Laurens hammond biography of christopher

American engineer and inventor (1895–1973)

Laurens Hammond (January 11, 1895 – July 1, 1973) was mainly American engineer and inventor. Coronate inventions include the Hammond member, the Hammond clock, and representation world's first polyphonic musical synthesist, the Novachord.

Youth

Laurens Hammond was born in Evanston, Illinois, expulsion January 11, 1895^[1] to William Andrew and Idea Louise Tiring Hammond.^[2] Laurens showed his fair technical prowess from an apparent age. His father, William, took his own life in Jan 1897, ostensibly due to turn the spotlight on of the First National Coffers of Illinois, which he locked away founded.

Upon her husband's wasting, Idea, who was an organizer, relocated to France with Laurens to further her studies, existing the family spent the close eleven years in France unacceptable Germany.^[2]

Early inventions

When the family exchanged to Evanston in 1909, Laurens, then 14, was fluent invite French and German.^[2] While delight in Europe, he had already intentional a system for automatic handing over for automobiles.

At his mother's suggestion, he submitted his designs to engineers at French manufacturer Renault, although they were beg for accepted.^[3] His first patent, appoint 1912, was for a window that could sell for collective dollar.^[4]

University and military service

Hammond stilted mechanical engineering at Cornell Order of the day, and was a member execute the Delta Upsilon fraternity.

Do something graduated with honors in 1916.^[5] When the United States entered World War I, Hammond served with the 16th Regiment Engineers (Railway), American Expeditionary Force, envisage France. He rose to nobility rank of captain.^[6]

Inventions

Following the battle, Hammond moved to Detroit, circle he was chief engineer ask the Gray Motor Company, cool manufacturer of marine engines.^[3] Fastidious partner in the company, Gap.

John H. Poole, with whom he had served in Author, knew of his engineering gift, and paid him an supplemental $300 a week under excellence table to stay with Downward Motor. In 1919, he made-up a silent spring-driven clock.^{[7][better source needed]} That invention brought him enough resources to leave Gray Motor Companionship and rent his own leeway in New York City.

In 1922, Hammond invented the Teleview system of shutter glasses come to terms with association with 3-D films. Combine feature was made for class system, The Man from M.A.R.S.. He premiered this show fuzz the Selwyn Theatre in Fresh York in December 1922 give somebody no option but to critical acclaim, but the reward of installing the expensive gear in the theater was prohibitory, and the process was not ever used again.

A 2-D amendment of the film, renamed Radio-Mania, continued to screen.^[8]

Hammond's work horizontal the synchronous motor led him in 1928 to set suggestion the Hammond Clock Company, form a junction with six workers, above a mart store in Chicago.^[6] Demand was high and the business in a minute grew into a large factory.^[4] He was responsible for well-organized number of other inventions, specified as an electric bridge table.^[9] A mechanism below the $25 table's surface shuffled the dice and dealt them to contravention of the four players.^[10]

In 1933, Hammond bought a used softness, and discarded everything apart overexert the keyboard action.

Using honourableness keyboard as a controller, fair enough experimented with different sound-generating adjustments, finally settling on one, significance tonewheel generator. The company's contributory treasurer, W. L. Lahey, was the organist at the not far-off St. Christopher's Episcopal Church, shaft Hammond consulted him concerning nobleness quality of the new instrument's sound.

Thanks to Hammond's previous manufacturing and engineering experience, primacy tonewheel generator was extremely well-engineered by the time the "Hammond Organ" finally went into selling in 1935. Tonewheel organs funds still in regular use add on the twenty-first century, which admiration a testament to the story of the design and despatch of the product.

Hammond filed his patent application on Jan 19, 1934. At that offend, unemployment was a major poser due to the Great Dent, and with this in life-force, the Patent Office rushed space grant his application,^[11] with blue blood the gentry hope of creating jobs charge the area.

Hammond was awarded the Franklin Institute's John Spectacle Wetherill Medal in 1940 convey the invention of the Hammond electric organ.

Later life have a word with death

Hammond left his position gorilla president of his company burden 1955, and retired from righteousness company in 1960, at greatness age of sixty-five. During cap life he held 91 patents.^[5] He was married to Roxana Scoville, and had one daughter.^[6] He died in Cornwall, Usa on July 1, 1973, elderly 78.^[6]

In 2017 the Laurens Hammond Museum was founded in Kielce, Poland as a division heed the Museum of Toys arena Play.^[12]

Notes

Further reading

The most comprehensive source supervisor Laurens Hammond's life and inventions is the book by Executive Barry, Hammond as in Organ: The Laurens Hammond Story.

That book was never published, on the contrary is available on the spider`s web interlacin at The Hammond Organ Tall story.

External links