Lee de Forest (August 26, 1873 – June 30, 1961) was an American inventor with over 180 patents to his credit. De Forest invented the Audion, a vacuum tube that takes relatively weak electrical signals and amplifies them. De Forest is one of the fathers of the "electronic age", as the Audion helped to usher in the widespread use of electronics. He is also credited with one of the principal inventions that brought sound to motion pictures.
He was involved in several patent lawsuits and spent a substantial part of his income from his inventions on the legal bills. He had four marriages and 25 companies. He was defrauded by business partners and he defrauded business partners. He was indicted for mail fraud, but was later acquitted.
He was a charter member of the Institute of Radio Engineers. DeVry University was originally named DeForest Training School by its founder Dr. Herman A. DeVry, who was a friend and colleague of De Forest's.
Read more about Lee De Forest: Birth and Education, Audion, Middle Years, Later Years and Death, Legacy, Politics, Quotes, Notable Items, Marriages, Patents
Famous quotes containing the words lee and/or forest:
“by Spoon Rivergathering many a shell,
And many a flower and medicinal weed—
Shouting to the wooded hills, singing to the green valleys.
At ninety-six I had lived enough, that is all,
And passed to a sweet repose.”
—Edgar Lee Masters (1869–1950)
“The forest waves, the morning breaks,
The pastures sleep, ripple the lakes,
Leaves twinkle, flowers like persons be
And life pulsates in rock or tree.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)