John Marsh Wilcox papers, 1955-1990, bulk 1955-1983

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Summary

Creators:
Wilcox, John M. (John Marsh)
Abstract:
Correspondence, astrophysics papers, refereeing reports, lecture notes, travel records, reprints, research notes, films, and biographical materials, largely relating to his research and teaching.
Extent:
17 Linear Feet
Language:
Undetermined .
Preferred citation:

John Marsh Wilcox Papers (SC0380). Department of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, Calif.

Background

Scope and content:

The papers in this collection pertain to the professional work of John M. Wilcox, beginning in the late 1950s. Most of them, however, are from his years at Stanford, from 1971 to his death in 1983. They include correspondence, travel reports, evaluations of research proposals, referee reports (comments on papers submitted for publication, seminar and lecture notes, research notes, drafts and reprints of some of his publications, and several films. Also included are obituary notices and letters of condolence following his death.

Biographical / historical:

Professor John M. Wilcox (1925-1983) was recognized throughout the physics community as a leading solar physicist. Born in Iowa in 1925, he earned his B.S. from Iowa State College in 1948. He continued his studies at Berkeley, where he earned his Ph.D. in 1954. Thereafter, he joined the faculty at Berkeley and remained there until 1971. During this time, he conducted research at both the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory and the University of California Space Sciences Laboratory. In 1971, he was appointed an adjunct professor at Stanford, and shortly afterwards became the Director of the Stanford Solar Observatory. He served in this capacity until his death in 1983.

Wilcox's main field of interest was solar magnetism and its mode of influence on global weather patterns. His studies, together with those of his Stanford associates Philip B. Duffy, Kenneth H. Schatten, Philip H. Scherrer, and Leif Svalgaard, revealed that the sun reverses its polarity four times during its 27-day rotation. He was the first to observe that the sun pulses every 2 hours and 40 minutes. He discovered a method to forecast three days in advance which types of solar flare would disrupt the earth's atmosphere. Since these disruptions have an adverse effect of global communications, this discovery had considerable practical value.

Wilcox's attempts to correlate solar activity with the earth's weather brought him into close contact with other research groups throughout the world, particularly with the solar observatory in Crimea. From 1973 to 1979, he was the American chairman of a joint U.S.-Soviet project on the influences of a solar activity on climate.

A fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Physical Society and the Royal Astronomical Society of London, he was also active in the Amateur Chamber Music Society and in the Cedar Falls Historical Society. He authored more than 100 technical papers.

John M. Wilcox died on October 4, 1983, at the age of 58 while swimming near Puerto Penasco, Mexico.

Acquisition information:
Transferred from the Stanford Solar Observatory, 1990, and the Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory, 2001.
Physical location:
Special Collections and University Archives materials are stored offsite and must be paged 48 hours in advance. For more information on paging collections, see the department's website: https://library.stanford.edu/libraries/special-collections.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Materials are open for research use. Audio-visual materials are not available in original format and must be reformatted to a digital use copy.

Terms of access:

While University Archives is the owner of the physical and/or digital items, permission to examine collection materials is not an authorization to publish. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. Any transmission or reproduction beyond that allowed by fair use requires permission from the owners of rights, heir(s) or assigns.

Preferred citation:

John Marsh Wilcox Papers (SC0380). Department of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, Calif.

Location of this collection:
Stanford University Archives, Green Library
557 Escondido Mall
Stanford, CA 94305-6064, US
Contact:
(650) 725-1022
specialcollections@stanford.edu
Website