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Contact information: http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/mss/address.html
Text converted and initial EAD tagging provided by Apex Data Services, 1999 January; encoding completed by Manuscript Division, 1999
Finding aid URL: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms998006
Latest revision: 2004-12-01
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically therein.
The papers of Lee De Forest, radio pioneer and inventor, were given to the Library of Congress by De Forest in 1955.
The papers of Lee De Forest were arranged and described in 1955. The description was revised in 1997.
The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of Lee De Forest is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.).
A microfilm edition of part of these papers is available on two reels. Consult a reference librarian in the Manuscript Division concerning availability for purchase or interlibrary loan.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container or reel number, Lee De Forest Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Date | Event |
| 1873, Aug. 26 | Born, Council Bluffs, Iowa |
| 1896 | Ph.B., Yale University, New Haven, Conn. |
| 1899 | Ph.D., Yale University, New Haven, Conn. |
| 1900 | Joined
Western Electric Co.,
Chicago, Ill. Designed alternating current transmitter Developed electrolytic receiver |
| 1901 | Founded American De Forest Wireless Telegraph Co. (later United Wireless Telegraph Co.) |
| 1905 | Developed first model of audion amplifier |
| 1906 | Developed triode vacuum tube Married Lucille Sheardown (divorced 1907) |
| 1908 | Married Nora Blatch (divorced 1911) |
| 1910 | Broadcast voice of Enrico Caruso by radio from the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, N.Y. |
| 1912 | Sold telephone repeater rights to
American Telephone and Telegraph Co., which
used his three electrode vacuum tube in first transcontinental telephony
Married Mary Mayo (divorced 1930) |
| 1913 | Demonstrated first oscillating audion tube Became vice president, Radio Telegraph Co. Became vice president, De Forest Radio Co. |
| 1916 | Made first radio news broadcast Established radio broadcast station |
| 1919 | Patented phonofilm device for making talking pictures |
| ca. 1920 | Published How to Set Up an Amateur Radio Receiving Station (New York, N.Y.: De Forest Radio Telephone and Telegraph Co. 32 pp.) |
| ca. 1922 | Published Wireless in the Home (New York, N.Y.: De Forest Radio Telephone and Telegraph Co. 32 pp.) |
| 1923 | Demonstrated sound on film at
Rivoli Theater,
New York, N.Y. Organized De Forest Phonofilm Co. |
| 1926 | D.Sc., Yale University, New Haven, Conn. |
| 1930 | Married Marie Mosquini |
| 1934 | Established Lee De Forest, Inc., Los Angeles, Calif. |
| 1942 | Published Television, Today and Tomorrow (New York, N.Y.: Dial Press. 361 pp.) |
| 1947 | Edison Medal of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers |
| 1950 | Published Father of Radio (Chicago, Ill.: Wilcox and Fallett. 502 pp.) |
| 1951 | Vice president, National Association for Better Radio and Television |
| 1961, June 30 | Died, Hollywood, Calif. |
The papers of Lee De Forest (1873-1961) span the years 1884-1955 and include biographical sketches, booklets, correspondence, diaries, drawings, essays, newspaper and magazine clippings, photographs, poetry, and research notes. De Forest was a pioneer in wireless communications who made possible the long distance transmission and reception of the human voice, which led to the foundation of the radio industry and long distance telephone communication. His inventions, particularly the audion amplifier in 1905, the triode vacuum tube in 1906, and the oscillating audion in 1913, revolutionized wireless communications and earned him the title, “the father of radio.” De Forest also perfected the phonofilm method of sound recording and the glow-light recording of sound films, made important contributions to the development of television and high speed facsimile transmission, and invented radio therapy and the radio knife.
The collection contains letters from De Forest to members of his family, friends, and business associates, with only a few to fellow scientists. The correspondence is arranged chronologically. A subject file contains biographical material on De Forest, published and manuscript scientific writings, photographs of early audion tubes, and technical schematics, sketches, and notes on several of De Forest's inventions. The subject file is arranged alphabetically by type of material.
De Forest's diaries, or notebook journals, span the years 1891-1949 and contain references to the difficulties encountered in the early years of his career as he struggled for recognition in the face of persistent lack of funds and inconstant friends. There are frequent allusions to his inventions and business ventures, both successes and failures, descriptions of the natural world, and original poetry. The diaries are arranged chronologically and have been microfilmed.
| CONTAINER | CONTENTS | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BOX 1 | Correspondence, 1884-1950, n.d. | ||||||||||||
| (29 folders) | |||||||||||||
| BOX 2 | Subject file | ||||||||||||
| Clippings, 1890-1953, n.d. | |||||||||||||
| (2 folders) | |||||||||||||
| La Lumière Électrique, 1911 | |||||||||||||
| Photographs | |||||||||||||
| Early audions, n.d. | |||||||||||||
| Personal, n.d. | |||||||||||||
| Printed matter, 1904-1950, n.d. | |||||||||||||
| Schematics, sketches, and technical notes, 1910-1911, n.d. | |||||||||||||
| (2 folders) | |||||||||||||
| Yale University, New Haven, Conn., entrance examination, biographical sketch, and class book form, 1892-1937, n.d. | |||||||||||||
| Writings, 1896-1955, n.d. | |||||||||||||
| Diaries | |||||||||||||
| Microfilm edition available. Shelf no. 17,174 | |||||||||||||
|
BOX
3 REEL 1 | Vols. 1-15, 1891-1902 | ||||||||||||
|
BOX
4 REEL 2 | Vols. 16-23, 1903-1949 | ||||||||||||
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