Beautifully RARE engraved certificate from the American DeForest Wireless Telegraph Company issued in 1904. This historic document was printed by the American Banknote Company and has an ornate border around it with a vignette of an allegorical woman with an angel and is over 120 years old. This item has the hand signature of Lee Deforest and was printed by the New York Bank Note Company.
Lee de Forest (August 26, 1873 – June 30, 1961) was an American inventor, electrical engineer and an early pioneer in electronics of fundamental importance. He invented the first practical electronic amplifier, the three-element "Audion" triode vacuum tube in 1906. This helped start the Electronic Age, and enabled the development of the electronic oscillator. These made radio broadcasting and long distance telephone lines possible, and led to the development of talking motion pictures, among countless other applications.
He had over 300 patents worldwide, but also a tumultuous career – he boasted that he made, then lost, four fortunes. He was also involved in several major patent lawsuits, spent a substantial part of his income on legal bills, and was even tried (and acquitted) for mail fraud.
Despite this, he was recognised for his pioneering work with the 1922 IEEE Medal of Honor, the 1923 Franklin Institute Elliott Cresson Medal and the 1946 American Institute of Electrical Engineers Edison Medal.
The American DeForest Wireless Telegraph Company was a radio communications company that was the largest in the United States at one point. The company was founded by Lee de Forest and was incorporated by White, who served as the company's president. The company's goal was to develop "world-wide wireless".
Here are some notable events in the history of the American DeForest Wireless Telegraph Company:
The company built a 300-foot-tall observation tower for the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis. The tower was later removed after it became a hazard near Niagara Falls.
The U.S. Navy used two of DeForest's transmitters to report on the conflict between Japan and Russia in China.
In 1906, de Forest resigned from the company and sold his stock in exchange for $1,000 and the rights to some of his Audion detector patents.
The company was reorganized as the United Wireless Telegraph Company. The new company was the dominant radio communications firm in the U.S. until it went bankrupt in 1912.
History from RM Smythe.
