IGY IN RETROSPECT—ROBERTS 265 
serving period, August 1, 1932, to August 31, 1933, was designed to be 
50 years after the first polar year, and due note was made of the fact 
that this, unlike the former period, would be one of minimum solar 
activity. The objectives included investigations in the newer dis- 
ciplines of ionospheric physics and cosmic-ray studies. 
This second effort saw the establishment of 35 special stations by 
20 nations, which, together with more than 60 regular establishments, 
made nearly 100 observing points. One was in Antarctica. J. A. 
Fleming and N. H. Heck of the United States served on the commis- 
sion, and the major American contributions were magnetic, auroral, 
and ionospheric observations at Fairbanks and Point Barrow, Alaska, 
auroral studies in Greenland, and widespread weather observations. 
The accomplishments included substantial progress toward under- 
standing magnetic storms and other magnetic disturbances and asso- 
ciated auroral and ionospheric phenomena, and improved knowledge 
of wind and pressure systems in high latitudes of the Northern Hemi- 
sphere. A vast collection of data resulted, some of which still awaits 
types of analysis that only modern high-speed computers can provide. 
BEGINNINGS OF THE IGY 
The group in Dr. Van Allen’s home in 1950, aware of the rapid 
advances in geophysics, especially in ionospheric investigations, per- 
ceived the desirability of a third and still greater effort, this time 
after a period of only 25 years and this time by design to coincide with 
another peak of the solar-activity cycle. It was recognized that the 
field of observation would be far wider than just the polar areas. 
Sidney Chapman, then president of the International Union of 
Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG) as well as of one of its constituent 
associations on terrestrial magnetism and electricity (IATME—later 
IAGA), and Lloyd V. Berkner, a member of the United States 
National Committee for the International Union of Scientific Radio 
(URSI), referred the matter to three international scientific organi- 
zations, of which the first to meet was the Mixed Commission on the 
Ionosphere (MCI), maintained by URSI with the cooperation of 
IUGG and the International Astronomical Union (IAU). The Com- 
mission, followed later by URSI and IAU, endorsed the proposal to 
the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU), a top-level 
coordinating body. In January 1951, ICSU commended the idea to 
its own executive board, which, in the following October, decided to 
form a special ICSU committee to run the show. This committee, 
which turned out to be of protem nature, together with other inter- 
ested organizations, took preliminary steps resulting in several effec- 
tive actions. 
Nations adhering to ICSU were invited to form national committees 
to organize their own participation in the project. The polar-year 
