Atwater Kent
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Arthur Atwater Kent Sr. (December 3, 1873 – March 4, 1949) was an American inventor and prominent
radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3  hertz (Hz) and 300  gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...
manufacturer based in
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
. In 1905, he invented the Unisparker which combined ignition points, condenser, centrifugal advance mechanism, and distributor in one unit, the system used in virtually every automobile until the development of fully electronic systems in the 1970s and '80s. In 1921, Kent patented the modern form of the automobile
ignition coil An ignition coil is used in the ignition system of a spark-ignition engine to transform the battery voltage to the much higher voltages required to operate the spark plug(s). The spark plugs then use this burst of high-voltage electricity to ig ...
.


Biography

Arthur Kent was born on December 3, 1873, in
Burlington, Vermont Burlington, officially the City of Burlington, is the List of municipalities in Vermont, most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the county seat, seat of Chittenden County, Vermont, Chittenden County. It is located south of the Can ...
. The Kent family moved to
Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the list of United States cities by population, 113th most populous city in the United States. Named after Worcester ...
in 1881, where they lived at four different locations. His father was a doctor who had also been a machinist. The father maintained a machine shop in Worcester when Arthur was a child. Kent entered
Worcester Polytechnic Institute The Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) is a Private university, private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1865, WPI was one of the United States' first engineering and technology universities and now h ...
’s freshman mechanical engineering class in the fall of 1895. He was elected treasurer of the class of 1899, but only remained in the position for one semester, because he did not attend recitation classes after the mid-year exams in January. Kent excelled in mechanics and drawing, but was weak in chemistry, algebra, and language, and had no interest in these subjects. He was already running a small business and that was his top priority. His business was called the Kent Electric Manufacturing Company, which he began in the back room of his father’s machine shop, and from which he sold small electric motors, generators, fans, and later automobile
ignition system Ignition systems are used by heat engines to initiate combustion by igniting the fuel-air mixture. In a spark ignition versions of the internal combustion engine (such as petrol engines), the ignition system creates a spark to ignite the fuel-ai ...
s. The Unisparker Ignition systems became the automobile industry standard for almost 50 years, until the advent of the high energy ignition (HEI) systems. In 1921, Kent produced his first radio components, selling the do-it-yourself kits consisting of "breadboards" that could be assembled by early radio enthusiasts. The same year, he introduced the ''Model 5'', primarily as a promotional tool.McMahon, p.62. In 1923, his firm started producing complete radio sets, using a facility on Stenton Avenue, introducing the ''Model 10'' for Christmas that year. This was followed by the ''Model 9'' "and a broad line of breadboard sets". In 1924, the company moved to a new $2 million plant at 4745 Wissahickon Avenue in
East Falls East Falls (also The Falls, formerly the Falls of Schuylkill) is a neighborhood in Lower Northwest, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It lies on the east bank of the "Falls of the Schuylkill," cataracts submerged in 1822 by the Schu ...
section of Philadelphia. This plant, constructed in sections, would eventually cover and be considered one of the most modern and forward-thinking manufacturing plants in the world. In 1925, the Atwater Kent Manufacturing Company became the largest maker of radios in the United States. The company also sponsored the popular '' The Atwater Kent Hour'', a top-rated radio concert music program heard on
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
and CBS from 1926 to 1934. The show featured top entertainment and became one of the most popular and acclaimed regular radio programs of the era. At its peak in 1929, the company employed over 12,000 workers manufacturing nearly one million radio sets. Its models included the metal-cabinet seven-tube ''Model 57'' at US$105 and the wooden-cabinet eight-tube ''Model 60'' at US$80. The plant itself was an architectural sensation and received hundreds of visitors annually. By 1931, the company boasted that it had produced over three million radios. Atwater Kent radios were of high quality and many examples of working models exist today; they are highly prized by collectors and restorers. Their wooden cabinets were made for Atwater Kent by the Red Lion and Pooley furniture companies. Some models looked more like furniture than radios, and others had multiple functions, like the radio housed inside a grandfather clock. The onset of the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
led to greatly diminished demand for Atwater Kent's expensive radio sets. The company adjusted to consumer demands by building smaller, tabletop radio sets, but Kent was not one to compromise on quality. A drop in demand was compounded by the expiration of patents on the superheterodyne circuit—which led directly to the proliferation of inexpensive All American Five radio designs. New firms could now easily enter the radio manufacturing market without the same level of capital investment Kent had put into his production process, which relied on heavy metal presses for the relatively large Tuned Radio Frequency (TRF) type radio chassis the firm produced. Kent dissolved his design engineering facility in 1931, and shuttered his radio factory in 1936. A major local competitor,
Philco Philco (an acronym for Philadelphia Battery Company) is an American electronics industry, electronics manufacturer headquartered in Philadelphia. Philco was a pioneer in battery, radio, and television production. In 1961, the company was purchase ...
, acquired the closed plant and built its refrigerators there. In 1937, Kent helped to organize and pay for the restoration of the
Betsy Ross House The Betsy Ross House is a landmark in Philadelphia. It is purported to be the site where the upholsterer and flag-maker Betsy Ross (1752–1836) lived when she is said to have sewed the first American flag. History The origins of the Betsy R ...
in Center City Philadelphia. In 1938, Kent helped found the Atwater Kent Museum of Philadelphia, Philadelphia's city history museum, by purchasing the original home of the
Franklin Institute The Franklin Institute is a science museum and a center of science education and research in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is named after the American scientist and wikt:statesman, statesman Benjamin Franklin. It houses the Benjamin Franklin ...
on South 7th Street and donating it to the City of Philadelphia.


