John Diebel - Meade Instruments

Meade Instruments

Soon after receiving a doctorate in electronic engineering from the California Institute of Technology, Diebel landed an engineering job at Hughes Aircraft. It was there that he realized that he wanted to start his own business, and after doing some research in a public library, he concluded that he would start a small mail-order business selling products for amateur astronomy.

In 1972, after procuring a loan of $2500, John made his first purchase from a telescope supplier in Japan and placed an ad in Sky & Telescope magazine. Eventually Diebel was able to quit his job at Hughes and work on his mail-order business from his one-bedroom apartment full-time. He named his company Mead, but eventually added the "e" at the suggestion of a co-worker at Hughes. John used the name Mead, because of his affinity for Lake Mead, a place where he would often go to relax.

Meade Instruments would eventually become the world's largest telescope manufacturer for amateur astronomy with distribution in over thirty countries. John's continual product improvements and the production of millions of telescopes resulted in many discoveries of comets (including Comet Hale-Bopp), asteroids, and supernova by "backyard astronomers".

John Diebel retired from Meade Instruments in 2003. He leaves a legacy of many industry innovations inspiring everyday people to develop a knowledge of science and the desire to explore the universe for themselves.