1 00:00:01,320 --> 00:00:04,240 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:14,000 Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly 3 00:00:14,040 --> 00:00:15,480 Speaker 1: Frye and I'm Tracy V. 4 00:00:15,600 --> 00:00:16,000 Speaker 2: Wilson. 5 00:00:16,520 --> 00:00:18,760 Speaker 1: So I'm a little bit on an inventor kick again 6 00:00:18,920 --> 00:00:22,360 Speaker 1: at the moment, So yah, get ready for more in 7 00:00:22,400 --> 00:00:26,759 Speaker 1: the coming weeks. Today's inventor is somebody I stumbled across 8 00:00:26,800 --> 00:00:28,840 Speaker 1: and I kind of marveled at having never heard of 9 00:00:28,920 --> 00:00:31,920 Speaker 1: him because he worked in a field that I have 10 00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:36,120 Speaker 1: studied many of the other people. Little did I know 11 00:00:36,400 --> 00:00:39,800 Speaker 1: that I was walking into a hotbed of science, legal drama. 12 00:00:40,159 --> 00:00:43,400 Speaker 1: And then I got excited, But then I got bummed 13 00:00:43,479 --> 00:00:46,320 Speaker 1: because I also was way too deep into this one 14 00:00:46,360 --> 00:00:48,760 Speaker 1: to switch gears when I discovered the very very bummer 15 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:53,000 Speaker 1: part of this story. So we are going to give 16 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:55,560 Speaker 1: a trigger warning as we approach that very bummer part. 17 00:00:55,600 --> 00:00:58,240 Speaker 1: And as usual, it's not something we're going to linger 18 00:00:58,280 --> 00:00:59,800 Speaker 1: on or spend a lot of time on. But there 19 00:00:59,840 --> 00:01:04,400 Speaker 1: is a death by suicide in this episode. So Edwin 20 00:01:04,480 --> 00:01:07,560 Speaker 1: Howard Armstrong is not exactly a well known inventor, but 21 00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:11,920 Speaker 1: his work in radio literally changed communications around the globe. 22 00:01:12,600 --> 00:01:15,039 Speaker 1: I think we could also say we might not have 23 00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:17,520 Speaker 1: our jobs if he didn't do what he did, Yeah, 24 00:01:18,440 --> 00:01:20,640 Speaker 1: because we work for a company that does a lot 25 00:01:20,680 --> 00:01:24,600 Speaker 1: of radio. His most famous invention, which was FM radio, 26 00:01:25,120 --> 00:01:28,400 Speaker 1: became a source of constant frustration for him though after 27 00:01:28,440 --> 00:01:31,520 Speaker 1: he had developed it. So we're going to talk about 28 00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:35,440 Speaker 1: various inventions. We will give some basic layman's explanations, but 29 00:01:35,520 --> 00:01:38,120 Speaker 1: in terms of breaking them down in terms of how 30 00:01:38,160 --> 00:01:40,600 Speaker 1: they work at the nitty gritty level. If you want that, 31 00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:42,479 Speaker 1: you got to go somewhere else for it. I'm sorry. 32 00:01:43,640 --> 00:01:46,039 Speaker 1: And as we'll see in the course of the story, 33 00:01:46,560 --> 00:01:51,480 Speaker 1: people not understanding the way things work scientifically, and particularly 34 00:01:51,520 --> 00:01:55,120 Speaker 1: electrical engineering and radio, caused a lot of problems for 35 00:01:55,240 --> 00:01:59,840 Speaker 1: Armstrong in his life. Edwin Howard Armstrong was born to 36 00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:02,960 Speaker 1: Number eighteenth eighteen ninety in New York City in the 37 00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:07,480 Speaker 1: Chelsea neighborhood. His father, John, worked in publishing for Oxford 38 00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:11,160 Speaker 1: University Press, and his mother, Emily, had been a school 39 00:02:11,160 --> 00:02:14,799 Speaker 1: teacher until she married John. Like a lot of kids 40 00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:18,160 Speaker 1: born in the late nineteenth century, Edwin was fascinated by 41 00:02:18,160 --> 00:02:22,320 Speaker 1: all the modern technology around him, particularly as a child 42 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:25,520 Speaker 1: growing up in Manhattan, where a lot of the latest 43 00:02:25,560 --> 00:02:29,480 Speaker 1: technology quickly found a lot of use He loved trains 44 00:02:29,600 --> 00:02:33,440 Speaker 1: and just about anything mechanical. His family moved to Yonkers, 45 00:02:33,480 --> 00:02:36,600 Speaker 1: New York when he was fourteen. He was always really 46 00:02:36,639 --> 00:02:40,200 Speaker 1: curious about science and scientists, but it was the news 47 00:02:40,280 --> 00:02:43,519 Speaker 1: of the first wireless message sent across the Atlantic by 48 00:02:43,560 --> 00:02:48,799 Speaker 1: Italian physicist Gulielmo Marconi that really got Armstrong excited and 49 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:52,760 Speaker 1: set him down what would be his path in life. 50 00:02:52,880 --> 00:02:56,800 Speaker 1: Edwin Armstrong was so inspired by Marconi's invention that he 51 00:02:56,919 --> 00:03:01,880 Speaker 1: decided that he too, wanted to invent the things. Edwin 52 00:03:02,160 --> 00:03:04,239 Speaker 1: was a shy kid. Also, I should point out that 53 00:03:04,280 --> 00:03:06,800 Speaker 1: I have seen some biographies that referred to him as Howard, 54 00:03:07,280 --> 00:03:09,280 Speaker 1: which was his middle name. I don't know which he 55 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:11,640 Speaker 1: went by. We're going by Edwin just because that is 56 00:03:11,680 --> 00:03:14,840 Speaker 1: his first name. We may be incorrect in that, but 57 00:03:14,919 --> 00:03:18,239 Speaker 1: he was either way a shy kid, and he readily 58 00:03:18,280 --> 00:03:21,960 Speaker 1: became absorbed in electrical and radio projects that he could 59 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:24,480 Speaker 1: work on on his own. He apparently turned the family 60 00:03:24,520 --> 00:03:26,720 Speaker 1: attic into like his own lab, which he used for 61 00:03:26,840 --> 00:03:29,560 Speaker 1: years and years. Because unlike a lot of kids, he 62 00:03:29,600 --> 00:03:31,880 Speaker 1: did not lose interest in these efforts, and he did 63 00:03:31,880 --> 00:03:35,360 Speaker 1: not move on to other things. He retained his passion 64 00:03:35,480 --> 00:03:38,960 Speaker 1: for tinkering and discovery his whole life. He did do 65 00:03:39,120 --> 00:03:42,000 Speaker 1: other things as a teenager, like he played tennis, but 66 00:03:42,080 --> 00:03:45,760 Speaker 1: the drive to invent that was ever present. He built 67 00:03:45,840 --> 00:03:49,600 Speaker 1: crystal sets so basic radio receivers up in that attic 68 00:03:49,640 --> 00:03:52,280 Speaker 1: that could only pick up Morse code. There was really 69 00:03:52,320 --> 00:03:55,680 Speaker 1: nothing else for them to capture, and the weak's signal 70 00:03:55,920 --> 00:03:58,240 Speaker 1: that he was able to get on those crystal sets 71 00:03:58,560 --> 00:04:01,560 Speaker 1: made him intent that he should figure out how to 72 00:04:01,600 --> 00:04:02,160 Speaker 1: boost it. 73 00:04:02,800 --> 00:04:06,040 Speaker 2: After finishing his studies at Yonkers High School in nineteen 74 00:04:06,080 --> 00:04:10,920 Speaker 2: oh nine, Armstrong enrolled at Columbia University in the Engineering School. 