Ralph Bagnold
Brigadier Ralph Alger Bagnold, OBE, FRS, (3 April 1896 – 28 May 1990) was an English 20th-century desert explorer, geologist and soldier.
Ralph Alger Bagnold | |
|---|---|
| Born | 3 April 1896 Plymouth, Devon, England |
| Died | 28 May 1990 (aged 94) |
| Known for | desert exploration, aeolian research, founding Long Range Desert Group Bagnold number |
| Spouse | Dorothy Alice Bagnold |
| Military career | |
| Service/ | British Army |
| Years of service | 1915−1944 |
| Rank | Brigadier (Honorary) |
| Service number | 10231 |
| Unit | Royal Engineers Royal Corps of Signals |
| Battles/wars | First World War Second World War |
In 1932, he staged the first recorded East-to-West crossing of the Libyan Desert. His work in the field of Aeolian processes was the basis for the book The Physics of Blown Sand and Desert Dunes, establishing the discipline of aeolian geomorphology, combining field work observations, experiments and physical equations. His work has been used by United States' space agency NASA in its study of the terrain of the planet Mars, the Bagnold Dunes on Mars' surface being named after him by the organisation.
During the Second World War, he was a soldier in the British Army, in which he founded the behind-the-lines reconnaissance, espionage and raiding unit the "Long Range Desert Group", serving as its first commanding officer in the North Africa Campaign.