Charles Alfred Dodgsons Walton (December 11, 1921 – November 6, 2011) is best known as the first patent holder for the

RFID Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects. An RFID system consists of a tiny radio transponder called a tag, a radio receiver, and a transmitter. When tri ...

(radio frequency identification) device. Many individuals contributed to the invention of the RFID, but Walton was awarded ten patents in all for various RFID-related devices, including his key 1973 design for a "Portable radio frequency emitting identifier". This patent was awarded in 1983, and was the first to bear the acronym "RFID".Charles A. Walton "Portable radio frequency emitting identifier" issue date May 17, 1983. Charles Walton grew up in Maryland and New York State, and graduated from

George School George School is a private Quaker (Society of Friends) boarding and day high school located on a rural campus in Middletown Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania ( Newtown postal address). It has been at that site since its founding in 1893, an ...

, a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

school, in 1939. He graduated from

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

in 1943 with a degree in

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

, and received a masters of science in electrical engineering from

Stevens Institute of Technology Stevens Institute of Technology is a Private university, private research university in Hoboken, New Jersey. Founded in 1870, it is one of the oldest technological universities in the United States and was the first college in America solely de ...

in 1950. Walton was born Spondon, England and became a United States Citizen in 1944 while serving in the

United States Army Signal Corps The United States Army Signal Corps (USASC) is a branch of the United States Army responsible for creating and managing Military communications, communications and information systems for the command and control of combined arms forces. It was ...

. After service in the Army Signal Corps, Charles Walton worked at

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

's research and development laboratories until 1970. He founded the company Proximity Devices, Inc., in

Sunnyvale, California Sunnyvale () is a city located in the Santa Clara Valley in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States. Sunnyvale lies along the historic El Camino Real (California), El Camino Real and U.S. Route 101 in California, Highway 1 ...

in 1970, to manufacture devices based on his patents. Charles Walton was a major donor to th
Walton lighthouse
at the Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor, named in honor of his brother Derek, who was in the Merchant Marine and died of

polio Poliomyelitis ( ), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe ...

in the early 1950s.

Death

Walton died on November 6, 2011, at the age of 89.

Notes

2011 deaths 1921 births 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American inventors Cornell University College of Engineering alumni People from Sunnyvale, California Engineers from California George School alumni United States Army soldiers Stevens Institute of Technology alumni {{US-business-bio-1920s-stub