75 00:04:11,600 --> 00:04:13,680 Speaker 2: Part of the reason he went to Columbia was that 76 00:04:13,720 --> 00:04:16,320 Speaker 2: it was close to home, he could commute to school, 77 00:04:16,440 --> 00:04:18,560 Speaker 2: and he wouldn't have to break down any of his 78 00:04:18,680 --> 00:04:22,800 Speaker 2: ongoing experiments and projects that were underway in the family's attic. 79 00:04:23,800 --> 00:04:26,960 Speaker 2: Radio in particular, had become a big focus of Edwin's 80 00:04:26,960 --> 00:04:31,240 Speaker 2: curiosity and work. He noted later of choosing to concentrate 81 00:04:31,360 --> 00:04:34,640 Speaker 2: his energies in this field. Quote somehow, for reasons I 82 00:04:34,680 --> 00:04:39,880 Speaker 2: cannot recollect, the decision favored wireless. Now, of course, radio 83 00:04:39,960 --> 00:04:42,640 Speaker 2: in nineteen oh nine was not really a thing in 84 00:04:42,720 --> 00:04:45,320 Speaker 2: the sense that we would consider it Now, this is 85 00:04:45,360 --> 00:04:48,760 Speaker 2: when telegraphy and Morse code were still kind of at 86 00:04:48,760 --> 00:04:52,640 Speaker 2: the forefront. No one was sending sound across airwaves, but 87 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:56,800 Speaker 2: they were very close. The first radio broadcast happened on 88 00:04:56,880 --> 00:05:01,400 Speaker 2: January thirteenth, nineteen ten, when an inv named Lee DeForest 89 00:05:01,520 --> 00:05:05,200 Speaker 2: broadcast a week signal from the New York Metropolitan Opera 90 00:05:05,200 --> 00:05:09,520 Speaker 2: house of Enrico Caruso singing. So not only was radio 91 00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:13,680 Speaker 2: an entirely new concept for Armstrong to jump into, but 92 00:05:13,760 --> 00:05:16,800 Speaker 2: some of its most exciting developments were happening in the 93 00:05:16,839 --> 00:05:19,200 Speaker 2: city where he was working on his own projects and 94 00:05:19,240 --> 00:05:23,400 Speaker 2: going to school. DeForest had invented a device called an 95 00:05:23,440 --> 00:05:26,800 Speaker 2: audion in nineteen oh six, and he patented that in 96 00:05:26,920 --> 00:05:31,680 Speaker 2: nineteen oh seven. The audion was a radio tube DeForest 97 00:05:31,720 --> 00:05:34,240 Speaker 2: had built on work that had been in process for 98 00:05:34,320 --> 00:05:37,560 Speaker 2: a while to get this tube to work. It consisted 99 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:41,240 Speaker 2: of a cathode filament, an anodeplate, and a wire that 100 00:05:41,320 --> 00:05:44,120 Speaker 2: sat between the two. If you look at a photograph 101 00:05:44,120 --> 00:05:46,800 Speaker 2: of one of the first audions, you'll see what looks 102 00:05:46,920 --> 00:05:49,320 Speaker 2: like a light bulb with wires coming out of it. 103 00:05:50,040 --> 00:05:52,839 Speaker 2: The current between the filament and the anodeplate could be 104 00:05:52,960 --> 00:05:56,440 Speaker 2: modulated using that wire. Called a grid and that could 105 00:05:56,440 --> 00:06:02,480 Speaker 2: amplify sound. And while it worked, it did not work great. Additionally, 106 00:06:02,560 --> 00:06:05,960 Speaker 2: DeForest is sometimes described as having arrived at his invention 107 00:06:06,120 --> 00:06:10,320 Speaker 2: strictly through experimentation. He didn't really have a firm enough 108 00:06:10,440 --> 00:06:14,560 Speaker 2: grasp on the electrical science at play to explain why 109 00:06:14,600 --> 00:06:15,360 Speaker 2: this worked. 110 00:06:16,400 --> 00:06:19,200 Speaker 1: This is going to come up again later. But here's 111 00:06:19,240 --> 00:06:23,159 Speaker 1: the thing. Edwin Armstrong did understand the science, or at 112 00:06:23,240 --> 00:06:25,480 Speaker 1: least he was determined that he was going to figure 113 00:06:25,520 --> 00:06:29,159 Speaker 1: it out. This time in Armstrong's life was written about 114 00:06:29,200 --> 00:06:32,160 Speaker 1: by J. H. Moorcroft in nineteen twenty two in an 115 00:06:32,240 --> 00:06:36,520 Speaker 1: article titled What Everyone Should Know about Radio History. The 116 00:06:36,560 --> 00:06:40,120 Speaker 1: section on Edwin includes the following quote. He was not 117 00:06:40,360 --> 00:06:43,919 Speaker 1: an especially brilliant student. In fact, in many of his 118 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:48,040 Speaker 1: courses he did rather poorly. The writer knows because Armstrong 119 00:06:48,160 --> 00:06:52,039 Speaker 1: was one of his students. The characteristics of alternating current 120 00:06:52,120 --> 00:06:55,440 Speaker 1: machinery in general did not prove very enticing to the 121 00:06:55,480 --> 00:06:58,760 Speaker 1: young student, not because he was lazy or indifferent, but 122 00:06:58,800 --> 00:07:02,159 Speaker 1: because he had a hobby and a vision. He was 123 00:07:02,200 --> 00:07:05,599 Speaker 1: experimenting at his home with wireless apparatus and trying to 124 00:07:05,640 --> 00:07:08,960 Speaker 1: find out how the three electrode audion of DeForest worked. 125 00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:12,320 Speaker 1: If DeForest confessed in public that the action was too 126 00:07:12,400 --> 00:07:15,840 Speaker 1: mysterious for him to explain, then Armstrong would explain it 127 00:07:15,920 --> 00:07:19,680 Speaker 1: for him, which he promised to do and did very shortly. 128 00:07:20,520 --> 00:07:23,160 Speaker 1: That very shortly was no joke. Edwin had it all 129 00:07:23,200 --> 00:07:25,720 Speaker 1: figured out when he was still a college student. He 130 00:07:25,800 --> 00:07:29,280 Speaker 1: was able to invent a circuit that created much more 131 00:07:29,480 --> 00:07:35,240 Speaker 1: robust amplification. Armstrong had figured out during school break that 132 00:07:35,320 --> 00:07:38,160 Speaker 1: he could run a signal through the audion and then 133 00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:42,000 Speaker 1: back into its input to create what he called positive feedback. 