Lee de Forest
1873 – 1961 · aged 88
American inventor (1873–1961)
- Born
- 26 Aug 1873 · Council Bluffs
- Died
- 30 Jun 1961 · Hollywood
Life timeline
Their life from birth to death. On the timeline, world events of the time are shown faintly.
- 26 Aug 1873BornBorn in Council Bluffs
- 1922AwardIEEE Medal of Honor
- 1923AwardElliott Cresson Medal
- 1929AwardJohn Scott Award
- 1946AwardEdison Medal
- 1960AwardAcademy Honorary Award
- 30 Jun 1961DiedDied in Hollywood
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Meanwhile in the world
Major world events during their lifetime (1873 – 1961).
- 18961896 Summer Olympics
- 1898Spanish–American War
- 1904 – 1905Russo-Japanese War
- 1914 – 1918World War I
- 1915 – 1923Armenian genocide
- 1917Balfour Declaration
- 1917February Revolution
- 1917October Revolution
- 1917 – 1922Russian Civil War
- 1919 – 1920Paris Peace Conference
- 1920Treaty of Versailles
- 1933 – 1945The Holocaust
- 19341934 FIFA World Cup
- 19361936 Summer Olympics
- 1937 – 1945Second Sino-Japanese War
- 19381938 FIFA World Cup
- 1938Munich Agreement
- 1939 – 1940Winter War
- 1939 – 1945World War II
- 1940 – 1945Auschwitz concentration camp
- 1941Attack on Pearl Harbor
- 1941 – 1945Eastern Front
- 1941Operation Barbarossa
- 1942 – 1943Battle of Stalingrad
- 1945Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
- 1945 – 1946Nuremberg trials
- 19501950 FIFA World Cup
- 1950 – 1953Korean War
- 1953 – 1959Cuban Revolution
- 19541954 FIFA World Cup
- 1955 – 1975Vietnam War
- 1956Hungarian Revolution of 1956
- 1956Suez Crisis
- 19581958 FIFA World Cup
- 1959Antarctic Treaty System
Biography
Lee de Forest (August 26, 1873 – June 30, 1961) was an American inventor, electrical engineer, and early pioneer in electronics of fundamental importance. He invented the first practical electronic amplifier,
the three-element "Audion" triode vacuum tube in 1908. This helped start the Electronic Age, and enabled the development of the electronic oscillator. These made radio broadcasting and long-distance telephone lines possible, and led to the development of talking motion pictures, among countless other applications.
He had over 300 patents worldwide, but also a tumultuous career – he boasted that he made, then lost, four fortunes. He was also involved in several major patent lawsuits, spent a substantial part of his income on legal bills, and was even tried (and acquitted) for mail fraud.
He was recognized for his pioneering work with the 1922 IRE Medal of Honor, the 1923 Franklin Institute Elliott Cresson Medal, and the 1946 American Institute of Electrical Engineers Edison Medal.
Text from the Wikipedia article Lee de Forest, CC BY-SA 4.0
About this information
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