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                               Lee De Forest

            A Register of His Papers in the Library of Congress


                   Prepared by Manuscript Division staff
                         Revised by Harry G. Heiss

                                    1997

                            Manuscript Division
                            Library of Congress

                             Washington, D.C.

   Text converted and initial EAD tagging provided by Apex Data Services,
                               January 1999;
              encoding completed by Manuscript Division, 1999

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table of Contents for Lee De Forest
Collection Summary
Selected Search Terms

   * Names:
   * Subjects:
   * Occupations:

Administrative Information

   * Provenance:
   * Processing History:
   * Copyright Status:
   * Microfilm:
   * Preferred Citation:

Biographical Note

Scope and Content Note
Container List
  ------------------------------------------------------------------------

Collection Summary

Creator: De Forest, Lee, 1873-1961
Title: Papers of Lee De Forest 1884-1955
Size: 375 items; 4 containers; 1.6 linear feet; 2 microfilm reels
Repository: Manuscript Division, Library of Congress
Abstract: Radio pioneer and inventor. Correspondence, diaries, technical
notes and other material relating to Lee De Forest's inventions in radio
and electronics and their effect in sound recording and transmission,
efforts to exploit his discoveries through various business ventures, and
his competition with Guglielmo Marconi in the field of wireless
communication.

Selected Search Terms

Names:

Marconi, Guglielmo, marchese, 1874-1937
Yale University--Students

Subjects:

Electronics
Inventions
Preparatory schools
Radio
Sound--Recording and reproducing
Sound--Transmission
Wireless communication systems

Occupations:

Inventors
Radio pioneers

Administrative Information

Provenance:

The papers of Lee De Forest, radio pioneer and inventor, were given to the
Library of Congress by De Forest in 1955.

Processing History:

The papers of Lee De Forest were arranged and described in 1955. The
description was revised in 1997.

Copyright Status:

The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of Lee De Forest is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.).

Microfilm:

A microfilm edition of part of these papers on two reels is available from
the Library's Photoduplication Service for purchase subject to the
Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C). This microfilm
edition may also be requested on interlibrary loan through the Library's
Loan Division.

Preferred Citation:

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following
information: Lee De Forest Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of
Congress, Washington, D.C.

Biographical Note

 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.

Scope and Content Note

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 List

 Box    Reel    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