134 00:07:42,560 --> 00:07:46,400 Speaker 1: His resulting circuit was called a regenerative circuit, sometimes also 135 00:07:46,440 --> 00:07:49,800 Speaker 1: called a feedback circuit, and it worked by a reported 136 00:07:49,880 --> 00:07:53,760 Speaker 1: factor of thousands. Then Armstrong realized that if he turned 137 00:07:53,800 --> 00:07:58,040 Speaker 1: his regenerative circuit to its highest level of amplification, it 138 00:07:58,120 --> 00:08:02,400 Speaker 1: became an oscillator and its own waves in or the words, 139 00:08:02,400 --> 00:08:07,240 Speaker 1: it was a broadcasting transmitter. This early success had been 140 00:08:07,280 --> 00:08:10,760 Speaker 1: made possible in part by Armstrong's mentor, a man named 141 00:08:10,760 --> 00:08:14,320 Speaker 1: Michael Pupin, who was a professor in the electrical engineering 142 00:08:14,320 --> 00:08:17,720 Speaker 1: department and who had seen something really special in Armstrong. 143 00:08:18,400 --> 00:08:21,680 Speaker 1: Poupin had allowed the student to use his lab. He 144 00:08:21,720 --> 00:08:25,160 Speaker 1: had recognized the reasons that the regular curriculum failed to 145 00:08:25,200 --> 00:08:29,440 Speaker 1: interest Armstrong, and he was also Edwin's champion when it 146 00:08:29,480 --> 00:08:33,880 Speaker 1: came to other professors at school and administrators who thought 147 00:08:33,920 --> 00:08:37,079 Speaker 1: he was just being arrogant or that he wouldn't apply himself. 148 00:08:37,640 --> 00:08:38,400 Speaker 1: Coming up, we'll. 149 00:08:38,280 --> 00:08:41,960 Speaker 2: Talk about Armstrong's first hurtle of many in his career, 150 00:08:42,360 --> 00:08:45,800 Speaker 2: and that was paying for a patent application. But first 151 00:08:45,880 --> 00:08:47,520 Speaker 2: we will take a quick sponsor break. 152 00:08:57,320 --> 00:09:00,760 Speaker 1: Naturally, Armstrong wanted to file a patent now application for 153 00:09:00,880 --> 00:09:04,400 Speaker 1: his invention of this circuit, and he asked his father 154 00:09:04,559 --> 00:09:07,680 Speaker 1: for help with the money for the application fee, but 155 00:09:07,760 --> 00:09:11,280 Speaker 1: John Armstrong refused, voicing concerns that he didn't want his 156 00:09:11,360 --> 00:09:15,719 Speaker 1: son to get sidetracked from finishing his education. Edwin was 157 00:09:15,800 --> 00:09:19,080 Speaker 1: really disheartened by his father's response, but he was also 158 00:09:19,120 --> 00:09:22,720 Speaker 1: an undeterred. He just turned to other family members and 159 00:09:22,760 --> 00:09:25,280 Speaker 1: even friends for money, and he promised that he would 160 00:09:25,320 --> 00:09:29,480 Speaker 1: repay them for any financial help they could offer. And 161 00:09:29,520 --> 00:09:31,720 Speaker 1: then he also had to sell his bike that was 162 00:09:31,760 --> 00:09:34,760 Speaker 1: how he commuted to school. But to him, all of 163 00:09:34,800 --> 00:09:38,160 Speaker 1: this was worth it. He filed his patent application in 164 00:09:38,240 --> 00:09:42,960 Speaker 1: nineteen thirteen, the same year he graduated from Columbia. Armstrong 165 00:09:43,040 --> 00:09:46,320 Speaker 1: was immediately offered a position as an assistant at Columbia, 166 00:09:46,640 --> 00:09:49,040 Speaker 1: and as an employee, he was able to install a 167 00:09:49,120 --> 00:09:53,440 Speaker 1: large demonstration antenna on campus to show Poopen and others 168 00:09:53,679 --> 00:09:58,600 Speaker 1: just how powerful his regenerative circuit was. He reportedly picked 169 00:09:58,640 --> 00:10:01,199 Speaker 1: up signals from as far away Hawaii with it. 170 00:10:01,960 --> 00:10:05,800 Speaker 2: During World War One, Armstrong's reputation in the science community 171 00:10:05,880 --> 00:10:08,240 Speaker 2: landed him in Paris, where he worked for the US 172 00:10:08,440 --> 00:10:11,760 Speaker 2: Army Signal Corps. In a lab there in Europe, he 173 00:10:11,880 --> 00:10:17,640 Speaker 2: invented another circuit, the superheterodyne radio circuit, also called a superhead. 174 00:10:18,400 --> 00:10:22,200 Speaker 2: A superhead circuit changes a radio signal frequency from the 175 00:10:22,240 --> 00:10:26,120 Speaker 2: frequency it's received at to a lower frequency using a 176 00:10:26,160 --> 00:10:29,800 Speaker 2: mixer and oscillator. This results in an output that can 177 00:10:29,840 --> 00:10:34,360 Speaker 2: be more effectively filtered and processed. In terms of war applications, 178 00:10:34,440 --> 00:10:37,400 Speaker 2: this meant that weak signals could be cleared of background 179 00:10:37,480 --> 00:10:41,480 Speaker 2: noise and amplified. Armstrong had been allowed to use the 180 00:10:41,559 --> 00:10:45,720 Speaker 2: Eiffel Tower as part of his experimentation. Today, the superhead 181 00:10:45,800 --> 00:10:49,280 Speaker 2: is still a massive part of daily communications all over 182 00:10:49,320 --> 00:10:54,720 Speaker 2: the globe. In nineteen fourteen, Armstrong received his patent, but 183 00:10:54,960 --> 00:10:57,240 Speaker 2: the very young Armstrong did not have a lot of 184 00:10:57,280 --> 00:10:59,560 Speaker 2: time to be happy about it before he found that 185 00:10:59,600 --> 00:11:02,760 Speaker 2: he had a much older detractor of his work in 186 00:11:02,840 --> 00:11:07,679 Speaker 2: Lee DeForest. DeForest had actually seen one of Armstrong's demonstrations 187 00:11:07,800 --> 00:11:11,120 Speaker 2: and had seen how Armstrong's work had made his audion 188 00:11:11,600 --> 00:11:15,280 Speaker 2: truly function as an amplifier, but in his opinion, that 189 00:11:15,360 --> 00:11:18,240 Speaker 2: meant that he DeForest should be the one to get credit. 190 00:11:19,040 --> 00:11:21,400 Speaker 2: For a decade and a half, these two men would 191 00:11:21,440 --> 00:11:25,240 Speaker 2: go back and forth in papers, public statements, and after 192 00:11:25,280 --> 00:11:28,920 Speaker 2: the war lawsuits over who should get credit for inventing 193 00:11:28,960 --> 00:11:34,679 Speaker 2: the regenerative circuit. DeForest's argument was that from the beginning 194 00:11:35,040 --> 00:11:38,640 Speaker 2: he had heard what he described as a howling sound 195 00:11:38,800 --> 00:11:43,240 Speaker 2: in his audion, and he realized after seeing Armstrong's demonstration 196 00:11:43,760 --> 00:11:48,480 Speaker 2: that he had accidentally created positive feedback. This assertion was 197 00:11:48,520 --> 00:11:51,640 Speaker 2: not really supported by any of DeForest's own writing about 198 00:11:51,640 --> 00:11:56,000 Speaker 2: his invention. Prior to having seen Armstrong's work, he never 199 00:11:56,040 --> 00:11:58,720 Speaker 2: made any notes about a howling noise or mentioned it 200 00:11:58,760 --> 00:12:01,959 Speaker 2: to anybody, But he decided that he also needed to 201 00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:05,480 Speaker 2: file patent applications for what he claimed was his invention. 202 00:12:06,360 --> 00:12:09,640 Speaker 2: This resulted in Armstrong's patent being held in stasis for 203 00:12:09,720 --> 00:12:12,440 Speaker 2: a while as things were hopefully going to get sorted out. 204 00:12:13,280 --> 00:12:15,440 Speaker 2: But they did not sort out. They got a lot 205 00:12:15,480 --> 00:12:16,360 Speaker 2: more contentious. 