) *The Rockefeller Award for Distinguished Public Service (1969) *An Honorary Doctor of Science at

(1970) *An Outstanding Achievement Award, Air Force Office of Aerospace Research (1970) Evans retired from paid employment in 1974. After retiring, Evans was awarded

George Ellery Hale Prize The George Ellery Hale Prize, or Hale Prize, is awarded annually by the Solar Physics Division of the American Astronomical Society for outstanding contributions over an extended period of time to the field of solar astronomy. The prize is named in ...

of the Solar Physics Division of the

American Astronomical Society The American Astronomical Society (AAS, sometimes spoken as "double-A-S") is an American society of professional astronomers and other interested individuals, headquartered in Washington, DC. The primary objective of the AAS is to promote the adv ...

in 1982, and the

David Richardson Medal The David Richardson Medal is awarded by the Optical Society (formerly the Optical Society of America) to recognize contributions to optical engineering, primarily in the commercial and industrial sector. The award was first made in 1966 to its nam ...

of the

Optical Society of America Optica, founded as the Optical Society of America (later the Optical Society), is a professional society of individuals and companies with an interest in optics and photonics. It publishes journals, organizes conferences and exhibitions, and ca ...

in 1987 for distinguished work in applied optics. In 1987 the Evans Solar Facility was named in his honor.

Death

Evans died on October 31, 1999, at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, as the protagonist in a

with his 89-year-old wife Betty.

Bibliography

Evans wrote a number of astronomy related books and papers. *Evans, John Wainwright, (1938), ''The Distribution of Stars and Absorbing Material in the Perseus-Cassiopeia Region of the Milky Way'',

, *Evans, John Wainwright, (1948), ''A Photometer for Measurement of Sky Brightness Near the Sun'',

Journal of the Optical Society of America The ''Journal of the Optical Society of America'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal of optics, published by Optica. It was established in 1917 and in 1984 was split into two parts, A and B. ''Journal of the Optical Society of America A'' ...

*Menzel, Donald Howard, Evans, John Wainwright, (1953), ''The Behavior and Classification of Solar Prominences'',

Harvard College Observatory The Harvard College Observatory (HCO) is an institution managing a complex of buildings and multiple instruments used for astronomical research by the Harvard University Department of Astronomy. It is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United St ...

, *Evans, John Wainwright, (1963), ''The Solar Corona'',

International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...

, *Altrock, Richard C., Evans, John Wainwright, (1988), ''Solar and Stellar Coronal Structure and Dynamics'',

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, John Wainwright American astrophysicists 20th-century American astronomers Scientists from New York City Suicides by firearm in New Mexico Swarthmore College alumni Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni University of Minnesota faculty Mills College faculty Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 1909 births 1999 deaths 1999 suicides