A Radio Pioneer
Lee De Forest
Schematic diagrams and scientific
notes
on hotel stationery,
ca. 1915
Page 2 - Page
3 - Page 4
Holograph manuscript
Manuscript Division (127.1)
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The prolific American inventor Lee De Forest (1873-1961) is one
of several pioneers of radio development. De Forest experimented
with receiving long-distance radio signals and in 1907 patented
an electronic device named the audion. Until this time, the radion
was considered little more than "wireless telagraphy," since it
sent Morse code (dots and dashes) instead of conveying actual
sound. De Forest's new three-electrode (triode) vacuum tube boosted
radio waves as they were received and made possible what was then
called "wireless telephony," which allowed the human voice, music,
or any broadcast signal to be heard loud and clear. Shown here
are examples of De Forest's schematic diagrams and notes scribbled
hurriedly on hotel stationery around 1915.
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