206 00:12:17,360 --> 00:12:20,640 Speaker 1: So recall that DeForest had publicly stated that he couldn't 207 00:12:20,679 --> 00:12:24,679 Speaker 1: really explain how his audion worked, and Armstrong, on the 208 00:12:24,720 --> 00:12:28,680 Speaker 1: other hand, had completely grasped the science he had. As 209 00:12:28,720 --> 00:12:31,840 Speaker 1: this rivalry was heating up, written papers about how his 210 00:12:31,960 --> 00:12:35,760 Speaker 1: regenerative circuit worked and changed the function of the audion. 211 00:12:36,520 --> 00:12:40,160 Speaker 1: There are pages and pages of back and forth between 212 00:12:40,200 --> 00:12:42,880 Speaker 1: the two men in the proceedings of the Institute of 213 00:12:43,000 --> 00:12:47,120 Speaker 1: Radio Engineers, after Armstrong had published a paper titled a 214 00:12:47,160 --> 00:12:52,319 Speaker 1: Study of Heterodyne Amplification by the Electron Relay. In one letter, 215 00:12:52,480 --> 00:12:55,560 Speaker 1: DeForest states, quote, I doubt if the simplicity of mister 216 00:12:55,640 --> 00:13:00,280 Speaker 1: Armstrong's explanations of audion phenomena is satisfying to those who 217 00:13:00,360 --> 00:13:04,400 Speaker 1: have extensively experimented with the audion. He then goes on 218 00:13:04,440 --> 00:13:07,520 Speaker 1: to reference a number of behavioral phenomena of the device 219 00:13:07,600 --> 00:13:11,520 Speaker 1: that Armstrong's work cannot explain, but they seem kind of 220 00:13:11,600 --> 00:13:14,840 Speaker 1: like outliers or malfunctions, including one where all of the 221 00:13:14,880 --> 00:13:19,679 Speaker 1: electrodes became incandescent. He then writes, quote, these are experimental 222 00:13:19,760 --> 00:13:23,040 Speaker 1: facts and not theory, and mister Armstrong must search more 223 00:13:23,080 --> 00:13:28,199 Speaker 1: deeply before the ultimate explanation of audion phenomena is revealed, 224 00:13:28,760 --> 00:13:31,960 Speaker 1: which honestly sounds like he almost thinks it's kind of magical. 225 00:13:32,080 --> 00:13:35,520 Speaker 1: He just does not understand what's happening, and he also 226 00:13:35,559 --> 00:13:40,319 Speaker 1: states that Armstrong was misinterpreting some of his writing. In response, 227 00:13:40,520 --> 00:13:45,120 Speaker 1: Armstrong wrote, quote in reference to doctor DeForest's discussion, I 228 00:13:45,160 --> 00:13:47,120 Speaker 1: feel that he must have failed in some way to 229 00:13:47,240 --> 00:13:51,160 Speaker 1: understand the present paper, because his discussion clearly seems to 230 00:13:51,240 --> 00:13:54,280 Speaker 1: apply not to the present paper, but to some of 231 00:13:54,320 --> 00:13:57,880 Speaker 1: the more fundamental and elementary matters which were published by 232 00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:02,120 Speaker 1: me several years ago. Part of a problem, he notes, 233 00:14:02,200 --> 00:14:06,199 Speaker 1: is that he Armstrong had backed another scientist, Fleming, when 234 00:14:06,240 --> 00:14:09,840 Speaker 1: DeForest had claimed that he had also infringed on one 235 00:14:09,840 --> 00:14:13,720 Speaker 1: of his ideas. It seemed that DeForest felt like everyone 236 00:14:13,840 --> 00:14:17,720 Speaker 1: was stealing his work. Things got really heated when the 237 00:14:17,760 --> 00:14:22,160 Speaker 1: AT and T company, which had purchased DeForest patents, got involved. 238 00:14:22,960 --> 00:14:27,600 Speaker 1: This is when the lawsuits began. Armstrong won some judgments 239 00:14:27,640 --> 00:14:30,720 Speaker 1: initially and then lost on appeal, and then additional suits 240 00:14:30,720 --> 00:14:34,120 Speaker 1: were filed and appealed, and on and on for fourteen 241 00:14:34,200 --> 00:14:38,680 Speaker 1: years from nineteen twenty to nineteen thirty four. This case 242 00:14:38,720 --> 00:14:42,720 Speaker 1: went before the Supreme Court twice. In testimony, it was 243 00:14:42,840 --> 00:14:47,040 Speaker 1: completely obvious to everyone that DeForest did not understand the 244 00:14:47,120 --> 00:14:51,840 Speaker 1: science behind his own invention the audion, But in the end, 245 00:14:52,040 --> 00:14:55,200 Speaker 1: a lack of understanding about the science and how it 246 00:14:55,320 --> 00:14:58,440 Speaker 1: was described in the patents led to the Supreme Court 247 00:14:58,680 --> 00:15:02,320 Speaker 1: justices ruling in faise of DeForest. That was something the 248 00:15:02,360 --> 00:15:05,200 Speaker 1: scientific community was outraged about. 249 00:15:06,040 --> 00:15:09,440 Speaker 2: Perhaps most damning for DeForest was the fact that the 250 00:15:09,480 --> 00:15:13,800 Speaker 2: Institute of Radio Engineers did not recognize the court's decision. 251 00:15:14,520 --> 00:15:17,440 Speaker 2: The organization had given their medal of honor to Armstrong 252 00:15:17,600 --> 00:15:20,400 Speaker 2: several years before the final court battle, but when the 253 00:15:20,520 --> 00:15:25,120 Speaker 2: decision came down, Armstrong attempted to return it during one 254 00:15:25,160 --> 00:15:28,920 Speaker 2: of the group's annual meetings. He was instead met with 255 00:15:28,960 --> 00:15:32,760 Speaker 2: a standing ovation and a refusal to accept that return. 256 00:15:33,600 --> 00:15:37,320 Speaker 2: The entire engineering community, and especially those who had worked 257 00:15:37,360 --> 00:15:43,560 Speaker 2: in sciences related to radio, backed Armstrong publicly. So DeForest 258 00:15:43,640 --> 00:15:46,240 Speaker 2: may have won that case, but he became an outcast 259 00:15:46,280 --> 00:15:50,040 Speaker 2: in his industry in the process. Armstrong continued to be 260 00:15:50,080 --> 00:15:54,480 Speaker 2: honored with awards for his work on the regenerative circuit as. 261 00:15:54,360 --> 00:15:56,880 Speaker 1: All of this was playing out. After World War One, 262 00:15:57,120 --> 00:16:01,480 Speaker 1: Armstrong had gone back to Columbia. He worked for physicist 263 00:16:01,560 --> 00:16:05,480 Speaker 1: Michael Pupin as his assistant. Pupin, as we had mentioned earlier, 264 00:16:05,680 --> 00:16:08,720 Speaker 1: had been one of Armstrong's teachers, and Edwin had just 265 00:16:08,800 --> 00:16:12,960 Speaker 1: immense respect for him. Armstrong also sold the patent rights 266 00:16:12,960 --> 00:16:16,360 Speaker 1: for the superheterodyne receiver as the radio boom was beginning 267 00:16:16,400 --> 00:16:19,240 Speaker 1: in the nineteen twenties, and as a consequence, he found 268 00:16:19,320 --> 00:16:24,320 Speaker 1: himself very wealthy very quickly, with ongoing income from stock 269 00:16:24,360 --> 00:16:27,520 Speaker 1: that had been included in those patent purchase deals. 270 00:16:27,800 --> 00:16:31,000 Speaker 2: He also got married after the war. While working in Europe, 271 00:16:31,160 --> 00:16:34,800 Speaker 2: Edwin met a woman named Marian McInnis. She was working 272 00:16:34,840 --> 00:16:37,800 Speaker 2: as the secretary of a man named David Sarnoff, who 273 00:16:37,880 --> 00:16:40,520 Speaker 2: was a friend of Edwin's from Columbia and would later 274 00:16:40,600 --> 00:16:44,400 Speaker 2: go on to found the Radio Corporation of America or RCA. 275 00:16:45,400 --> 00:16:49,640 Speaker 2: Armstrong gave Marion an early portable radio as a wedding gift, 276 00:16:50,120 --> 00:16:52,720 Speaker 2: and the two of them, by all accounts, were very happy. 