Joseph-Alphonse Ouimet, (June 12, 1908 – December 20, 1988) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

pioneer and president of the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian Public broadcasting, public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its E ...

(CBC) from 1958 to 1967. Born in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Ouimet received a degree in electrical engineering from

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in 1932. In 1932, he helped design, build, and demonstrate the first Canadian television set. In 1934, he joined the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission, which became the CBC, and was responsible for setting up and running CBC's national radio service. He was involved in launching television broadcasting on the CBC. After retiring from the CBC, Ouimet became, in 1969, chairman of

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, which built and launched many of Canada's communications satellites. He retired in 1980. In 1968, Ouimet was made a Companion of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

. Ouimet died in 1988 in the city of his birth.

External links

Alphonse Ouimet's entry in

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; ) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with financial support by the federal Department of Canadian Heritage and Society of Com ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ouimet, Alphonse Presidents of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation 20th-century Canadian civil servants Companions of the Order of Canada Businesspeople from Montreal 1908 births 1988 deaths Burials at Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery