(Stanley) Keith RuncornFRS[2] (19 November 1922 – 5 December 1995) was a British physicist whose paleomagnetic reconstruction of the relative motions of Europe and America revived the theory of continental drift and was a major contribution to plate tectonics.[2][3][4]
Runcorn's PhD led to his interest in palaeomagnetism, the study of the magnetism of rocks, which he pursued first at the Geophysics Department at the University of Cambridge and later at Newcastle University, where he was appointed to the chair of Physics in 1956. At Newcastle, Runcorn developed a strong research group in geophysics, and made substantial contributions to various fields, including convection in the Earth and Moon, the shape and magnetic fields of the Moon and planets, magnetohydrodynamics of the Earth's core, changes in the length of the day, polar wandering, continental drift and plate tectonics. After his retirement in 1988 he continued to be active in various lines of research until his untimely death in San Diego in 1995.
—; Benson, A. C.; Moore, A. F. (27 November 1951). "Measurements of the Variation with Depth of the Main Geomagnetic Field". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences. 244 (878): 113–151. Bibcode:1951RSPTA.244..113R. doi:10.1098/rsta.1951.0017. S2CID122914565.
Collinson, D. W.; Creer, K. M.; Irving, E.; Runcorn, S. K. (29 August 1957). "The Measurement of the Permanent Magnetization of Rocks". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences. 250 (974): 73–82. Bibcode:1957RSPTA.250...73C. doi:10.1098/rsta.1957.0012. S2CID123560074.
Irving, E.; Runcorn, S. K. (29 August 1957). "Analysis of the Palaeomagnetism of the Torridonian Sandstone Series of North-West Scotland. I". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences. 250 (974): 83–99. Bibcode:1957RSPTA.250...83I. doi:10.1098/rsta.1957.0013. S2CID123618344.
Creer, K. M.; E. Irving; A. E. M. Nairn; S. K. Runcorn (1958). "Palaeomagnetic results from different continents and their relation to the problem of continental drift". Annales de Géophysique. 14: 492–501. Bibcode:1958AnG....14..492C.
— (15 October 1964). "Satellite gravity measurements and a laminar viscous flow model of the Earth's mantle". Journal of Geophysical Research. 69 (20): 4389–4394. Bibcode:1964JGR....69.4389R. doi:10.1029/JZ069i020p04389.
—; Lambeck, K.; Winch, D. E. (20 August 1982). "The role of the core in irregular fluctuations of the Earth's rotation and the excitation of the Chandler wobble". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences. 306 (1492): 261–270. Bibcode:1982RSPTA.306..261R. doi:10.1098/rsta.1982.0086. S2CID119519578.
Ahrens, L. H.; Rankama, K.; Runcorn, S. K., eds. (1956). Physics and Chemistry of the Earth. Pergamon Press.
Runcorn, S. K., ed. (31 December 1960). Methods and Techniques in Geophysics: v. 1. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN978-0470745144.
Continental drift (1962), S.K. Runcorn.
Runcorn, S. K., ed. (1 January 1966). Methods and Techniques in Geophysics: v. 2. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN978-0470745182.
International dictionary of geophysics : seismology, geomagnetism, aeronomy, oceanography, geodesy, gravity, marine geophysics, meteorology, the earth as a planet and its evolution (1967), ed.
Runcorn, S. K., ed. (1 January 1968). Mantles of the Earth and Terrestrial Planets. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN978-0470745212.
Methods in palaeomagnetism: Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute on Palaeomagnetic Methods (1967), edited by D.W. Collinson, K.M. Creer, S.K. Runcorn
Implications of continental drift to the earth sciences (1973) NATO Advanced Study Institute, D.H. Tarling and S.K. Runcorn
Mechanisms of continental drift and plate tectonics (1980) edited by P. A. Davies and S. K. Runcorn
Magnetism, planetary rotation, and convection in the solar system : retrospect and prospect : in honour of Prof. S.K. Runcorn (1985) edited by W. O'Reilly, S. K. Runcorn
Runcorn, S. K., ed. (1988). The Physics of the planets : their origin, evolution and structure (Fac-sim ed.). Chichester: Wiley. ISBN9780471916215.
Runcorn was murdered in his hotel room in San Diego during a lecture trip to the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Police found that he had been strangled and found evidence of injuries to the head.[13] Paul Cain, a professional kick-boxer, was later convicted and sentenced to a term of at least 25 years.[14] Prosecutors argued that Cain killed Runcorn after stealing his wallet and credit cards, having targeted him as an elderly gay man and therefore easy victim. Cain was tried three times in all. The first trial ended with a deadlocked jury; the second with a conviction that was overturned on appeal, on grounds that testimony from Cain's two previous wives as to his violent temper should not have been admitted in evidence.[15]
^Creer, K. M., "Runcorn, (Stanley) Keith (1922–1995)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edition, September 2004. Retrieved 19 July 2020 (subscription required)
^Gillispie, Charles Coulston, ed. (2008). "Runcorn, Stanley Keith". Complete dictionary of scientific biography. Vol. 24. Detroit, Mich.: Charles Scribner's Sons. pp. 298–302. ISBN978-0-684-31559-1.