277 00:16:52,760 --> 00:16:58,400 Speaker 2: Together with his newfound millionaire status, Armstrong could have retired 278 00:16:58,440 --> 00:17:01,320 Speaker 2: early and just lived a life of leisure at that point, 279 00:17:01,760 --> 00:17:06,199 Speaker 2: but he didn't. He was still fascinated with radio, and 280 00:17:06,240 --> 00:17:09,840 Speaker 2: he was chasing a goal, which was radio without static. 281 00:17:10,720 --> 00:17:13,639 Speaker 2: He used his own money to pay for research on 282 00:17:13,680 --> 00:17:17,000 Speaker 2: the problem, which he tackled along with his mentor Poopem. 283 00:17:17,359 --> 00:17:20,720 Speaker 2: He collected no salary from Columbia because he had worked 284 00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:24,080 Speaker 2: a deal where in working for free, he was able 285 00:17:24,119 --> 00:17:27,000 Speaker 2: to focus exclusively on his lab work and not have 286 00:17:27,119 --> 00:17:30,120 Speaker 2: to be bogged down in any of the trappings of academia. 287 00:17:30,440 --> 00:17:34,879 Speaker 2: That meant no administrative duties, no teaching schedules. In nineteen 288 00:17:34,920 --> 00:17:39,320 Speaker 2: thirty three, Edwin Armstrong applied for four patents, all related 289 00:17:39,400 --> 00:17:43,800 Speaker 2: to the issue of eliminating static from radio waves. Prior 290 00:17:43,840 --> 00:17:47,560 Speaker 2: to this point, all radio was based on AM or 291 00:17:47,640 --> 00:17:52,440 Speaker 2: amplitude modulation. In an AM broadcast, the frequency is constant. 292 00:17:52,720 --> 00:17:55,800 Speaker 2: This is also called a carrier wave. The sound wave 293 00:17:55,920 --> 00:17:59,320 Speaker 2: the audio that's being transmitted, is added to that frequency 294 00:17:59,640 --> 00:18:02,359 Speaker 2: and the sound wave changes the amplitude of the wave. 295 00:18:02,920 --> 00:18:05,520 Speaker 2: Amplitude is a measure of the strength or intensity of 296 00:18:05,560 --> 00:18:08,000 Speaker 2: a wave. Sometimes people will also call it a height, 297 00:18:08,720 --> 00:18:10,800 Speaker 2: but that's what they mean. So when you're tuning in 298 00:18:10,920 --> 00:18:14,360 Speaker 2: AM radio, you are tuning to the frequency that's assigned 299 00:18:14,359 --> 00:18:18,080 Speaker 2: to the broadcaster you wish to listen to. FM on 300 00:18:18,119 --> 00:18:22,000 Speaker 2: the other hand, modulates the frequency, so obviously FM stands 301 00:18:22,040 --> 00:18:26,399 Speaker 2: for frequency modulation. Those changes in frequency are what carry 302 00:18:26,400 --> 00:18:29,120 Speaker 2: the signal, and when they shift the output device that's 303 00:18:29,240 --> 00:18:32,080 Speaker 2: speakers get a hit of voltage that transmits the sound. 304 00:18:32,240 --> 00:18:35,800 Speaker 2: So a station's call number or frequency actually has some 305 00:18:35,880 --> 00:18:38,040 Speaker 2: play on either side of it to allow for those 306 00:18:38,119 --> 00:18:42,440 Speaker 2: shifts that trigger the sound. It is a more complicated process, 307 00:18:42,480 --> 00:18:46,800 Speaker 2: but the resulting sound is clearer an Armstrong's new system. 308 00:18:46,920 --> 00:18:50,560 Speaker 2: With the modulated frequency of waves, the carrier wave was 309 00:18:50,640 --> 00:18:54,560 Speaker 2: more impervious to interference from things like electrical storms. 310 00:18:55,280 --> 00:19:00,560 Speaker 1: We know today that Armstrong's invention did change communications, but 311 00:19:00,920 --> 00:19:04,120 Speaker 1: initially it did not seem destined for success, and we'll 312 00:19:04,119 --> 00:19:06,879 Speaker 1: talk about why after we hear from the sponsors that 313 00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:19,120 Speaker 1: keep stuff you missed in history class going. One might 314 00:19:19,280 --> 00:19:23,560 Speaker 1: expect that the superiority in fidelity that Armstrong's FM radio 315 00:19:23,720 --> 00:19:26,760 Speaker 1: was able to produce would be readily embraced. It sounded 316 00:19:26,800 --> 00:19:30,919 Speaker 1: so much better, But there were two problems. One was 317 00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:33,919 Speaker 1: that there was a belief in the science community, based 318 00:19:33,920 --> 00:19:37,920 Speaker 1: on some faulty science, that FM was not viable. They 319 00:19:37,920 --> 00:19:41,840 Speaker 1: thought Armstrong had actually been wasting his time. The other 320 00:19:41,960 --> 00:19:45,399 Speaker 1: problem was that even once its viability was apparent. It 321 00:19:45,480 --> 00:19:48,920 Speaker 1: ran into the issue that new technology is often met 322 00:19:48,960 --> 00:19:53,040 Speaker 1: with resistance, especially when it necessitates the need for new equipment, 323 00:19:53,400 --> 00:19:57,560 Speaker 1: and that was exactly what happened with FM. To prove 324 00:19:57,640 --> 00:20:01,520 Speaker 1: his FM radio worked, demonstrated it to the Institute of 325 00:20:01,600 --> 00:20:05,119 Speaker 1: Radio Engineers in nineteen thirty five. That gave them a 326 00:20:05,200 --> 00:20:08,600 Speaker 1: chance to hear this static free transmission from the remote 327 00:20:08,600 --> 00:20:11,800 Speaker 1: location of Yonkers. He demoed different kinds of sound. There 328 00:20:11,840 --> 00:20:13,160 Speaker 1: was speaking, of course, but. 329 00:20:13,160 --> 00:20:16,840 Speaker 2: Also live music and things like water being poured into 330 00:20:16,880 --> 00:20:19,600 Speaker 2: a glass. It was all clear as a bell, much 331 00:20:19,640 --> 00:20:21,480 Speaker 2: clearer than an AM transmission. 332 00:20:22,480 --> 00:20:26,200 Speaker 1: That resistance that we mentioned a moment ago two FM's 333 00:20:26,200 --> 00:20:31,240 Speaker 1: adoption came quickly and aggressively. By the mid nineteen thirties, 334 00:20:31,240 --> 00:20:35,000 Speaker 1: there were already a lot of radio stations broadcasting AM radio, 335 00:20:35,160 --> 00:20:37,600 Speaker 1: and none of them wanted word to get out that 336 00:20:37,680 --> 00:20:42,320 Speaker 1: there was a superior technology. Meanwhile, Armstrong was like, this 337 00:20:42,359 --> 00:20:45,199 Speaker 1: should be free to everybody. One of the early signs 338 00:20:45,240 --> 00:20:47,520 Speaker 1: that things were going to be really rough actually came 339 00:20:47,560 --> 00:20:51,919 Speaker 1: from his friend David Sarnoff. Saranov had started RCA at 340 00:20:51,920 --> 00:20:55,640 Speaker 1: this point, and Armstrong had promised RCA first look an 341 00:20:55,680 --> 00:20:59,720 Speaker 1: option for any inventions he created, and to help Armstrong 342 00:20:59,800 --> 00:21:02,399 Speaker 1: win his work, Sarnov had let the inventor use the 343 00:21:02,440 --> 00:21:05,840 Speaker 1: top of the newly completed Empire State Building as a 344 00:21:05,920 --> 00:21:10,560 Speaker 1: testing space. But when Armstrong started talking publicly about FM 345 00:21:10,640 --> 00:21:14,119 Speaker 1: radio and its benefits, Saranov told him to take his 346 00:21:14,160 --> 00:21:18,160 Speaker 1: equipment down and get off the Empire State Building. RCA 347 00:21:18,280 --> 00:21:22,199 Speaker 1: was already positioned against Armstrong legally at this point, the 348 00:21:22,280 --> 00:21:25,639 Speaker 1: company was involved in that series of patent cases against 349 00:21:25,680 --> 00:21:29,639 Speaker 1: him in court, but up until this point, Armstrong and 350 00:21:29,680 --> 00:21:33,879 Speaker 1: Sarnov had remained pretty friendly. Until the FM reveal. 