Interview with John E. Baldwin, 1972

John E. Baldwin, 1931-2010. Interviewed 26 July 1972, Groningen, length of interview: 120 minutes.

Papers of Woodruff T. Sullivan III

Oral History

Sullivan, Woodruff T., III

Baldwin, John E.

Audio cassette tape

120 minutes

"Entire" history of Cambridge radio astronomy group 1945-1964. He started there in 1952. First work on sun and ionospheric scintillation, then all the low frequency surveys: 1C, 2C, 3C, 3CR, 4C, 5C. Concepts of aperture synthesis and interferometery and philosophy of the group. Intensity and excitement of two ~2 month periods in December 1957 and December 1968 connected with Sputnik I and first pulsars. Source counts, source structures, engineering versus astronomy, etc.

1972-07-26

This interview was conducted as part of Sullivan's research for his book, Cosmic Noise: A History of Early Radio Astronomy (Cambridge University Press, 2009). In preparing Sullivan interviews for web publication, the NRAO/AUI Archives has made a concerted effort to obtain release forms from interviewees or from their heirs or next of kin. In the case of this interview, we have been unable to find anyone to sign a release. In accordance with our open access policy, we are posting the interview. If you suspect alleged copyright infringement on our site, please email archivist @ nrao.edu. Upon request, we will remove material from public view while we address a rights issue. Please contact us if you are able to supply any contact information for the interviewee or his heirs/next of kin.

We are grateful for the 2011 Herbert C. Pollock Award from Dudley Observatory which funded digitization of the original cassette tapes. Please bear in mind that an interview must be heard with the awareness that different people's memories about an event will often differ, and that memories can change with time for many reasons including subsequent experiences, interactions with others, and one's feelings about an event.

Working Files Series

Individuals Unit

8A