Lynde Phelps Wheeler (July 27, 1874 – February 1, 1959) was an American physicist and engineer. He was born in

Bridgeport, Connecticut Bridgeport is the List of municipalities in Connecticut, most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut and the List of cities in New England by population, fifth-most populous city in New England, with a population of 148,654 in 2020. Loc ...

and was educated at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, where he received a Ph.D. in physics in 1902, with a thesis on "The Reflection of Polarized Light from Mercury in Water." He remained at Yale as a professor in the physics department until 1926, when he joined the Radio Division of the

United States Naval Research Laboratory The United States Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is the corporate research laboratory for the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. Located in Washington, DC, it was founded in 1923 and conducts basic scientific research, appl ...

. In 1936 he became chief of engineering in the information division of the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...

(FCC). He retired from the FCC in 1946 and became a consultant for the private firm Pickard and Burns, Inc., in

Needham, Massachusetts Needham ( ) is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. A suburb of Boston, its population was 32,091 in the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census. It is the home of Olin College. History ...

. Wheeler was also a fellow of the

Institute of Radio Engineers The Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE) was a professional organization which existed from 1912 until December 31, 1962. On January 1, 1963, it merged with the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) to form the Institute of Electrical ...

since 1928, and served as its president in 1943. In addition to his research in optics, electricity, and radio, Wheeler published a biography of his mentor at Yale, mathematical physicist J. Willard Gibbs. He died in

Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke ( ) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It lies in Southwest Virginia, along the Roanoke River, in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Blue Ridge range of the greater Appalachian Mountains. Roanok ...

External links

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"Lynde Wheeler"
IEEE Global History Network American physicists 1959 deaths 1874 births {{US-physicist-stub