351 00:21:35,080 --> 00:21:38,840 Speaker 2: Some of the resistance against Armstrong's new form of radio 352 00:21:39,040 --> 00:21:43,159 Speaker 2: was fairly specific to time and place. This was in 353 00:21:43,200 --> 00:21:47,359 Speaker 2: the nineteen thirties, so the Great Depression is part of 354 00:21:47,440 --> 00:21:51,399 Speaker 2: the context of this. Industry leaders like Sarnoff, who knew 355 00:21:51,440 --> 00:21:55,680 Speaker 2: that Armstrong was working on the static problem, had anticipated 356 00:21:55,760 --> 00:21:57,480 Speaker 2: that he was going to come up with something that 357 00:21:57,600 --> 00:22:02,359 Speaker 2: improved on the existing A radio technology, which was also 358 00:22:02,480 --> 00:22:06,440 Speaker 2: tied to the very new development of television. So when 359 00:22:06,480 --> 00:22:09,680 Speaker 2: he showed up with a completely new system, it took 360 00:22:09,720 --> 00:22:14,760 Speaker 2: people by surprise. Companies were trepidacious about investing when the 361 00:22:14,800 --> 00:22:19,000 Speaker 2: markets were precarious. They believed that customers would be even 362 00:22:19,080 --> 00:22:22,880 Speaker 2: less willing to buy things like new radios when there 363 00:22:22,880 --> 00:22:25,639 Speaker 2: were already plenty of AM stations for them to listen 364 00:22:25,680 --> 00:22:29,639 Speaker 2: to on their existing radios. So while there was a 365 00:22:29,680 --> 00:22:32,439 Speaker 2: lot of pettiness in the mix, there were also some 366 00:22:32,680 --> 00:22:35,840 Speaker 2: legitimate financial and economic concerns. 367 00:22:36,600 --> 00:22:40,160 Speaker 1: In response to the mix of detractors and some people 368 00:22:40,200 --> 00:22:43,280 Speaker 1: who seemed to be just willfully ignoring his new tech. 369 00:22:43,400 --> 00:22:46,399 Speaker 1: Like he could not get people to write about this 370 00:22:46,600 --> 00:22:51,600 Speaker 1: new FM radio, Edwin Armstrong once again persisted he really 371 00:22:51,640 --> 00:22:54,560 Speaker 1: believed in FM and he knew it was far superior, 372 00:22:55,200 --> 00:22:58,359 Speaker 1: so he decided to build his own radio station to 373 00:22:58,480 --> 00:23:03,760 Speaker 1: prove it. Was of course very expensive. The total cost 374 00:23:03,840 --> 00:23:06,840 Speaker 1: of the construction, which took place over several years, was 375 00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:10,760 Speaker 1: estimated to have been around three hundred thousand dollars, which, 376 00:23:10,920 --> 00:23:14,440 Speaker 1: with that caveat that translating value over time is very imprecise, 377 00:23:15,520 --> 00:23:18,000 Speaker 1: the estimates put that at pretty close to seven million 378 00:23:18,040 --> 00:23:21,199 Speaker 1: dollars to day of his own personal money. And to 379 00:23:21,240 --> 00:23:25,280 Speaker 1: make matters worse, then, the Federal Communications Commission refused to 380 00:23:25,320 --> 00:23:29,360 Speaker 1: issue him a permit for it. In return, Armstrong told 381 00:23:29,400 --> 00:23:31,880 Speaker 1: the FCC that he would just move to another country 382 00:23:31,920 --> 00:23:35,800 Speaker 1: and let them lead the industry into static free broadcasting, 383 00:23:36,480 --> 00:23:39,639 Speaker 1: and after that he did get his license. In nineteen 384 00:23:39,680 --> 00:23:43,399 Speaker 1: thirty nine, he began broadcasting from the first FM radio station, 385 00:23:44,160 --> 00:23:47,760 Speaker 1: W two XMN, which he had built in Alpine, New Jersey. 386 00:23:48,600 --> 00:23:52,440 Speaker 1: Its signal traveled farther than the FCC had anticipated and 387 00:23:52,640 --> 00:23:57,240 Speaker 1: with clearer transmission than any AM station could manage. 388 00:23:57,280 --> 00:24:01,159 Speaker 2: The next year, RCA offered to buy ALFE since from Armstrong, 389 00:24:01,680 --> 00:24:04,280 Speaker 2: but he was only willing to issue them a royalties 390 00:24:04,359 --> 00:24:08,200 Speaker 2: based offer, and things did not go well. As Armstrong 391 00:24:08,359 --> 00:24:11,159 Speaker 2: was ready to really start showing what FM could do. 392 00:24:11,400 --> 00:24:15,240 Speaker 2: The United States entered World War II. Because he was 393 00:24:15,280 --> 00:24:18,680 Speaker 2: still one of the foremost experts in the country regarding 394 00:24:18,720 --> 00:24:22,840 Speaker 2: wireless communication, he was once again needed for research duty 395 00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:23,680 Speaker 2: for the war. 396 00:24:24,680 --> 00:24:27,040 Speaker 1: Then, when the war was over Edwin returned to what 397 00:24:27,119 --> 00:24:31,440 Speaker 1: he considered his greatest achievement, FM, but things were only 398 00:24:31,480 --> 00:24:35,679 Speaker 1: getting worse in his battle to control the technology. After 399 00:24:35,760 --> 00:24:38,880 Speaker 1: he had turned down RCA's offer to buy a license, 400 00:24:39,040 --> 00:24:41,640 Speaker 1: the company had just gone right ahead and developed their 401 00:24:41,680 --> 00:24:45,480 Speaker 1: own FM technology without any sort of agreement with him, 402 00:24:45,840 --> 00:24:48,760 Speaker 1: and they actually brought FM radios to market, which was 403 00:24:48,800 --> 00:24:50,800 Speaker 1: something that violated his patents. 404 00:24:51,880 --> 00:24:56,119 Speaker 2: Then, the FCC, which had come to acknowledge the superior 405 00:24:56,320 --> 00:25:00,560 Speaker 2: fidelity that FM could provide, had assigned FM a new 406 00:25:00,680 --> 00:25:04,160 Speaker 2: set of frequencies at the end of the war, claiming 407 00:25:04,200 --> 00:25:07,320 Speaker 2: it was for the technology zone good. But this switch 408 00:25:07,359 --> 00:25:11,080 Speaker 2: meant that all the existing radios were suddenly obsolete because 409 00:25:11,080 --> 00:25:14,359 Speaker 2: they had been manufactured to tune into the old band. 410 00:25:15,280 --> 00:25:17,919 Speaker 2: As part of this move, the maximum power of the 411 00:25:18,040 --> 00:25:20,960 Speaker 2: new band was reduced from that of the old ones, 412 00:25:21,040 --> 00:25:26,520 Speaker 2: so one of FM's primary benefits was basically erased. Additionally, 413 00:25:26,600 --> 00:25:31,280 Speaker 2: corporate entities conspired to take down Armstrong's idea that FM 414 00:25:31,320 --> 00:25:34,960 Speaker 2: should stay independent and not be owned by a corporation. 