LEGENDS OF THE 1921 TRANSATLANTIC TESTS1 By David and Julia Bart
W
ho were the men responsible for the 1921 Transatlantic Tests? The following biographical information provides some background regarding these intriguing individuals. Those directly involved in the experiment included: Ernest V. Amy, Edwin H. Armstrong, George E. Burghard, Minton Cronkhite, Paul F. Godley, John F. Grinan, and Walker P. Inman. In addition, we have included information about Harold H. Beverage; although he did not directly participate in the tests, his discussions with Godley and the adoption of Beverage’s wave antenna system made him, in our view, an important contributor to the experiment’s success. Some of these individuals started their careers as youth involved in amateur radio and then stayed in the radio field, some left radio for other opportunities, and some were involved in the broader electrical industry. Their lives were fascinating. We hope you enjoy these brief biographies about the legends of 1921.
EDWIN H. ARMSTRONG (1890-1954) 3 Armstrong, one of the greatest inventors of the 20th century and one of the key fathers of modern radio
Edwin Armstrong explaining the superregenerative circuit to the Radio Club of America in room 306, Havemeyer Hall, Columbia University, New York City, 1922.
communications, led a complicated, eventful, and tragic life. His biography is the subject of many books and articles. For our purposes here, he was an American electrical engineer and inventor who invented the regenerative circuit (vacuum tube feedback oscillator), the superregenerative receiver, the superheterodyne receiver, and frequency modulation (FM) radio transmission. He held 42 patents and received numerous awards, including the first Medal of Honor awarded by the Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE, now IEEE) in 1917, the French Legion of Honor, 1941 Franklin Medal and IRE’s 1942 Edison Medal. He was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame and included
Legends of the 1921 Transatlantic Tests in front of the Greenwich, Connecticut station shack -- Standing (L to R): John F. Grinan, Ernest V. Amy, Edwin H. Armstrong, George E. Burghard, Minton Cronkhite; Seated front: Walker P. Inman; Not shown: Paul F. Godley (or Harold H. Beverage).2 FALL 2021 PROCEEDINGS 79
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