Personal life

His daughter, Virginia Tucker Kent (April 17, 1915 – April 29, 1966) married and divorced Cummins Catherwood, and inspired
Patricia Highsmith Patricia Highsmith (born Mary Patricia Plangman; January 19, 1921 – February 4, 1995) was an American novelist and short story writer widely known for her psychological thrillers, including her series of five novels featuring the character T ...
, resulting in the novel '' The Price of Salt''. Atwater Kent died on March 4, 1949, in
Hollywood, California Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood and district in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles County, California, within the city of Los Angeles. ...
. He is buried at
Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale Forest Lawn Memorial Park is a privately owned cemetery in Glendale, California, United States. It is the original and current flagship location of Forest Lawn Memorial-Parks & Mortuaries, a chain of six cemeteries and four additional mortuaries ...
, California.


Legacy

He was awarded the
John Scott Medal John Scott Award, created in 1816 as the John Scott Legacy Medal and Premium, is presented to men and women whose inventions improved the "comfort, welfare, and happiness of human kind" in a significant way. "...the John Scott Medal Fund, establish ...
of
The Franklin Institute The Franklin Institute is a science museum and a center of science education and research in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is named after the American scientist and wikt:statesman, statesman Benjamin Franklin. It houses the Benjamin Franklin ...
in 1914. Kent's son-in-law, William L. Van Alen, is the founder of the United States Court Tennis Association Kent was inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia's Hall of Fame in 1992.


Patents

* – ''Induction coil structure'' – 1921 * – ''Induction coil'' – 1923 * – ''Induction coil'' – 1923 * – ''Ignition coil'' – 1926 * – ''Radio apparatus'' – (Filed November 29, 1922; Issued August 31, 1926.)


References


Sources

* McMahon, Morgan E. ''A Flick of the Switch 1930–1950''. Antiques Electronics Supply, 1990. Pages 62 & 63. . *Williams, Ralph O. "Atwater Kent: Master of Marketing". The AWA Review, Vol. 10, 1996.


External links

*
Atwater Kent Radio Website
from Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kent, Arthur Atwater 1873 births 1949 deaths American inventors Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) History of radio in the United States American business executives Worcester Polytechnic Institute alumni Radio manufacturers