415 00:25:36,200 --> 00:25:40,080 Speaker 2: Under the guise of promoting FM, RCA and other networks 416 00:25:40,080 --> 00:25:44,119 Speaker 2: started broadcasting the programming that had been running on AM, 417 00:25:44,800 --> 00:25:47,679 Speaker 2: but they didn't charge advertisers for their time on the 418 00:25:47,800 --> 00:25:52,080 Speaker 2: FM broadcasts. That meant that independent FM stations had no 419 00:25:52,200 --> 00:25:56,240 Speaker 2: real leverage to get advertisers to pay to run shows 420 00:25:56,359 --> 00:26:01,119 Speaker 2: on their channel. They were getting FM ads for free 421 00:26:01,359 --> 00:26:03,080 Speaker 2: from the big names already. 422 00:26:04,240 --> 00:26:07,679 Speaker 1: Armstrong tried to fight all of this in Congress, and 423 00:26:07,720 --> 00:26:10,600 Speaker 1: he had a number of politicians on his side. He 424 00:26:10,720 --> 00:26:15,600 Speaker 1: accused specifically RCA and NBC with infringement on his patents. 425 00:26:15,960 --> 00:26:18,399 Speaker 1: But though there were hearings, things dragged on with a 426 00:26:18,440 --> 00:26:21,760 Speaker 1: lot of mostly irrelevant questioning, and there didn't seem to 427 00:26:21,800 --> 00:26:24,080 Speaker 1: be any end or resolution in sight. 428 00:26:24,920 --> 00:26:28,879 Speaker 2: As the nineteen fifties donned, the once wealthy Armstrong was 429 00:26:28,920 --> 00:26:32,440 Speaker 2: in a much less robust financial situation than he had 430 00:26:32,520 --> 00:26:35,800 Speaker 2: been earlier in his career. He had burned through his 431 00:26:35,960 --> 00:26:39,960 Speaker 2: fortune trying to convince established radio stations that FM was 432 00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:43,720 Speaker 2: a better option, and then to fight the many legal 433 00:26:43,760 --> 00:26:47,520 Speaker 2: battles that came with it. He and Marian had traditionally 434 00:26:47,560 --> 00:26:50,159 Speaker 2: held a party at Thanksgiving every year for all of 435 00:26:50,320 --> 00:26:54,600 Speaker 2: Edwin's engineering friends. After everybody had gone home, on the 436 00:26:54,680 --> 00:26:58,240 Speaker 2: night of the nineteen fifty three festivities, he and Marian 437 00:26:58,359 --> 00:27:01,520 Speaker 2: had a fight, something that was really unusual in their 438 00:27:01,560 --> 00:27:02,679 Speaker 2: thirty years together. 439 00:27:03,560 --> 00:27:06,680 Speaker 1: The main crux of this argument seemed to be concerns 440 00:27:06,720 --> 00:27:10,400 Speaker 1: for their future in retirement. Maryan's sister and her sister's 441 00:27:10,440 --> 00:27:13,040 Speaker 1: husband had built a home in Connecticut on a farm, 442 00:27:13,400 --> 00:27:16,320 Speaker 1: and Marian wanted for Edwin to semi retire and for 443 00:27:16,400 --> 00:27:20,080 Speaker 1: them to also move to Connecticut. She had voiced concerns 444 00:27:20,080 --> 00:27:22,600 Speaker 1: that all of these legal battles and the radio station 445 00:27:22,720 --> 00:27:25,040 Speaker 1: and just all of it were draining what money they 446 00:27:25,119 --> 00:27:28,160 Speaker 1: had down to a point where this dream was kind 447 00:27:28,200 --> 00:27:31,879 Speaker 1: of slipping away. And after their argument in November nineteen 448 00:27:31,920 --> 00:27:34,520 Speaker 1: fifty three, she left their apartment and went to stay 449 00:27:34,600 --> 00:27:37,560 Speaker 1: with her sister, and the two of them remained apart 450 00:27:37,720 --> 00:27:39,480 Speaker 1: through the rest of the holidays. 451 00:27:39,960 --> 00:27:42,280 Speaker 2: So heads up, we're getting to the death by suicide 452 00:27:42,280 --> 00:27:44,080 Speaker 2: that we mentioned at the top of the show, and 453 00:27:44,119 --> 00:27:48,160 Speaker 2: if you'd rather skip that, just jump ahead about three minutes. 454 00:27:48,920 --> 00:27:52,080 Speaker 2: By the beginning of nineteen fifty four, Armstrong was, it 455 00:27:52,160 --> 00:27:55,879 Speaker 2: is now believed, probably having a nervous breakdown. He had 456 00:27:55,920 --> 00:27:58,679 Speaker 2: started to act unlike himself, to the point that friends 457 00:27:58,680 --> 00:28:01,320 Speaker 2: were asking him if he was okay, and he told 458 00:28:01,320 --> 00:28:05,080 Speaker 2: them he was just under the weather. On January thirty first, 459 00:28:05,119 --> 00:28:08,119 Speaker 2: which was a Sunday, he spoke with his lawyer, Alfred McCormick, 460 00:28:08,160 --> 00:28:10,639 Speaker 2: as he did every morning. He checked in on a 461 00:28:10,640 --> 00:28:13,199 Speaker 2: friend whose wife was ill, and he made plans to 462 00:28:13,240 --> 00:28:16,199 Speaker 2: have drinks with another friend, but Armstrong no showed on 463 00:28:16,240 --> 00:28:19,520 Speaker 2: that date. Late that evening, he put on his hat 464 00:28:19,560 --> 00:28:21,639 Speaker 2: and coat and he jumped to his death from the 465 00:28:21,640 --> 00:28:25,359 Speaker 2: window of the couple's apartment the following morning. The news 466 00:28:25,440 --> 00:28:28,680 Speaker 2: was reported in a brief statement which circulated in numerous 467 00:28:28,720 --> 00:28:32,399 Speaker 2: papers and for several days after quote FM inventor dies 468 00:28:32,440 --> 00:28:37,439 Speaker 2: in fall. Major Edwin Howard Armstrong, sixty three, inventor of 469 00:28:37,480 --> 00:28:40,800 Speaker 2: the frequency modulation radio system, fell or jumped to his 470 00:28:40,880 --> 00:28:43,720 Speaker 2: death from the thirteenth floor apartment to the third floor 471 00:28:43,840 --> 00:28:48,680 Speaker 2: balcony of Riverhouse Apartment hotel today police reported. Police said 472 00:28:48,720 --> 00:28:51,320 Speaker 2: that Major Armstrong left a two page note addressed to 473 00:28:51,360 --> 00:28:54,400 Speaker 2: his wife, esther Marian, who was reported staying with friends 474 00:28:54,400 --> 00:28:57,960 Speaker 2: in Granby, Connecticut. The note, it was learned, expressed the 475 00:28:58,000 --> 00:29:00,680 Speaker 2: regret at dying this way and stated his love for 476 00:29:00,720 --> 00:29:05,520 Speaker 2: his wife. Major Armstrong also invented the superheterodyne and super 477 00:29:05,560 --> 00:29:09,960 Speaker 2: regenerative circuits, which are the basis of virtually all radio receivers. 478 00:29:10,920 --> 00:29:15,040 Speaker 2: Armstrong was buried in Marion's family plot in Merrimack, Massachusetts. 479 00:29:15,400 --> 00:29:18,600 Speaker 1: They had also been married there in Marymack. In the 480 00:29:18,640 --> 00:29:22,720 Speaker 1: wake of her husband's death, Marion became a staunch defender 481 00:29:22,800 --> 00:29:25,400 Speaker 1: of the twenty one patent suits that he had filed. 482 00:29:25,400 --> 00:29:28,520 Speaker 1: Near the end of his life. The RCA and NBC 483 00:29:28,640 --> 00:29:31,760 Speaker 1: infringement suit settled out of court with the networks, paying 484 00:29:31,880 --> 00:29:36,280 Speaker 1: Armstrong's estate one million dollars. All of the other suits 485 00:29:36,360 --> 00:29:38,680 Speaker 1: ended in judgments in Armstrong's favor. 486 00:29:39,680 --> 00:29:43,880 Speaker 2: On March sixth, nineteen fifty four, Armstrong's FM station played 487 00:29:43,880 --> 00:29:47,320 Speaker 2: the inventor's favorite music before a few closing remarks by 488 00:29:47,360 --> 00:29:50,040 Speaker 2: his lawyer, and then went off the air for good. 489 00:29:50,520 --> 00:29:52,960 Speaker 2: The Alpine, New Jersey, property where it was built was 490 00:29:53,000 --> 00:29:57,480 Speaker 2: eventually purchased by his alma mater and former employer, Columbia University, 491 00:29:57,840 --> 00:30:02,080 Speaker 2: which established the Armstrong Fields Stifle for Electronic Research there. 492 00:30:02,800 --> 00:30:05,320 Speaker 2: In addition to the lab, the building now houses an 493 00:30:05,360 --> 00:30:09,600 Speaker 2: exhibit of FM radio history. In nineteen fifty five, the 494 00:30:09,640 --> 00:30:14,200 Speaker 2: International Telecommunications Union made Armstrong one of its honorees in 495 00:30:14,240 --> 00:30:19,080 Speaker 2: recognition of his contributions to radio. One of their prior 496 00:30:19,120 --> 00:30:22,400 Speaker 2: honorees was the man who is often cited as inspiring 497 00:30:22,560 --> 00:30:26,600 Speaker 2: Armstrong's path as an inventor, Guglielmo Marconi. 498 00:30:27,840 --> 00:30:28,960 Speaker 1: That's Edwin Armstrong. 499 00:30:29,400 --> 00:30:31,760 Speaker 2: Do you also have some listener mail? I do. 500 00:30:32,200 --> 00:30:36,880 Speaker 1: It's less sad than that. At the end. This is 501 00:30:36,920 --> 00:30:39,680 Speaker 1: from our listener, Emily. Although I don't know it might 502 00:30:39,680 --> 00:30:43,040 Speaker 1: make me cry, everything does, Emily writes. So I've been 503 00:30:43,040 --> 00:30:45,479 Speaker 1: listening for a long time. I think I started listening 504 00:30:45,760 --> 00:30:47,760 Speaker 1: before the two of you were the co hosts, so 505 00:30:47,800 --> 00:30:50,320 Speaker 1: that tells you this note is a long time coming. 506 00:30:50,880 --> 00:30:54,720 Speaker 1: Thanks for everything, seriously, thanks. There are so many episodes 507 00:30:54,720 --> 00:30:56,560 Speaker 1: that I've loved and so much I've learned from you 508 00:30:56,560 --> 00:30:59,160 Speaker 1: guys over the years. I'm always excited when you do 509 00:30:59,200 --> 00:31:01,520 Speaker 1: an episode on some I've learned about in the past, 510 00:31:01,880 --> 00:31:04,640 Speaker 1: especially if it's a place I've actually visited, and I 511 00:31:04,720 --> 00:31:07,600 Speaker 1: assign your episodes for my literature students and my honors 512 00:31:07,640 --> 00:31:10,800 Speaker 1: students as supplements to the text for reading. Thank you 513 00:31:10,840 --> 00:31:14,920 Speaker 1: for being an educator, and also I'm super honored, she continues. 514 00:31:15,120 --> 00:31:17,240 Speaker 1: I often sit and think I should write because so 515 00:31:17,320 --> 00:31:19,200 Speaker 1: many of the episodes speak to me or to my 516 00:31:19,280 --> 00:31:22,880 Speaker 1: experiences in so many ways. But your recent episode on 517 00:31:22,920 --> 00:31:25,600 Speaker 1: the Library of Congress and your conversation about it on 518 00:31:25,640 --> 00:31:28,560 Speaker 1: the behind the scenes episode finally gets me to do it. 519 00:31:29,160 --> 00:31:32,000 Speaker 1: Like you, I am frequently absolutely dismayed at the state 520 00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:33,680 Speaker 1: of things in the US, and I'm often at a 521 00:31:33,720 --> 00:31:37,040 Speaker 1: loss for what to do. But your episode reinforced for 522 00:31:37,120 --> 00:31:41,040 Speaker 1: me the idea that education, particularly in the humanities itself, 523 00:31:41,120 --> 00:31:43,560 Speaker 1: is a form of activism. I do this at the 524 00:31:43,600 --> 00:31:45,960 Speaker 1: local level as a college professor, and you guys do 525 00:31:46,040 --> 00:31:49,040 Speaker 1: this for a much wider audience. Thanks for everything you do, 526 00:31:49,160 --> 00:31:51,400 Speaker 1: and know that you're not alone in feeling dismay, but 527 00:31:51,520 --> 00:31:54,880 Speaker 1: also in leaning into the importance of learning about the past. 528 00:31:55,520 --> 00:31:58,320 Speaker 1: And then we get to pet tax. Here are my dog, Elsa, 529 00:31:58,400 --> 00:32:00,760 Speaker 1: a two year old goldendoodle, and my sweet menace of 530 00:32:00,760 --> 00:32:03,560 Speaker 1: a kitten named Bertie. She chirps a lot. While that 531 00:32:03,680 --> 00:32:05,640 Speaker 1: is her official name, she gets called a lot of 532 00:32:05,640 --> 00:32:07,720 Speaker 1: other things because my five year old son likes to 533 00:32:07,800 --> 00:32:10,680 Speaker 1: change her name on a regular basis. She has been called, 534 00:32:10,720 --> 00:32:14,920 Speaker 1: among other things, all off, buddy, kitty, bouncy, and Wushi Coushie, 535 00:32:15,480 --> 00:32:19,320 Speaker 1: my son's name for whoopy cushions. Signed Emily, Emily, thank 536 00:32:19,320 --> 00:32:21,200 Speaker 1: you for this beautiful letter. It's so sweet and I'm 537 00:32:21,240 --> 00:32:26,040 Speaker 1: so honored. And also this dog. You guys got to 538 00:32:26,080 --> 00:32:28,120 Speaker 1: stop saying I don't know if I have dog fever 539 00:32:28,280 --> 00:32:30,800 Speaker 1: or what. Right now, something's going on because I see 540 00:32:30,800 --> 00:32:34,280 Speaker 1: pups and I'm like, whoa. And I will always love 541 00:32:34,320 --> 00:32:37,480 Speaker 1: a kiddie picture forever. I hope you hug those babies 542 00:32:37,600 --> 00:32:41,360 Speaker 1: super tight. Thank you for being an educator, as I said, 543 00:32:41,400 --> 00:32:43,960 Speaker 1: and I'm super honored that you would assign her stuff 544 00:32:43,960 --> 00:32:47,680 Speaker 1: for your students. Yeah, that's all I got. If you 545 00:32:47,720 --> 00:32:49,240 Speaker 1: would like to write to us, you can do so 546 00:32:49,400 --> 00:32:53,000 Speaker 1: at History Podcast at iHeartRadio dot com. You can also 547 00:32:53,040 --> 00:32:56,360 Speaker 1: subscribe to the show and become a PhD. And Stuff 548 00:32:56,400 --> 00:32:59,920 Speaker 1: you Missing History Class like Emily, is on the iheartrate 549 00:33:00,080 --> 00:33:02,720 Speaker 1: you app or anywhere you listen to your favorite shows. 550 00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:11,120 Speaker 2: Stuff you Missed in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 551 00:33:11,480 --> 00:33:16,080 Speaker 2: For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 552 00:33:16,200 --> 00:33:18,240 Speaker 2: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.